Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel is Official Fantasy Fest 2010 Hotel Sponsor

This year, the Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel is an Official Fantasy Fest 2010 Silver Hotel Sponsor.  The Fantasy Fest organization recently posted that their are hotel vacanacies still available in Key West for this year's outlandish Fantasy Fest Celebration!  The Beachside Hotel is named among a few select Key West Hotels who are sponsoring this year's event and still have rooms available.

So if your planning to travel to Key West for this year's Habitat for INSANITY, book your hotel now before the pandamonium begins on October 22! Check out FantasyFest.net for the latest news.

Fantasy Fest 2010 Update!

Have you started designing your costume for this year's Fantasy Fest. This year's extravaganza is centered around the theme "Habitat for Insanity" The animalistic theme will influence the motiff for this year's 27th annual Pretender's In Paradise costume contest. A recent announcement was posted on FantasyFest.net announcing the theme as well as the details regarding this year's cash prizes.

Check out the latest Fantasy Fest announcement...

The insane costuming continues as Fantasy Fest announces the theme for Pretenders in Paradise 2010 as “Predators and Prey Come out to Play.” We are looking for those crazy and hungry predators and the sweet and delicious prey to join the collection of talented costumers decorated in their most outrageous gear.

Pretenders is in its 27th year and is sure to entice us all with an atmosphere of outstanding and unbelievable creations! Hosted at the Pier House Resort & Caribbean Spa, contestants will compete at amateur and professional levels for $10,000 in cash prizes amidst a full house of spectators. Come join the fun with Pretenders in Paradise, “Predators and Prey Come Out to Play.” This year Pretenders in Paradise will be Thursday, October 28 at 9 pm. Registration for the competition is no later than Tuesday, October 26, at noon.

For more information and contestant registration, please email Kathy@marketsharecompany.com or call 305-296-1817.


You can also check out the latest Fantasy Fest news or get tips on what Key West Hotels to stay at during Fantasy Fest 2010 by checking out their facebook or following Fantasy Fest on Twitter.

Explore History in Key West

August 22, 2010 marks the Second Annual celebration for the remembrance of the International Abolition of Slave Trade. This Key West celebration will be presented by the Monroe County Black Heritage Preservation FoundationMonroe County Black Heritage Preservation Foundation the observance is scheduled for 5 p.m. at the 1860 African Burial Ground on Higgs Beach, Atlantic Boulevard and White Street. The evening is to include a presentation on the cemetery’s significance to international history and plans to introduce the site and its story to UNESCO for consideration as a potential World Heritage Site.

Key West Lobster Season - Mini Season or Regular Season

Lobsters on the Grill at Key West Lobster Fest: FlaKeys.com

Every year in early August, Florida natives and key west vacationers look forward to the famous Florida Keys Lobster Season. Are you ready? Key West goes lobster crazy when the "open" lobster season officially opens in early August. Throughout August many area restaurants offer to cook up any lobster lucky divers bring in, and all have lobster specials that will delight your taste buds and go easy on the wallet!

July 28-29, 2010 & August 6, 2010-March 31, 2011
Where: Atlantic & Gulf Waters
Website: myfwc.com

Lobster "mini" season runs July 28-29, 2010 and the regular season is August 6, 2010 through March 31, 2011, but the summer months are when everyone gets serious about "bug hunting." Diving in Key West is always an exciting and novel good time. Doing so during prime lobster season is an unforgettable experience.
There are several very important things to keep in mind if you dive for lobsters in Key West's waters. For Lobster Season dates, bag limits and more, please visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission's Lobster Season web page.

Key West Vacation - There's So Much to Sea

Key West. So much to sea.

Where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Gulf of Mexico sits the last of the chain of islands that is the southernmost tip of the United States. It is a two-by-three-mile island that has many names and offers many diverse pleasures to all who visit from around the world. It is called Margaritaville,The Conch Republic and Cayo Hueso, but officially, it is the Island of Key West.

Because of its geographical location, Key West has always owed its lure and livelihood to the surrounding sea. For decades it was a shipbuilding and fishing mecca, and still today, the preservation of that past and the pleasures of sport fishing are an occupation of many who live here as well as a preoccupation of many who visit.

The island's seafaring tradition lives on at the renovated Historic Seaport district, known locally as the Key West Bight. While dozens of shrimp boats once called this harbor home, today  "the Bight" is a popular place to arrange a day on the water, whether you are a diver, snorkeler, fisherman or eco-tourist.  Those who indulge in more sedentary pleasures simply stroll along the harbor walk or dine at one of the many restaurants.

For those who want to get out on the open sea, Key West offers every opportunity to experience the seafaring adventure of a lifetime. Charters and guide boats are available all over the island.

For a more predictable experience at sea, there’s the Glass Bottom Boat Discovery. It takes cruises off the coast of Key West to the world's third-largest coral reef and provides a close up look at an abundance of tropical marine life in its natural habitat.

The Key West Aquarium, adjacent to Mallory Square, is an even more accessible window into the underwater world of Key West. It offers guided tours and a close-up look at everything from spiney lobsters, to stingrays to indigenous sharks. Don’t miss feeding time!

However you decide to experience the wonders of the sea, there’s a Key West hotel for just about every budget. To find a hotel in Key West right for you, visit www.keywest.com or any hotel search engine. And whichever hotel in Key West you wind up in, you won’t be far from where land ends and the surrounding Atlantic and Gulf begin.

The Best Bars are in Key West

Key West. Eat, drink and be merry…all night long.

You probably know that Key West is the southernmost city in the United States. But according to many, it  holds another  distinction that  is a bit harder to substantiate, although very easy to believe.

Key West lays claim to more bars per capita than anywhere else in the United States.

Just one night in Key West is all you need to become a believer. The atmosphere is electric and the action is non stop, from the moment the sunset celebration begins on the Mallory Dock, until dawn.

Every street seems to be filled with sidewalk cafes, open-air bars, lively pubs, and world-class restaurants. No wonder writers and artists with a passion for life have always gravitated to this one-of-a-kind island of indulgences, including Tennessee Williams, Wallace Stevens, James Merrill and, of course, Ernest Hemingway, whose home of 30 years is now a museum. 

Although you can’t book a room at Hemingway’s, it’s easy to find a place to rest your weary head at the end of a night on the town. Check out www.keywest.com  to find a Key West Hotel that will provide transportation in and out of the party zone. 

There are even a few hotels in Key West with a private beach to allow you to soak up some rejuvenating Vitamin D next morning. The Key West Beachfront Marriott Hotel, for example, has it’s own private tanning beach overlooking the magnificent Gulf. 

Of course, you don’t have to indulge in order to soak up the local culture. Drama, musicals and comedy flourish on the stages of Key West, and galleries, sidewalk artists and artisans are everywhere. And when it comes to fine food from any cuisine, or generational island favorites, there are endless possibilities throughout the island.

So come with an appetite for life, and enjoy. Who knows? Like so many before you, you may never leave.

Beachside Marriott Issues Clean Beach Guarantee for Key West Hotel

Key West Hotel recently issued a guarantee to assure its visitors that their Key West Vacation experience wouldn't be impacted by the Gulf Oil Spill. They recently published a guarantee on their website -

" While we are all concerned about the effects of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, rest assured that there is no oil on our beach at Key West Marriott Beachside Hotel. However, if you arrive to find our pristine beach affected by the oil spill in any way, your first room night including taxes is 100% on us, guaranteed."

A recent article shows concern about the oil spill but there is still a positive outlook that this event will not impact the Florida Keys! Read a recent article here that discusses summer family vacations.