Located on a 220-slip marina on Stock Island (approximately a 15-minute drive from Key West), The Perry Hotel & Marina’s chic industrial design is inspired by the area’s boatyards. It boasts a swimming pool, spacious modern rooms and an excellent destination restaurant for fresh, creative seafood.
Location 8/10
The Perry is technically located on Stock Island, which is separated from Key West by the narrow Cow Key Channel and about a 15-minute drive away. It’s both an extension of Key West and a destination unto itself. The Perry is one of only two hotels on Stock Island, both of which opened in 2017. Situated on the Stock Island Marina Village, it offers direct deep water access to offshore pleasures like fishing and diving.
Nothing on Stock Island is more than a five or 10-minute drive away and you’ll want to check out classic spots like Hogfish Bar & Grill and El Mocho Cuban luncheonette. While a stay here is off-the-beaten-path from your typical Key West vacation, guests can take advantage of the hotel’s resort-like grounds, free shuttle to Old Town and the opportunity to explore the saltier side of Keys life.
“I felt I had literally written out my passion in Florence by walking through the streets, visiting the museums, obsessed by A, sharing everything with him, eating and sleeping with him in that noisy hotel on the banks of the River Arno.”
Annie Ernaux, ‘Simple Passion,’ 1991
Design 9/10
The Perry is all raw concrete, exposed steel, natural wood and clean lines inside a lobby with a high, airy ceiling. It’s a decidedly modern, industrial aesthetic for an area whose architecture is best known for charming Victorian mansions with ornamental gingerbread latticework. Drawing inspiration from Stock Island’s boatyards, sculptural artwork includes propellers cascading down the wall behind the check-in desk and an overhead sculptural chandelier resembling construction cranes.
The poolscape’s layout is also clean and serene, lined with white lounge chairs and copious palm trees that manage to mimic sailboats and their masts lining the harbor just beyond the gates. The rectangular pool is flanked by an outdoor bar and the hotel’s main restaurant, and there are fire pits for relaxing under the stars after the sunset.
Amenities & Service 8/10
For anglers and boaters, The Perry’s position on Stock Island Marina Village is a huge boon with charters and tour companies at your fingertips. We like Fun in the Sun (ask for Shon and tell him Shayne sent you.) There’s also a swimming pool and fitness center.
The friendly staff is well-trained. The concierge can direct you to a fishing guide just as easily as your waitress can point you to the perfect bottle of wine to accompany the day’s fresh catch.
Rooms 8/10
All rooms at The Perry feature oversized balconies with wooden furniture overlooking either the marina or a lagoon on the other side of the property. They’re outfitted in a similarly industrial chic aesthetic to the lobby with mid-century sensibilities, like low-slung wooden frame chairs, chocolate brown leather headboards and modern upholstered sofas in neutral gray tones with clean lines. The porcelain plank floors, in a continuum of brown-grey colorways, present a stylized version of hardwood floors.
Bathrooms are roomy with double vanities, sparkling cream subway tiles, glass rainfall showers and pleasing aquamarine floor tiles. Overall, rooms are spacious, inviting and comfortable.
Food & Beverage 8/10
Whether you’re staying at the hotel or in nearby Key West, The Perry is home to a fantastic destination restaurant worthy of a visit. Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen & Bar’s menu of fresh seafood is inflected with both Southern comfort and Creole flavors for a delightfully modern dining experience. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served here with breakfast items ranging from huevos rancheros tostados to pancakes.
The Salty Oyster is an inviting dockside bar, perfect for poolside bites and sunset happy hour. And the dormant Key West cult classic Bad Boy Burrito has found a new home on the Perry’s grounds, reborn as Bad Boy Taqueria & Tequila with an expanded menu and full bar in a breezy waterfront setting—which is cause alone for a pilgrimage.
Value 9/10
Rates from about $199 in low season and $299 in high; Book
The Bottom Line
For an off-the-beaten-path perspective on Key West’s maritime heritage in a modern, resort-like setting, The Perry is unparalleled.
Contact
7001 Shrimp Road; 305-296-1717; perrykeywest.com
