Cheeca Lodge & Spa, Islamorada FL

I'm not a resort type of guy but we had a great time here. It's centrally located in the Keys so days trips to key West and more are easy. The rooms had great AC as we were here in August and it was very hot and humid outside. The beds are very comfortable, a bit soft but nice like the Venetian beds in Vegas. The food was top notch. Props to the chefs. The food was really really good although you'll pay for it. Bartenders are super friendly and skilled and pour generous drinks. The 3 pools (2 allow kids, 1 adult only) were fantastic with a good vibe and chill. I've only stayed at one other resort in the Keys but I would highly recommend this one. Best bang for the buck, just be aware those restaurant and bar tabs add up fast. Highly recommend.

First Trip to the Keys.
The bar is set so high after staying at the
Cheeca Lodge & Spa
The Views
Staff
Service just everything was Amazing.
Our Experience started with meeting the Valet Basil nice guy who seems to enjoy his work.
Enjoy my Birthday by the Adult Pool where Rio took care of us for the day from pool side lunch and drinks.
Definitely heading back.

Don’t waste your money coming here. The first issue started when our room was 3 hours late to be ready and we had 3 rooms for our family. The first night we went out, we went to the Italian restaurant in which there were huge rats running around the tables and the waiter acted as if it was a normal occurrence on a daily basis. It stinks like sewer water everywhere you walk on the beach. Lastly, they charged someone else’s room bill to our room after we already left. Not to mention the “2 days “ it takes for the security deposit has taken 2 weeks and i have yet to see it.

Great hotel, but you can eat much better outside. Here I can recommend the Lorelei or Lazy Days.

I’m currently still on vacation at this resort I needed to leave this review immediately. Highly disappointed in the service by most of the staff members here. There is absolutely no attention to detail and most of the staff gives minimal effort and makes you feel like you asking for too much.there was no welcome upon arrival no help with our bags.we had a couple packages that were being delivered to the hotel which i told staff prior too and when we arrived was told it was no problem and then the day of delivery the package was lost.i have them tracking that showed it was delivered at the front desk and was told “i will let you know if we find it” thankfully hours later it was finally found but after several and i mean several times asking for it.we rented cabanas for two days (pool is extremely crowded and often no chair’s available) and when we got to the pool they gave our cabana to someone else and i was told it wasn’t their fault because the guy from yesterday double booked it.we were given chairs thankfully and a drink voucher for our troubles.but still left no cabana and an attitude from staff.there is nothing luxury about this resort service mediocre at best. Rooms are nice a clean but because the service is bad i will not be returning.

Not at all what it used to be. Poor management. Great property, beautiful, but not good direction. Such a great stay 5 years ago. Shame on us for having expectations things would be the same. Lots and lots of other great places in the keys. Won’t return…

Absolutely a fabulous resort! We had a premium king ocean view room with a soaking tub on the balcony which was such a treat to relax and unwind at the end of the day. Room was gorgeous, quiet, and very clean. Every staff member was kind, friendly, and eager to help. Staff at the Tiki Bar went out of their way to deliver food to us at our lounge chairs at the far end of the beach. Resort grounds are gorgeous with quiet walking paths that are lit with tiki torches in the evening. Live music every night was an added bonus. Food was delicious, particularly the pizza at Mia Cucina was a hit! We did go across the street to the Trading Post to get a few things for breakfast and snacks/beverages to keep in our room. We felt completely pampered. Highly recommend!

Mostly an amazing resort with a few drawbacks. It’s right on the Atlantic side with a big waterfront but with not a legit beach. I mean you can swim in there, but lots of weeds. There are three pools and kayaks/paddle boards included in the price. Also is a dock you can fish from. Walking paths are great. The on site drink and food is a bit pricey. We chose to go to other places. They do have a few electric car chargers which are useful and appreciated. They do need to change the wrists bands up and get rid of them. They are cumbersome when doing some activities.

Beautiful place, good food, service a little slow.seemed that they were understaffed, but everyone was trying their best.

The woman working the entrance booth on august 14,2023 is incredibly rude, hostile, and unprofessional. My husband and I have been staying at cheeca 2-3 times a year for the past 10 years and have noticed an increasingly inhospitable staff. The woman, who gave me a very obviously fake name of Elizebeth, would not allow us through the gate even after providing her with our reservation details. After giving us nasty looks, she called security who arrived on a golf cart and asked what the problem was. She proceeded to say "it's been taken care of" and then called the front desk to confirm our reservation. She then sent us away and glared at us through the window as we walked down the road. We understand this is her job, but the whole experience, especially her providing us with a fake name, was so incredibly strange and disrespectful. This alone makes us hesitant to return. I suggest you get a staff who is kind and actually interested in working in hospitality.

Stellar customer service! Thank you Jodi and the amazing in-house reservations department at Cheeca!

This resort is our (large, extended) family's hands-down favorite, and we've tried many places along the Florida Keys (and yes, some of those were great too.) We are Cheeca regulars now. The pools, room arrangements, proximity to local restaurants with free resort shuttle service, friendliness of staff, and the ongoing efforts to continuously upgrade and maintain this older property are exceptional. Look at the photos in the lobby to get a sense of its history!

The place is very family-friendly. In addition to the pools and pier, Cheeca offers free access to kayaks, paddle boards, bikes, and tennis - and more. The water around the Keys is shallow so unless you paddle way out to the reef, you're just about always in standing depth with lots to see - turtles, fish, crabs.our family loves this. For those who don't want to hang with all the kids, there is a beautiful "adults only" pool as well.

People venturing down should know that the Florida Keys are a unique environment, and these islands are subject to it. It's mostly hot, and often damp. The salt air from the sea is unavoidable, and upkeep on Keys properties is a never-ending task. Nothing remains "pristine" for long- and virtually everything except the local fish but including most workers, is imported from mainland Florida. The folks at Cheeca are always doing their best to keep the place beautiful, well-staffed, and running smoothly despite the odds, something we 100% appreciate. As we also appreciate the free champagne at check-in!

There is a thing called "Keys attitude. " Throw your shoes in the back seat, forget having to be fashionable, accept and enjoy and relax. Cheeca is the perfect place for all of that.

We paid $2,000 per night for the Casita - and $700 per night for a beach bungalow with an ocean view.

- Casita: No water pressure in unit - at times we could not shower or even use the toilets! It was the same in the beach bungalow we also rented.
- Casita: 2nd bathroom sink stopper on right did not work
- Casita: Telephones in unit did not work (I told the front desk shortly after arriving - they did nothing about it!)
- Meal at Atlantic’s Edge Restaurant service was abysmal- AS WAS THE FOOD - they don’t want you to order a la carte but rather pay for their buffets which are mediocre at best (unless you like to eat a lot of food) - we made a reservation but apparently they did not have the staff to service the tables or chefs for the kitchen. My daughter an I split the "Grouper" - it was overcooked and served COLD!
- Casita: Did not fully replenish the coffee service each day - we finally sent to a local market and got additional creamer and Sweet n'Low.
- Spa Treatment - did not have a qualified (licensed) masseuse on site to provide “Sampler” massage for my wife. (We booked months in advance!). Apparently you need specific licenses to provide the "Sampler Package" and the staff they assigned my wife did not have all the requisite licenses.
- Had dinner at one of their other properties - Morado Bay - had to find manager after 20 minutes to get a server. Fish dishes were suppose to come with rice - one did, the other did not - when we asked they literally said “we ran out” - BTW - we had a 6: 30PM reservation - there were less than 10 tables with guests when we arrived.
- Casita: Housekeeping removed the dirty dishes from the dishwasher and put them back in the drawers and shelves!
- When booking the Casita we asked if they had a fireworks show - the concierge service said they did - THEY DID NOT! 38 year streak of insuring my wife would see a fireworks show on her birthday weekend and broken by a resort that is only interested in your $’s.

We noted our complaints each day and after asking to speak to management when no one responded, they came to the unit and apologized- for all of the problems and lies they told us they comped our dinner at Pierre’s the last night.

The location of Cheeca Lodge is great. Captain Marshall and Olivia that ran the snorkel trip are great. The bellmen were very nice as was Gause at the front desk.

To Bill the resort manager; thank you for dinner the last night but it does not lessen the disappointment of having selected the Cheeca Lodge for my wife’s 70th birthday. I flew our son and girlfriend from California just to make sure those 4 days would be special and memorable; they were not special but will be memorable, but not in a good way.

To your concept of “Butler Service” for the Casitas, I suggest you change it to “Anything But Service”!

My sense of the situation:

If you are thinking about staying at Cheeca you need to know that the Lodge was sold to a real estate company headquartered in Colorado. We fished with some locals while we there and they told us that they thought the new owners were only interested in the value of the real estate; these new owners also purchased Morado Bay and Pierre's across the street. The Lodge appears significantly understaffed and over-worked. Bill, the resort manager, seems to drive around in his golf cart "putting out fires. "

The service staff that used to reside in Islamorada had to relocate to Homestead and like communities as the the real estate in this part of the world has been purchased by folks seeking to invest in B&B or VRBO properties. There are not a lot of folks that are willing to make the commute to Islamorada to receive substandard pay and extremely long working hours.

What a wonderful place. I love the keys but this is the ONLY place the service is a 5* experience. The staff are so friendly and helpful. Uncle Mike was delightful and the female hostess for the restaurant upstairs was so kind to our son. We couldn’t believe it!

First visit with the family which will be our LAST! There were numerous issues with the quality and cleanliness of our room. From issues with our balcony spa, to no hot water, to electrical malfunctions. Staff had to continuously come to our room to fix the issues, which were never completely fixed! When you charges high prices you cannot have all these issues with your rooms. At the end we were only given an apology from the manager. We will spend our money else where next time we travel to the Keys.

Phenomenal. Very nice place to relax and recharge. Beautiful beach. And pools. The rooms are bigger than average. Once your on property there is no reason to leave. Restaurants on site.

First trip to the keys and we will definitely be back! Cheeca Lodge was an online find just a couple weeks before our trip. It had great reviews and we certainly agree! The resort grounds are beautiful, all the staff is warm and friendly. We booked a king suite and it is spacious and very clean. Our balcony has a lovely, quiet view of the golf course. The resort is beach front with lots of things to do right on site. The pools are beautiful and haven’t felt crowded at all. This was a great find! You won’t be sorry you came.