Sun Outdoors Marathon

“Past trips were great; this one, not so much.”

I am in Miami twice a year for a month at a time (medical treatment) and I come to the Keys for long weekends to escape the city. I have stayed at this resort, in the motel portion, several times over the past few years. I have come alone and with my daughter, always appreciating the location and… more

I am in Miami twice a year for a month at a time (medical treatment) and I come to the Keys for long weekends to escape the city. I have stayed at this resort, in the motel portion, several times over the past few years. I have come alone and with my daughter, always appreciating the location and low price of the motel rooms - understanding that there is no maid service like a usual hotel. This time, my husband and daughter joined me for four days/three nights. It was fine, but not nearly as good as it used to be. First, anyone arriving in the evening or anytime on a weekend has to retrieve a key from a pre-arranged spot - there is no one in the office on evenings or weekends. Thank goodness I knew this, as I never received the usual welcome email with instructions. Not the end of the world, but would have been for a newcomer. We checked in Friday night, got our key, and found the door to our room was difficult to open/close - it stuck terribly (wooden door + humidity = bad combination) and was so warped that the bottom did not make contact with the door frame. We could clearly see daylight through the wide crack (and even had a tiny lizard friend pop into the room through there on our second day). o.O We unloaded our suitcases and then walked out back to sit by the ocean and enjoy the sunset. It smelled so horrible we couldn't stand to be back there. The water level in the boat launch(?) was low and the stench of rotting seaweed and fish was overpowering. We gave up and went back to the room to take showers. The soap, shampoo, and conditioner bottles attached to the shower wall were *empty* when we arrived. There was a smidge in each container, but not enough to even pull any up the respective pumps. (We had to run next door to the *extremely overpriced* sundry shop to pay $9 for travel-size shampoo and conditioner - be warned, if you need toiletries, it is worth your time to drive to Publix.) That was our first evening. Not a great first impression for my husband and certainly not the same as my previous experiences! Thinking we must have gone at low tide, we tried again the next morning to sit by the ocean and enjoy our coffee. Same problem. It was just awful - really stomach-turning. Every single time we walked down toward the water, the overpowering stench sent us right back to our room. We drove to Bahia Honda instead and enjoyed the beach there. The bathrooms in each motel room are tiny, and despite the double bed rooms holding up to four guests, you will be hard-pressed to find places to hang towels to fully dry between showers or visits to the pool/beach. (It is humid in the Keys and towels must be spread out and not merely hung on hooks in order to dry.) Be prepared to pay to wash/dry your own towels in the laundry room if you stay more than a couple of nights. There is no housekeeping whatsoever - no towel or linen replacement, cleaning, etc. during your stay. Speaking of laundry, on our last night I washed a small load of laundry in the laundry room (bring quarters - they do not have a change machine). Washing was no problem, but even after two cycles in the dryer, it did not dry. It is disappointing to waste money on coin-op dryers that don't work well. We had to hang our laundry around the hotel room after wasting half our quarter roll trying in vain to dry it. It is in an ideal spot, the rooms are clean and have good refrigerators with little freezer units, which are nice...but the price plus resort fees are now just too much given the unusable waterfront, lack of basic amenities, and no staff to assist. It was a good deal when the rates were cheaper; however, over $200/night plus the daily resort fee in exchange for a putrid waterfront and a room with no housekeeping makes no sense, especially when so many mid-level hotels in the area charge the same (or less) and offer more services. We have decided to stay at a hotel, where we have loyalty status, for future stays in the Keys. Sad, as this used to be my favorite "secret" spot. :-(

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“Resort was okay.”

Not what I expected from a Sun Resorts property. Sites are very close together, which I realize is common in the Keys. Don’t let them put you in Sites 1-7 … they back up to a sewer processing plant and lots of road noise. Not sure if it was the sewer plant we smelled for two weeks, or the permanent… more

Not what I expected from a Sun Resorts property. Sites are very close together, which I realize is common in the Keys. Don’t let them put you in Sites 1-7 … they back up to a sewer processing plant and lots of road noise. Not sure if it was the sewer plant we smelled for two weeks, or the permanent neighbor’s sewer hose. The front of our RV was 10 feet from the neighbor’s. Neighbor decided to dump her tanks while we were cooking outside. Yuck. Pool was nice, but on the smaller side and up front by the busy road. Very narrow boat ramp. Not sure I would have tried to drop our boat in there. Marina area was constantly filled with floating sea grass. No beach or access to swim in the gulf; shore was rocky. Nice sunsets from the docks. Other RVers and seasonals were friendly.

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“Our experience”

Rented a cottage. Was not very clean. Bathroom door handle breaking causing constant injury trying to open and close. counter peeling off catching clothing. Shower had soap scum and black hair from last tenants. 4 people stayed only had 3 coffee cups and 3 spoons. Front desk really didn’t see… more

Rented a cottage. Was not very clean. Bathroom door handle breaking causing constant injury trying to open and close. counter peeling off catching clothing. Shower had soap scum and black hair from last tenants. 4 people stayed only had 3 coffee cups and 3 spoons. Front desk really didn’t seem to care only wanted to argue. Had water front and boat slip. Water was so full of grass you couldn’t get your boat in or out. The smell was horrible. Not worth the money. Aside from the desk girl everyone else was friendly

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