Seashell Motel

Stayed in the 10 dorm room for 2 nights New Years Eve & day. Very chill and pleasant.
Pros: Safe, friendly front desk staff, guests staying in dorm were friendly & considerate. Close to the action on Duval St, the beach and the southern most landmark (which isn’t, the Naval Station is Southernmost landmark but out of bounds to the Public). Outside Hammock is cool. Cheapest place to stay if going alone. Otherwise book a ‘motel’ room in the same place with your partner to solve the shower problem discussed below. Bed has curtain for privacy and I did sleep well both nights. If you can, try and get a bunk away from the doorway.
Caught the Blue public bus to this place from the airport and the bus stop is 1 block away.
Café close by has nice coffees and cuban food and seating.
Cons: 10 room dorm has only 1 shower. In other hostels the showers are outside the room which is better.
Outside night lighting is poor when using computer, reading but the courtyard is pleasant.
My top bunk bed had no ladder & so I had to jump on. It was squeaky, squeaky as I moved from side to side always out of sync with the humming of the air conditioner down below which kept the room cool in January.

We were already in key west so we had to book a room last minute and the seashell motel was one of the only places with availability. It came to about 150 for a room for two. We originally planned on staying in a hostel but all the spots were booked. The room had its own bathroom which was the only perk about it.
The next night we stayed in a different location (Southernmost House) for 200 and it was AMAZING. Waterfront view, gorgeous room, beautiful pool, etc. Seashell was NOT worth it because the room itself was bare and there were no amenities. I wish we had booked two nights at the other place and dropped an extra 100 because seashell was not worth it.

After reading a number of negative reviews on Unilocal I almost decided to not stay here, but, because of the relatively cheap price I made a reservation. Glad I did!
I found,
* Extremely helpful young lady on the phone while making reservation
* Ladies at the front desk were great while checking in and throughout my 3 day/​night stay. November 2015
* Relaxed feel about the entire hotel/​hostel
* I chose an individual room ($ 109 per night) over the hostel side ($ 44 per night) that has bunk beds so I can’t speak to the hostel
* Stayed in Room #7 which has three beds that can sleep a total of 5 people. Bed and pillows were fine for the price. If you are used to or expecting a Hilton or Ritz-​Carlton experience, this ain’t your place … but great for the price in my opinion
* While the hotel is older I found it well maintained and my room was clean
* TV was older but I didn’t come to Key West to watch TV
* Tile floors were cool to walk on which to me is a positive in this climate. Can’t imagine carpet in the rooms
* More restaurants than I could believe within walking distance
* Duval is about 4 blocks away — I walked to Mallory Square each day and that took about 30 or so minutes, but that was stopping a number of times along the way at different places
* Southernmost Point is 4 – 5 blocks away
* Great Cuban restaurant on the walk to the Southernmost Point — Ana’s Cuban Café. Excellent Cuban coffee and pressed Cuban sandwich
* A/​C window unit worked great the entire stay
* Wi-​Fi worked fine except for a 20−30-minute period. Mentioned it to the front desk, they reset the router, started working again within 5 or so minutes
* Sunrise location within 3 – 4 block walk — photo is attached
If you go I hope you have a positive experience!

I have been putting off writing this review for a while now, because I hate writing bad reviews and there are enough bad reviews for this place that I almost feel like why bother. But this is the absolute worst hotel experience I have ever had, so here goes. One of my friends had stayed here before and had a good experience, we’re not picky, and it is about the cheapest thing there, so we went for it.
Let me be VERY CLEAR. I have stayed in a multitude of hostels, motels, and low-​cost hotels. So this review is not about the fact that it’s a dorm situation, that the room is sparse, that there is no tv, or that you bring your own towels and shampoo, etc. That is normal for a youth hostel, and I totally expect it. There was nothing normal about this visit.
Two of my friends arrived a few hours before me and my boyfriend. They asked for us to be put in the same room (since we had all bought dorms beds) and was told we were pretty much in the same room. The dorm is a few rooms split by a small bathroom area, so we were in the same big room, but on either side of the bathroom from each other. As we found out later there were open beds all in the same side, so I have no idea why they wouldn’t just put us together. On checking in my friends noticed that the other person in the side that my boyfriend and I were checking in to was in his sixties and appeared to be homeless. Since this place bills itself as a youth hostel my friend was understandably wary and said something to the front desk. The man shrugged off her concerns and told her the man had been staying there for a while and «they had not any problems with him.» By the time we arrived he was out. We dropped off our stuff in the room and went out for dinner and see the sites. We came back that night and he was asleep, so we tried to be very quiet as we got in to bed. I dozed off for a couple of hours, but at about 4 a.m. I was awakened by his constant, death rattle coughing and trips outside to smoke. Literally. Every. Ten. Minutes. He would get up to go smoke and leave the door to our room, which faced the outside street, not the courtyard, hanging wide open. My boyfriend is a smoker, and the smell even woke him up. Not to mention that he would leave the door hanging wide open so you could hear all the traffic starting at about six a.m. I probably got up 20 times to close the door. I tried the office around 5 to see if we could be moved to a private room, but no one was there. I knocked and called, but nothing. I have stayed at plenty of hostels where the desk is not staffed all night, but I have never been anywhere you can’t at least call someone in an emergency. There is a sign above the office window bulletproof glass with an «emergency number,» but the number is whited out. They probably got sick of hearing complaints all the time. Again, this dude was in his sixties and super sketchy looking, so I did not feel comfortable confronting him myself, especially since there were no employees on the grounds.
It continued this way all morning, until about 8:30, when he finally left for good with the door still hanging wide open. If I hadn’t gotten up to close the door that time it would have stayed open all morning. Seriously, every ten minutes. At that point why would he not just get up for the day? All he was doing was getting up and down to go smoke. Ridiculous! Just go outside and start your day and let the rest of us sleep. The way the front desk handled things really sealed the deal for me NEVER staying here again though. I understand its a dorm style room and these things happen, but they were completely unhelpful and rude. The desk was supposed to be staffed starting at 9:00, so I was out there waiting by quarter to. No one appeared until 9:30, when I finally started knocking on the glass and calling the desk number. After hearing someone rustling around and ignoring me for several minutes, I finally got some lady claiming to be the manager on the phone. I explained the situation and asked if we could be moved, but she told me they were sold out and couldn’t move us. Later that day all of the other people in my friends’ side of the room had checked out, so she absolutely could have moved us over there. But, since she wouldn’t help we just told her we would check out, but that we wanted a refund. She told me she couldn’t refund the night we had stayed since we had already slept there. I informed her I hadn’t slept a wink, but she didn’t care and told me I knew when I checked in that it was a dorm room and that I wouldn’t be able to reach anyone at the desk at night. Since there is a giant sign on the front gate advertising a 24-​hour office, no, I did not know that. She then offered to «refund» me for the coming night. Yes, the one that we were checking out at 9 a.m. before. As if she was doing me some kind of favor by not charging me to not stay there. Awful service, terrible safety concerns, and way overpriced for a hostel. Never again!

The Good: nice neighborhood, close to Duval, friendly staff, sociable courtyard, way-​slow but free wifi, ac, tv, mini-​frig, lowest priced.
The Bad: small room, no clock, no phone, no chair.
The Ugly: nearly ever-​present German cockroaches in bathroom.

Want to save money? Sleep in the car and shower at the state park.
As far as hostels go it’s not horrendous (at least the sheets were clean) but way way too much money for what’s available. The best aspect was probably the guy at the office who checked me in. He was quite friendly.

I’m here to change the minds that will not stay at this hostel based on previous negative reviews.
It’s important that when you’re reviewing an establishment to compare it to an experience on a similar scale. Yes this is a hostel. Majority of the rooms are co-​Ed style dorm rooms. If you’re the type who usually stays in a 5 star hotel with room service and and a bell hop, just don’t bother. It’s the cheapest night’s stay you’ll get in Key West at 50 $ a night. It’s a very clean, quiet place to sleep, shower, and store your bags. Yes there is a tube tv but you should be exploring Duval Street instead. No there is not a pool, but why bother when the beach is a 5 minute walk away. If you’re looking for a no frills place to sleep right in the center of all the action, I highly recommend staying here.

I very much enjoyed my stay here. The staff were very pleasant and helpful. They seemed to be always taking steps to improve things. Months long guest, James, certainly added to the vibe. The A/​C and fan worked fine for me. No complaints on my end.

If I could give it 0 I would. I ended up handing them my keys the second night of my stay with NO REFUND and literally had no where to sleep. I luckily was able to rent a car and stay there. The place was absolutely disgusting… The entire night I couldn’t move, I thought the bed was going to cave in on the guy below me. The room was hotter than some of my tours overseas… The blanket had a combination of food and God knows what… BURN THEM. I had to go buy another blanket the first night. Seriously. Trust me, I’m not hard to please but if you can’t afford a hotel, buy or rent a tent and camp somewhere. Totally ruined my Key West visit :(

Bathrooms are designed for tall people
Rooms need better window treatments
Clean
Courtyard had a kitchen
Needs more parking spaces
Convenient location
Good neighborhood
No pool (which stinks)
Friendly employees
Bring an air conditioner

Wir hatten das Glück, dass wir zu zweit in einem 10ner Dorm schlafen konnten. Wir waren dort nur für eine Nacht. Zu zweit war es in Ordnung, trotzdem konnten wir in den Doppelstockbetten dort nicht gut schlafen. Sobald sich jemand dreht, selbst wenn man es selber ist, wird man sofort wach. Das Bad ist für 10 Personen mit einer Toilette und einer Dusche definitiv zu klein. Das gute an dem Hostel ist, das es eine gute Lage und Parkplätze hat. Man bekommt allerdings keine Handtücher. Das Preis– Leistungsverhältnis stimmt unser Meinung nicht so gut.

Splurge on a motel room.
No coffee.
Tile floors remain moist and clammy.
A/​C in room never cooled.
Roaches everywhere.
Couldn’t check out, fast enough.

The combination of bulletproof glass and the front-​desk staff’s Stalinist approach to hospitality make for a jarring check-​in experience at the SeaShell Motel. One can only shrug their shoulders as they peek toward the powder blue façade of the courtyard with its Tiki Hut refuge. Upon closer inspection you realized you’ve been duped as the attendants close the white picket gates that looked so inviting a minute ago. The mirage you thought was a Polynesian paradise in Florida comes into full view; faux grass that would give a Dallas Cowboy turf toe and a tube TV that perpetually plays Formula 1.
The communal kitchen reminds me of the time I was a classical archaeologist in Pompeii. Everything was covered with a light yellow film like a layer of volcanic ash. Housekeeping can only do so much with the aging property and even if they could submerge the whole thing in bleach, it would still look like a Slovenian shanty. In many resorts, if the cleaning crew disturbs you, they come back. Here they clean around you leaving a dust outline like an old-​fashioned mystery movie.
I could show my girlfriend the monkey brain-​eating scene from Faces of Death and she’d still be more horrified by this hostel/​motel/​mostel. It’s not a place for your significant other, however it still serves a purpose. A fishing, diving or drinking jaunt where you only need a secure area for your belongings and a place to sleep… BOOM this is it and the location is prime, just a block over rooms go for hundreds a night. It’s the top of a triangle where the other points would be the Hemingway Museum and the Southernmost Point of the United States. Couple the location with the free and speedy WiFi, proximity to the water’s edge and the blow-​out price of $ 20 per person and the «Sheesh» Motel is the budget place to beat in the Keys.

Before I begin my review I just want to say that I would have never booked here had my traveling companions been more organized. I usually book at the Sunrise Suites– never had a bad experience there. Moving on to the review:
The room was smaller than I expected. It was clean and the bathroom smelled like cleaning products (which was a good sign). No carpet in the room (that’s the reason for two stars). I stated in a room with two double beds and a twin, the twin is located in what should have been a closet, there is literally about 15 inches of room left on one side of the bed and 2.5 feet at the foot of the bed with a light directly in front of the doorway turned on by pulling on a twine. The next room has to double beds, adjacent to one another, a small nightstand between them and a little dresser with a tv on top. Simple room, no frills. The room itself was not horrible, a little snug but we didn’t come down with the intention of hanging out in the room so it worked.
One thing I hated about the hotel is that there isn’t a pool. What a bummer man! We hit up Dante’s instead but it definitely made me not like the hotel at all.
Check in is kind of wierd, the staff attends you through a little window and make you sign off on a scary looking form stating you won’t have visitors, you won’t make noise, no alcohol, and a few other things or you will be charged. It made me nervous but in the end we didn’t have any issues. I was mostly worried about the alcohol since we brought a cooler full of love in anticipation of hanging out by the non-​existent pool but since we took our party elsewhere it didn’t matter anyway.
I’m debating on writing my own bill to the hotel for services provided during my stay, I’ll explain: after we got back from bar hopping we noticed the remote wasn’t working, office closed so we programmed it ourselves. Another maintenance job we did was cleaning out the filter in the room ac because we noticed the room wouldn’t cool down. There was a good half an inch of dust that needed to be scrubbed off. I think we deserve a credit at least for the upkeep.
There is limited parking available, get there early and do not move your car. Walk or cab it around the island.
All in all it wasn’t the worst experience of my life but it was far from the best.

Not worth the money. It’s a better idea to rent a car and find some place to camp. Extremely overpriced. Inconsistent rates. Spotty wifi. One bathroom for 12 people. Don’t waste your money here.

For forty bucks I wasn’t expecting much, but there was no wifi in the room at all, and the bright light bulb outside my window all night was like being in hell. The door to the street had gaps all around it making the street noise loud at night, too. Oh and you can’t put soiled toilet paper in the toilet you have to put it in a garbage can next to the shower. I won’t go into the girls coming in at three am, whispering and rustling around and flushing for forty minutes and their alarms going off at six thirty am. Or the plastic mattress and pillow. Yikes.

This place is so bad. I didn’t wait to get home to write a review. There are Mosquitos everywhere. Huge giant roaches. The place smells bad. The paint is peeling off the walls. The shower curtain is full of mold. I think that if the right authorities see this place, they would shut it down. My wife opted to sleep in the van, I followed here there a couple of hours later. Yeah it’s that bad. Will be taking pictures to forward to the right authorities. Avoid at all costs.

Good no frills hostel. I think much of the mess that others mentioned were by the guests. I was around after the staff cleaned my hostel room and it was really clean. People seem to track a lot of sand and dirt into the bathroom. I wore sandals the whole time so I didn’t mind.
The beds and pillows have plastic or vinyl covers before you put on linen, so I was hot and sticking to the bed and pillow until I laid my own towels over them and then it was fine. The ACs worked well which was good as it was hot and humid outside. WiFi is free and worked fine.
Service is good but sporadic. Sometimes hard to find the manager. I’d say its pricey for the hostel portion but I found out from someone else it was only $ 10 more than camping and the AC is worth much more than that…

because there are so less reviews and just bad ones everywhere I wanted to make a real review about all; check it:
PLACE
— the MOTEL/​HOSTEL is in a pretty ok-​safe area
— near the main DUVAL Street (but not too close to have the noise)
— 5 min to one of the free beaches there
HOSTEL /​MOTEL
— the beds are not that comfortable, like army-​beds, but you get new sheets and they are clean! (—- that’s what HOSTEL means)
— the Rooms are OK and are airconditioned, the shower, toilets etc. are FOR SURE not new, but you can manage to do your business etc… in the 10 Bed rooms is enough space to move (more than in some NEW YORK hostels!!)
— Staff was pretty friendly, (speaks also german), if you complain; they give you another room [– that’s what I’ve seen when I was there…]
— wifi worked pretty good all the time
— you have to give your credit card details in advanced with a WORD-​Sheet, this is kind of «unsafe» but… :-)
— you may have also a BED if you just go there by chance (out of season; season is all what is not SUMMER :-))
REMEMBER: this is key west, that’s pretty close to cuba (you do not see cuba! :-)) etc. so the CLIMA there is TROPICAL so you WILL see for sure a lot of insects, bugs, lizards etc. In the outside area [which is pretty ok to sit, eat, and relax] you may meet rats! :-)
my stay in this hostel was cool, but (because it is the only one) seriously overpriced :-) I was there at a weekend for 3 days and had a good time!
— a lot of german people in this area, I met about eight german guys in this hostel :-)
if you want the cheapest key west experience; go here!
if you are scared about all moving animals; stay at home! xD

Be careful when you reserve a spot at this hostel.
A friend and I had to reschedule a trip to Key West. This place does not give refunds for cancellations, and they were completely unhelpful with moving the reservation. I was treated not like a paying customer, but like some sort of crook or cheat.
I was polite at all times, but it was obvious that once they had my money, they could care less about me.
I can’t say anything about how nice it is to stay there, but based on my experience with them so far, there are many better places you can do business with.

I had a reservation at this hotel last June. I sent a credit card number to hold the reservation and confirmed the reservation over the phone. When I confirmed the woman helping me said they had my reservation and credit card number.
When I arrived, the office had been spontaneously closed an hour early. I tracked down an on-​site manager name Mike who threw a fit because I had disturbed him watching his game show. He had closed the office early to watch TV and now he was upset with me because I needed to check in.
He said all the arrivals had checked in for the day and he couldn’t do anything. I explained I had a confirmed reservation and he angrily agreed to go back to the office to check on it. He found the reservation but refused to check me in because he had turned the computer off for the night. He said it was to much trouble to turn the computer back on to check me in. WTF? Mike was angry and rude and I was getting nowhere. I realized there was either something seriously wrong with Mike or he dislikes people in general. I offered to let him hold a credit card or some other deposit until the morning and then let the someone else check me in but he wouldn’t do it. I explained I had no other place to stay, had been driving all day long and didn’t know my way around.
He rudely told me to go stay somewhere else, there were plenty of hotels in the area. This was a nine o’clock at night on a busy day, so my chances of getting a hotel were slim. I would recommend everyone stay away from this place. I’ve never been treated that poorly by any business.