During a recent trip to the Florida Keys, my friends and I stayed at the Hungry Pelican Motel in Key Largo, Florida. Since we are college students, we were trying to do our trip as cheaply as possible which was the main reason we chose this motel. While it was definitely not a 5-star hotel, it was good enough for our purposes. We were just looking for a place to sleep and didn’t need to spend much other time there.
The motel has 23 different rooms. They can sleep from one to four people. Some rooms include a kitchen but I heard that they were not well stocked with the pans and utensils necessary for cooking so I would not plan on eating your meals there. The rooms range in price from $60 to $220 per night. This rate is for two people and it is an extra $10 for each extra person. Beware, you are not allowed to look at your room before you pay for the night. I found this a little sketchy but our room was suitable. The rooms were pretty small and the beds weren’t the most comfortable but this was expected. It still beat sleeping in our car at the campground like we previously planned to do.
The Hungry Pelican Motel is located in Key Largo right of Overseas Highway 1. It is about an hour and a half drive from Miami International Airport. We chose this location because it is about half between Miami and Key West and we planned to travel to both during our trip. It is easy to find as it is right off the highway but far enough to not hear traffic noise at night.
A nice feature of this motel is the free rental of their paddleboat, canoe, and kayaks. The paddleboat was always out when we wanted to use it but there were plenty of kayaks for everyone. We took advantage of this a couple times and brought them out to explore the coast. We brought along our snorkels because there were some good places to hop out and swim around. The water is clear enough that you can see what is under you while you’re in the kayak to decide if it’s worth getting in. There are boats and jet skis around though so you need to be careful. We heard one couple say they saw a manatee and according to the owners dolphins come around quite often as well. Several people were always fishing off the motel’s pier for tarpon, bonefish, and snook. Fitting with the name of the motel, there are pelicans all over the place.
The free continental breakfast was not that great but there was juice, coffee, pastries, and fruit. We were usually able to eat our fill and take enough to last for the rest of the day, cutting down on our food costs for the trip.
Overall, I would recommend this motel to anyone looking for a cheap place to stay in the Keys. However, if you plan on spending a lot of time at the motel instead of exploring the islands I suggest you choose someplace nicer.
