Tranquility Bay Hotel and Resort is located about two-thirds of the way down the Florida Keys and we stopped here for a few nights on our way to Key West. There are various types of accommodation grouped around 3 swimming pools and the beach. We had a large room on the first floor with a delightful balcony with wooden chairs in a lovely part of the property towards the back. Some of the houses are on the beach and others overlook the water. In common with most places on the Keys, swimming in the sea is not good as it is full of sea grass although there is a roped off swimming area for those who wish to swim. We loved walking along the beach which was nearly always deserted with lots of sunbeds when we were there in November.
Right next door to Tranquility is the Turtle Hospital which rescues and treats injured turtles with the aim of releasing them back into the sea. This was a fascinating place to visit and just a few steps from our room at Tranquility.
There is an award winning restaurant called the Butterfly Cafe which was fabulous with a fabulous price to go with it. It is very highly rated locally and I ordered fillet mignon which was so tender and delicious. My husband had grouper, chosen because it is mentioned in so many reviews and has in fact won awards. It was judged as the best fish he had ever tasted! The atmosphere and service were lovely too. We decided to eat more cheaply on the other nights but the quality of the restaurant tempted us again so we enjoyed another delicious meal there.
It is a shame that there is not a restaurant on the property that serves breakfast. Some of the houses have kitchens so they can self cater but we didn’t so we went in search of breakfast locally. The only place we could find within walking distance was the Cuban Cafe right opposite the hotel. This looks and sounds very close to the hotel but getting across the main Keys Interstate 1 road was not easy! This Cafe is very popular with locals and came highly recommended. It is the opposite to the Butterfly Cafe at the hotel, having disposable plates and cutlery but we enjoyed breakfast there apart from the very sweet strong Cuban coffee! The food was all freshly cooked and came with piles of Cuban toast we couldn’t manage!
We would highly recommend a stay at Tranquility Bay and we particularly enjoyed strolling on the beach and relaxing on our balcony. On our last night after dinner we walked along the beach in the dark and sat on chairs at the end of the little pier gazing up at the sky full of stars. What a beautiful place and a great memory.
