Glunz Ocean Beach Hotel & Resort

This family-owned hotel is housed in a three-story oceanfront building and offers a beach getaway that's popular with families and couples. Guests are greeted in a pleasant, contemporary lobby with a beachy vibe. Dark rattan chairs topped with sea-blue cushions as well as sofas clustered around coffee tables provide seating, while potted plants and flowers add a fresh touch of greenery. Tropical paintings of beach scenes add a dose of color to the white walls and slate-colored furnishings. Though indoor public spaces are limited, there is lots of seating areas dotting the grounds, including garden furniture and padded lounge chairs around the pool. This hotel draws families as well as couples seeking a beach getaway.

The hotel is situated on Key Colony Beach with direct access to a private beach. There are a few restaurants within walking distance of the property, including the adjacent Cabana Breezes, which offers oceanfront dining and a bar, as well as Sparky’s Landing, a seafood restaurant that’s an eight-minute walk away. Key Colony Inn, a local favorite, is a seven-minute walk, while The Stuffed Pig, which has a garden patio, serves a regionally-famous breakfast and is a 10-minute drive from the hotel. Key Colony Beach Golf is a 12-minute walk away, while the Dolphin Research Center, which showcases dolphins and sea lions in saltwater lagoons, is a 10-minute drive. Florida Keys Marathon Airport is a nine-minute drive from the hotel.

The hotel offers a variety of rooms, suites, and villas with pleasant, if bland, decor that includes cheery yellow walls and wooden furniture. Some elements are a bit dated, like cheap, patterned bed skirts or bedspreads paired with matching curtains as well as tube-style TVs in some units. Amenities include flat-screen TVs, electronic safes, mini-fridges, microwaves, coffeemakers, and free Wi-Fi, plus villas and suites also have full kitchens with granite or tiled countertops and appliances including full stoves and ovens as well as dishwashers, some with stainless-steel finishes. Bathrooms vary, and some contemporary bathrooms have attractive wood square sinks with walk-in showers, while some Villa bathrooms have both showers and whirlpool tubs. Standard Rooms are quite small, but Suites and Villas offer more space. The duplex Oceanfront Villas are directly on the beach and have three bedrooms and three baths, as well as private patios, washers and dryers, and two-car garages. Not every unit has an ocean view.

The hotel has two outdoor pools with spacious sundecks lined with padded lounge chairs as well as shaded tables and chairs, plus there's a hot tub. Guests have direct access to a private beach with two fishing piers, though a few guests have complained that there is lots of seaweed in the water that washes up on shore. Though there's no restaurant or bar on-site, the adjacent Cabana Breezes & Tiki Bar offers ocean-side dining, a festive air, and a tiki bar that gets popular at night. The hotel has a small fitness room and yoga classes are sometimes offered on the beach (for an added fee). There's a small lending library in the lobby as well as a computer that's available for guests' use. Other amenities include gas grills available for use, on-site kayak and bike rentals, plus laundry facilities. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel