Hungry Pelican Motel

We just got home from the keys. I booked the room because of the price. We will go back because of the great time we had. The room (parrothead room) was wonderful, clean, cozy, and much more than I expected. I will recommend this hotel to anyone who will listen. We will be back.

3/19/2007 We spent one night at The Hungry Pelican in Key Largo on our drive to Key West. We liked the cat greeting us at the Office and friendly person checking us in. Our neighbors moved a car so we could park directly in front of our room(the gecko). Room was tiny but cute, A/C did not work or we could not figure out how to get it working. Not much sleep during the warm night. We liked the coziness of the property and proximity to oceanfront. Tables and chairs on a small patio outside our room allowed us to meet the folks next door, 3 lovely women from Kalamazoo Michigan who were a blast to hang out with. We spent the following 5 nights in Key West but had the most fun at the Hungry Pelican. We would stay there again. So Shawn, Julie and Sue: so sorry we did not get up for b'fast. We were wiped out. Email us! Mo and Rachel

Very Clean. Very Cozy. Expect a small room, 50's era. Bring ear plugs as the AC is a little noisy. Friendly Staff. Within walking distance to a couple of resturants. Walgreen's & liquor store right down the street (walking distance)

A wonderful, inexpensive place to stay "on the water" in Key Largo. It is a 1950's-ish uniquenly Keys place to stay. The owners are on site, and each cottage is furnished in its own theme with different amenities in each. The property is on the Gulf with a dock and man-made beach. Kayaks and paddleboats are available for your use. The "continental breakfast" is complimentary, but consists of OJ, coffee, and packaged donuts/rolls--not much. The Marlin, where we stayed, had a full kitchen. Nothing fancy, but a great place from which to explore the Keys.

The Hungry Pelican offers incredibly views of nightly sunsets from its two, brand new, huge docks. What a wonderful gulf-front property. Our cottages were comfortable, clean and well-appointed. We could walk to area restaurants. The staff were very accomodating and kept the place immaculate. Quiet, tranquil with a beautiful view. We would definitely go back.

Excellant place to stay in key largo for the price. Will return next visit.

Read the bad reviews and thought how bad could it be so I booked a stay there. All I can say is believe the bad reviews. For the price you are paying in Key Largo you would expect something better than a motel quality room. Unless you are staying in the very expensive rooms your room will be NOISY (Hotel is right on Highway 1). Website is very misleading as it makes hotel look much nicer than it actually is. Webiste map makes no indication that many of the rooms are 20 feet from Highway 1. Bottom line is this place is a Motel. I would NEVER stay there nor recommend this place to anyone. There are a lot better choices in Key Largo. I am an experienced traveler. I have traveled around the world from $1 beach Bungalows in Indonesia to $1200 a night suites in Dallas. The Hungry Pelican is at the bottom of my list. Overall a very unpleasant experience for me.

I have been staying at The Hungry Pelican now for well over 5 years, 2 to 3 times per year. My longest stay there was for 3 days since we usually make that our stop on the way to Key West. After reading the bad reviews from other members I felt compelled to write my own. The Hungry Pelican is an older hotel that offers the original charm of the Florida Keys. They have a variety of rooms available and some of them are very small. Fine for a one night stay. They are not fancy but very comfortable. I always stay in the Rosette suite which is one of the nicest on the property. Yes I have seem some ants in the room but this is something that all Floridians have grown to accept as pretty standard. I have never had a problem with any of the staff, in fact they go out of the way to make sure that you are comfortable. The beds are very good, the linens are good quality, as well as the pillows. I think they do keep the air conditioning on low when nobody is in the room however the room I usually get has 3 units and cools down by the time you go out and enjoy looking out over the water from the docks. This is a great place for families, or a romantic get away if you are not looking for all the frills, and a nice nostalgic trip to The Keys. I have done alot of travel to the Carribean and The Keys and have stayed in many swanky hotels, I always wind back up at The Pelican because of it's home like feel and laid back atmosphere. Snorkeling off of the beach area is not the greatest but no place in the Keys really is,. For that look at Bonaire or Curacau. I snorkel off of the beach at The Pelican every time I have been there and always see some great marine life. Key Largo, and the Pelican is laid back old Florida Keys living and I love it. I hope the management reads this because the reviews that I read didn't really describe the charm you will find there. There are plenty of swanky resorts in the Keys if that is what you are looking for but they do not come cheap. If that is what you are looking for I would reccomend Hawks Cay. Don't be scared off by the bad reviews and give this place a try, I am sure that you will enjoy it.

Upon reading some of the other reviews, I have to laugh. We have stayed at the Pelican many times over the past 6 years and we love it. The staff is friendly, the place is clean and it's a good location. You get what you pay for, and we wanted a budget motel that was convenient for diving, boating, swimming and other water activities. Some people need to read Fodors review before they book, because it was very accurate. The place is definitely "Keys Kitschy", but it is not, and does not pretend to be the Marriott. It's a good place for people on a budget who want to enjoy a true Keys experience.

Some time back there was a change in ownership of this motel and the new owners have spent money doing the place up. Some of the previous negative reviews of this hotel are no longer relevent or accurite. The place was clean and well kept. I would quiet happily stay at the Pelican again and I think it is good value for money.