The Jasmine House is a wonderful place to stay. 5 of us rented the 3 bedroom garden suite for a week, which is the entire bottom floor. The location was absolutely perfect. The Jasmine sits on a nice quiet street, yet we were only one block away from the action on Duval. The house was very clean, comfortable and casual. Linda (the owner) was very accomodating and just a call away if we needed anything or had questions re: Key West. One of the best amenities in the garden/honeymoon suite besides the hot tub, was use of the washer and dryer. It came in very handy for all of us. I can't say enough good things about this place. I wouldn't want to stay anywhere else in Key West!!! Since the recommendations on Trip Advisor was a major factor in our decision to stay at the Jasmine House, I figured it was only fair to share our experience and photos as well.

Read the reviews and saw the pictures of the Honeymoon Suite so we booked the Honeymoon Suite as it looked great.

Wicker Room - Info:
One of our nights we stayed in the Wicker Room which is the second room in the hallway when entering the Jasmine House. Price was cheap, under $100 so that was nice. Bed was very comfortable and the room was pretty nice.
Room included:
Cable TV
Mini Fridge
Clothes Hanger hanging under TV and above Mini Fridge
Small bathroom / closet remodeled into a bathroom with small shower.
Air Conditioner
Large Mirror with good sized desk area although it's not really a desk.

Overall the room was nice and comfortable however the door to your room was an In-swinging French door. Normally very nice and this door was nice however it offered very little privacy. Inside your room on the door you have 2 curtains. 1 white curtain to let light in from the hallway and then a blue curtain that can be pulled over the white curtain to provide privacy ( well as much as it could I guess ) If anyone wanted to look in im sure they could make out whatever you were doing even with the darker shade pulled.

As far as privacy is concerned here it's pretty much out the window. The room was good, especially for under $100 but if your planning any romance etc.. then my advice is to you to book another room or hope that everyone in the other rooms are passed out drunk and then turn on the romance as quietly as possible.

Also the Innkeepers little office area is located right outside your door so if someone is checking in etc.. you will be there to hear all the details etc..

Toilet wasn't big on flushing which was something I read in other reviews as well. In this room it takes 3-4 flushes to get a tab of toilet paper to flush.

If your looking for privacy then you should look somewhere else. If you want a room to just pass out in then this is it. If you plan on spending anytime in your room besides sleeping then I would recommend something different because that's all this room was good for.


THE HONEYMOON SUITE - NICE BUT NOT AS PRIVATE AS SAID

We stayed in the Honeymoon Suite as well. First off for the price, under $200 it is actually a bargain. I have stayed in Holiday Inn's and Marriots for more money and had so much less which was why we booked this room, well that and for the privacy we were told we would have.

The Bedroom is nice, decent bed, not as nice as the cheaper Wicker Room's bed for some reason but still decent. Ice cold A/C in the bedroom with plenty of closet space and a TV. Door to the bedroom has about a 2 inch gap under it and it opens directly into the hallway of the house so again it kinda makes you feel like privacy isn't wanted here for some reason. To enter your room you walk past the 2 porchside rooms to a door that opens to a little telephone like room with 2 doors that open to your suite. 1 door opens to your bedroom and the other door opens to the kitchen area of your suite. Got the feeling that any noise in the bedroom could certainly be heard by anyone in the hallway so I didn't really like that.
Bathroom was nice. Good sized shower with light and alot better water pressure than the Wicker Room. To flush your toilet you have to hold the handle down until it completly flushes otherwise it won't flush. Once all of the water is out of the bowl you can let go of the handle. Again, at least if flushes. Don't get scared, it will.
Kitchen was nice. Full sized fridge, stove, microwave,dishwasher,garbage disposal, blender and coffee maker. Nice to have all of those options.
Living room area was nice. TV with Cable, couch, dining table and leather reclining chair. Good stereo with Cambridge Soundworks speakers built into the ceiling and walls. Bar area as well with 2 stools.

SO CALLED PRIVATE BACK PORCH -
Now as you can all see from the pictures the back porch area looks beautiful and it is. Here you have a hottub that for some reason was set to over 90 degrees which in 90 degree weather is kind of odd but maybe that's just me. I'd like to sit in a little cooler water to cool down a little and relax. The hot temp made it bearable for very short periods of time. Weber grill was nice to have. Used it alot. Hammock lays basically over the grill so if you want to use it after grilling you may want to wait awhile for the grill to cool down. Have to take the hammock down as well when using the grill as it will just get in your way.

Now we were told that the back deck area is completely private however nothing can be farther from the truth.. Sure it's beautiful looking but it's not private. All you have to do is look up to see the 2 windows of the "Treetop Suite" looking down on you. Also, the deck area for the "Treetop Suite" also sits on the corner of the back deck. You won't notice it really until you are sitting on your "Private back deck" and you hear the occupants of the Treetop Suites entire conversations and vice versa. I was grilling and I turned around to notice that I could see the people who were staying in the treetop suite sitting on their deck area and they could see me. The only way this deck area is private is if the "Treetop Suite" is empty and if the Innkeeper isn't around as you will be fighting for deck time with his as well.
This is another thing about the place. I don't blame the Innkeeper for this as he has a job to do but the setup is all wrong. Behind the grill is the Washer & Dryer. This is located on your "Private Back Deck" under the "Treetop Suites" deck. The Innkeeper must access this in order to keep the place in clean towels so he will be stopping by and doing laundry. Also his tool shed is located off of your "Private Back Deck" so if he needs any tools again, he will make an appearance. He tries to keep the appearances to when you are out but it seemed like he was always around waiting for you to leave and you always have that feeling that whenever you were out you knew he was in your suite and when you came back you were always thinking "I wonder if he's in our room" and most of the time he was. It's not his fault as he has to get to this stuff to do his job but this stuff needs to be moved so it can be accessed without going into your suite etc.. Also at anytime if the innkeeper thinks you are out there is a chance he will come walking in. A couple times I had to start making noises to make sure he wouldn't come walking in to do the laundry etc.. The door that opens to the little telephone type room that has the 2 doors to your suite can be opened by anyone so it's kind of an annoyance. At no time here did I feel like it was totally private. It was very disappointing as my girlfriend and I just wanted to sit back and relax and not wonder if someone was going to come knocking or walking into our suite or if we had peepers in the room above if we were on the back deck.

I know it probably sounds like I am paranoid about everything but im not. It's just the feeling you have when you stay there. Everything looks nice but you will have more privacy in a cheap motel unfortunately and it's a shame because the place looks nice.

They also have a "Quiet time is 10PM" rule so don't plan on partying etc.. There's alot to do in Key West but when your done doing alot of it you want to kick back and relax, not kick back and try to relax and wonder when someone will come knocking.

I might consider staying here again but I doubt it unless I went with a large group of people and we rented out the entire place.


FUN STUFF TO DO IN KEY WEST:

Snorkeling: If you are going to snorkel which I suggest you do I highly recommend you snorkel with Sunny Days Catamaran. To get too walk down Duval Street toward Mallory Square. Take a right down Greene Street right after Sloppy Joes Bar. It is located at the end of the street.

----

We took the 2 Stop Reef Express for $35 each. You get free soft drinks if you go in the morning and free beer and soda in the afternoon. For $35 you go on a 3 hour snorkel trip with 2 stops on a "living" coral reef. Key West is home to the 3rd largest "living" coral reef in the world and it is a site to be seen.

We had went on the Sebago snorkel tour before and it took us to a dead reef for a short period of time and we didn't really see much. We asked a bartender who happened to be from our general hometown area and he recommended that Sunny Days were the people to go snorkeling with as they don't overbook and pack people on the boat like cattle so you are snorkeling with people all over you and he was right. Sebago sails out to the reef which takes a good amount of time. The Sunny Days catamaran powers out to the reef and you snorkel in 2 spots for about an hour each. Just before our first snorkel spot time was up the Sebago boat arrived and after our second spot while we were going back we passed to Sebago boat which was slowly heading back to dock. Sunny Days gets you there faster and gives your more time to snorkel plus the crew are very nice. It is customary to tip at the end of your tour so hang onto $10 or so when your trip is over to tip the crew.

There are loads of fish on the reef from small to extremely large. I had 4, 6ft fish swim right by me. I'm 6ft tall and when I looked up from photographing a nice 2 foot Parrot fish I saw these guys and they scared the crap out of me. They were harmless but just the intial shock of seeing something like that come out of nowhere and being that big had me thinking I was sharkbait. Once I realized they weren't shark I quickly snapped off a few pics.

Bring a camera!! We got 2 Kodak Disposable cameras to take with us and they were used up quickly so unless you carefully plan your pictures I suggest you get a few. I wish I had an underwater case for my digital camera as the pictures would have been so nice. The disposable did a good job but unless you are a foot or 2 away from your target and in 1-2 feet of water you won't see too much.. If you see a barracuda down below and you snap off a pic you will just basically see it's shape. The water is crystal clear so you would think the camera would take better pictures. If you have a digital camera and want some beautiful pictures get a underwater cover for it and you will be very glad you got it. There is so much to see on the coral reef.


THE KEYWEST BUTTERFLY AND NATURE CONSERVATORY -
On Duval toward the Southernmost Point area and South Beach.

----
Hundreds of butterflys with small birds, turtles and koi fish. Bring the Camera. 10 bucks a piece and you can go in and out all day up until 4:30 with your admission.

WAVERUNNERS
Located on Front Street, just off Duval a block or 2 after Sloppy Joes.
Go to the Hyatt, walk past the lobby, past the turtle pool, around the pool and to your left after the parrot you will see the Waverunners. It is $110 for the tour which goes around the entire key west. For the price you can have 2 people go on the 1 waverunner. These guys rent out the best waverunners on the island and for a good price. Even with 2 people on these Yamaha Waverunners these thing fly and handle excellent. They take you around all of Key West and point out various things for you. If you just want to open up your ski which happen to be some of the fastest on the market right now, they have no problem with it. They actually have 2 locations but this is the location we went to. The other one is somewhere near Mallory Square. If using these guys which I recommend you do just walk into the Hyatt Parking Lot past the gate, past the lobby etc.. Don't stop at the guy in the booth just after the parking lot as they are some other company.


BEACHES -
Go to FORT ZACHARY TAYLOR state Park beach.
An 87 acre state park with a pre-Civil War Fort. Wonderful sunset views. One of the best beaches in Key West, though a bit rocky. Public restrooms, food/drink kiosk, chair rentals, picnic tables and BBQ's. Admission charged. Entrance through Truman Annex at Southard Street.

Advice against walking in unless you are staying right by the Truman Annex as once you are in the park it's a fairly long walk in the heat on the hot top to get to the beach. We drove in and watched all these people look like they were dying of the heat not realizing how far of a walk it was to get to the actual beach. They have a food/drink area and a rental area. If you haven't gone snorkeling on the reefs or even if you have it is worth it to rent a snorkel set here. Just stay close to the rock piles and you will see all kinds of fish in anywhere from 1 foot of water to 10+ feet. I watched as people swam by me having no idea that directly below them I am looking at 4 foot fish just swimming around and sitting there. Around the rock piles you will see alot of tropical fish, schools of fish and even like I said larger fish. I saw a 1.5 foot Parrot Fish in a foot of water just hanging out under a rock.

Jasmine House is totally charming, stayed in the porchside bedrooms and they were perfect. The location couldn't be better--did not move the car for the entire stay.

Dennis, the manager who lives on the location, was accomodating and fun!

The Inn is lovingly cared for and I will return. Tried to book for Halloween but no such luck-full.

This inn is in a perfect location and is very clean. Also, the beds are very comfortable. However, it feels like you are staying in economical accommodations...so when you go during season and pay $150/night, it doesn't really feel worth it. There are a total of 3 rooms. The back room is their suite which has a jacuzzi, a bigger bedroom, living room area, kitchenette and a normal size bathroom. The bathrooms in the other 2 rooms are smaller than you would find in a cruise ship. You have to have a sense of humor about it. This is a great place to stay for 2-nights since it's comfortable and clean. But, I would consider going elsewhere if you're staying longer than that.