This hotel actually has some real potential: The hotel staff were informative and courteous, and the room itself (we stayed in 2B) was nice enough looking, as was the bathroom, and the (clothing optional) pool was very refreshing. With a few major changes I would actually recommend the Pilot. Not in its present form though.

When we arrived we were shown the room which, on first glance, was to our satisfaction. Never again though will I view a room without testing the bed! We were told that the sauna/spa was inoperative for a couple of days, but to offset the inconvenience we negotiated a car space free of charge - a more than fair trade we thought (seeing as how we were only staying a night and were more interested in hitting sunset pier than wallowing in a sauna/spa). The bathroom was small but clean and was conveniently located at the far end of a large hallway.

After a few too many cocktails at Sunset Pier and a big feed on Duval we headed back to the hotel a tad early (getting old I guess!) and we were, I'm ashamed to admit, in bed by 10pm. Little did we know we were in for the longest night of our lives:

To start, the bedroom had no air con (I shudder to think what the room would be like in mid-July) and we had to turn the ceiling fan on its highest setting, which emit an incessant and high pitched whirring noise all through the night.

The bedroom also had two large windows (which I didn't open due to all the cockroach droppings along the window sills) which faced the porch and walkway where we could hear other guests coming and going as though they were right in bed next to us. The cheap white blinds and lacey curtains (yuck - these took me right back to sleepovers at nana's when I was a kid) let in the bright porch lights (which we had no option to turn off) so that our room was lit up like a Christmas tree all night long.

But the worst of the night was that we had to keep perfectly still or face the wrath of the noisiest bed in America: at the lightest movement the bed made the most ridiculous screeching and squeaking noises from its cheap metal frame. What kind of hotel has torturous beds that can't actually be slept in?! We were awake all night and pretty grumpy by the time we checked out.

So, with some better curtains, air conditioning, a new bed frame, and dimmed outside lights I might actually stay here again. That said, considering there was no continental breakfast or even milk for the one coffee bag provided (no tea, no sugar, no stir sticks) I don't actually think the (discounted) rate of $150/night would have been worth it anyway.

I will however highly recommend the frozen cocktails and quesadillas at Sunset Pier!

Enjoy your stay in Key West, just don't stay in room 2B at the Pilot. and you should be fine...

If you are traveling to KW without children this is the place to stay.
The staff is unbelievable, the guest house sparkling clean, and the compound very private. Access to Duval is at the back door.
I love the cabana rooms which are poolside. I cannot say enough to describe this property. I will never stay anywhere else as long as the Pilot House is there.
PS. I am a picky traveler and this place meets my standards. When in Vegas it is the Bellagio, in KW it is Pilot House. The old town locale is wonderful.
Helena

We loved this place.
When we are planning a trip, we do pretty extensive research before making final decisions about where to stay, where to eat, what to do etc.
We made the right choice when we chose The Pilot House Guesthouse.
It is beautiful and comfortable and clean and the staff was so friendly and helpful.
For some reason, we had the pool and hot tub all to ourselves for the most part, so it was like our own private paradise.
The pool, lounge chairs, and hot tub are all clothing optional, which suits us just fine.
We were lucky enough to have been given the 1A room at the front of the house. We had a porch where we could sit and read the paper and drink our coffee in the mornings.
The only thing that would have made it better is if they had fresh pastries waiting for us in the morning.
If we return to Key West, we will be staying there again.

This is our third stay at the Pilot House. We've stayed in three different queen bedrooms on the first floor in the mansion. Like before, this room was extremely clean, fairly spacious and had a nice sized bathroom. The Pilot House is in a perfect location, just two blocks from the best part of Duval Street and minutes away from Mallory Square. Even though they don't provide a breakfast, there's a grocery store at the end of the block and a refrigerator and microwave inside each room. The guest house is very quiet. Even when it's sold out, we rarely see anybody there. The pool is nice but unheated which is fine most of the time but in the winter months it tends to be a bit too cold for swimming. The secluded hot tub is one of best amenities of the property -- and even though clothing is optional, it's discreet and tasteful. They recently raised their prices and the off-season rates seem a little high compared to similar properties -- especially when a breakfast is not provided. We always rent a car and drive down and have never had a problem finding a spot to park on the street. We will definitely stay there again. It's a wonderful place.