My family and I have been vacationing at Kon Tiki Resort since 1996. I have been going there long enough to see a fair share of property and office managers come and go over the last 11yrs. Kon Tiki is now under new management and the changes are breath taking! The grounds are imaculant and landscaped beautifly. The staff is not only friendly but extremely caring and helpful. This is the 1st time in 11yrs. that I have seen the staff out and about talking with the guests. It made me feel like this is just what this small and personal resort needed, someone to care. I have truely enjoyed my visits to this inviting establishment.

Over the yrs. I have been able to talk with the cleaning staff at Kon Tiki. These are extremely hard working woman. At times cleaning more than 20 units a day. (I know I could not do it!!!) These are some of the most loving, and caring woman you will ever meet in your life! Next time you visit Kon Tiki, look for Kerrin (cleaning staff). You are sure to walk away smiling after a conversation with her.

Overall, the entire Kon Tiki staff is what helped make my vacation a wonderful experience. And I might add, I had my toddler daughter with me and was 8 1/2 months pregnant. Not many people or places could have made me happy at that point.... but Kon Tiki and the their staff did.

First off, i must say that i live in South Florida and i go to the Keys quite often. After reading a couple of the other reviews, i just have to laugh because i'm not quite sure what some people are expecting driving south of the Last Chance Saloon. The Ritz, The Omni??? Give me a break. People go to the Keys because they are the Keys. Everything is old, everything is plain and simple. You aren't supposed to sit in your hotel room and watch tv...you are in the Keys. You are supposed to be outside all day long, with a drink in one hand and a camera in the other (because you never know what kind of stuff you might see) having fun. The place you stay is supposed to be a place to lay your head down at the end of the night. That is what i expect when i go to the Keys.

With that said, i looked online, called about 20 different places trying to find availability and finally ended up booking Kon Tiki over the phone about a week prior to Memorial Day and i spoke to a very nice gentleman who gave me their last 2 rooms, #18 was mine and #17 was our friends. They were all the way in the back, up against the road...which i was a little worried about. We arrived late at night (11PM) and picked up our keys in the office mailbox and went in search of our house which we found without a problem. We opened the door to the screened patio and to our surprise, the place was very spacious and clean. Furniture was older (which i expected) but very comfy. The bathroom had been redone. Our friend's room turned out to be adjoining. Both places were 1 bedrooms which worked out just perfect. The only complaint were these "black slugs" as we liked to call them in various places on the floor inside and on the outside patio...but again, you are in the Keys, where there are many bugs.

The next morning we woke up and took a walk of the grounds and i must admit, it was beautiful. Very clean, very well kept. We trailered our boat, so we put that in the water with ease. When booking the gentleman told me there was no assigned boat slips to keep your boat overnight, but that it was first come first serve-which again made me worry. But after returning later on, we found the dockage to be ample and had no problems, especially during one of the busiest weekends around.

Kon Tiki has a very nice lagoon with lots of different fish-even a little shark, they have a pool-granted it wasn't fancy, but very clean, there was shuffleboard and hammocks and ample parking for trailers.

The location is on the Bay side which again i would have prefered the Ocean side since the purpose of the weekend was to go to the sandbar. But just a simple drive north and you arrive at the sandbar within 20 minutes. Our friends brought their jet skis and i was told at check-in that they don't allow jet skis on property, but that wasn't a problem either as there are other places close by that you can launch them as well. If you are looking for some good eats, be sure to check out Bentley's (my favorite) or Uncle's, both within a couple miles. Conveniently located down the street is the Trading Post which is where we stocked up on food and drinks for the weekend. And it turned out that we couldn't hear any road noise at night-so that made me very happy. One cool thing i found in each room is multiple diaries of the past people that have stayed in your room and their experiences. Pretty neat to sit down and read it for a little while.

Personally, if i go to the Keys again, i would definitely stay at Kon Tiki. Like i said before, i don't know what people expect when they hit the Keys, but maybe those people who complain should turn their car around and go home and stop clogging up US 1.

Thanks Kon Tiki...we will be back again soon.

If you are expecting a laid back property, clean but of an era on independant hotels in the Keys, this is it. It looks like it was built in the 60's and other than good maintainance, nothing much has changed. Its old Florida, not a Hampton Inn or a mega resort. Bring friends, a laid back attitude and appreciate the Keys before it's gone. The rooms were clean, bathrooms a bit small, staff polite and the dockage for your boat very good. The Kon Tiki faces the Gulf, and the pool is on that side. It has a lot of tropical foilage surrounding the hotel, washed rock parking areas, and a few cranes hoping that lucky fishermen will feed them.

As soon as I find their number, I am making another reservation for the weekend.

We enjoyed our stay, but our room was a little worn. Nothing that ruined our stay, just a few minor annoyances which management promptly addressed. We would definately consider staying there again. The units are all individually owned and part of a condo or co-op operation. That may explain the variation in condition between units, individual owners being reluctant to invest in upgrades and repairs. The grounds are beautiful and it's nice and peacefull. The pool and grilling areas, swinging hamocks, and dock are fun to use and explore. The staff is friendly and responsive to requests and questions. The better units with nice views and furthest from the highway are low numbered (ie: 3, 4, etc.). I wish the website had an overview of the property indicating the locations of the units.