We stayed here twice about 5 or 6 years ago in the Orchid room.
Found it clean, pleasant, could sleep with no worries.

Ending a 2 week vacation in Marathon decided to try this place again, under new management. Drove in and asked wht was avialable, no reservations. Great 3 efficiencies left. Ok, not the same, but we said yes.

The only thing left was 3 efficiency units, ok, we took a lower level king. Looked at room first, 1st- the smell, old carpet musty smell
2nd rust on ceilig tiles, fixtures, one shade up another down, dirty tub, but checked the sheets and pillows and smelled clean and looked clean. Floors clean, toilet overall appearance fair.

After getting settled in, we realized yuk! We just felt "dirty", butdecided to stay it out. Walked the grounds, beer caps, water bottle caps, plastic cutlery, my biggest pet peeve, cigarette butts!!! all over the beach. Double yuk-gross! Garbage under bushes, not rimmed either, glass bottles in the water. I own a lodge, an if they would just pay attenion to detail. Maybe I'm fussing but come on- clean it up and spend some money on updating to make it a WOW place to stay. Sorry, won't be back.

My husband and I did a lot of research before deciding on the Atlantic Bay Breeze as our choice to stay between Christmas and New Year's (also celebrating NYE here complete with a free dazzling fireworks show from across the water!). I spent a lot of time in Key Largo growing up, but not as much in this area - even though it is just a few minutes south of Key Largo. We were extremely pleased with our pick. Just what we wanted - calm, relaxing, pretty area, clean, comfortable = "Keysie" in this sense. We loved it!

While there are very few beach areas in the Keys, the Bay Breeze has a lovely, quaint sandy beach area on the Bay side. As the other reviews mention, you won't want to necessarily swim off the shore (without shoes anyway), it is perfectly relaxing, clean, and calm with beautiful views, a dock to walk out on (or to dock a boat) and lots to marvel at in the water. A nice-sized pool (and heated!) with lounge chairs in very good condition all around.

We stayed in the Caribbean cottage with a nice porch (very happy to have had the porch with table and chairs, plus a grill right in front). The accomodations weren't resorty fancy-like, which is why we liked it, but very comfortable and clean inside. Everything we asked the housekeeper for we quickly got (ice, sheets for the futon, towels, and more) and she seemed very happy to help. Anything else, there are grocery stores not too far away (driving). And a bakery you can walk to with yummy sandwiches. Our cottage had just about everything we needed to cook with and a coffee machine.

I'm glad there are still places left like this in the Keys and we will definitely be back! We hope it doesn't change a bit!

We chose the Atlantic Bay Resort based on the private beach, location (10 miles south of Key Largo) and the description of the Royal Caribbean Suite.

The property is very nice. The beach is small and quaint, but offers nice views of the Gulf and the sunset. The dock is a great place to see all sorts of sea life in the shallow water - gars, rays, sharks and other fish and creatures. There is a small strand of mangroves to one side that seems to be home to a couple of iguanas that provided great entertainment while we sat beneath the palm trees. As mentioned in earlier reviews - this is not a swimming beach. The sea grass, rocks and other vegetation make it unappealing for swimming, but knowing this going in we weren't disappointed. Worth notng though. There were plenty of times over 3 days that we had the beach to ourselves or had to share with very few other guests. You can't really escape the sound from hwy 1 but we were able to get some genuine relaxation in. There is a man-erected, populated osprey platform visible from the beach and we saw an abundance of birds in including great blue and white herons and pelicans.

The suite was spacious and quiet and for the most part clean. The bathroom was clean and the private lanai was a great place to enjoy breakfast. There were a couple small issues worth mentioning - things you might not expect when paying a premium rate for a suite like this. The window shades were dirty and in a state of disrepair. Many of them could not be opened and closed, only pulled up and down, and there was a thick layer of dust on them which made closing them by hand unpleasant. There was no TV in the bedroom. Not a deal closer, but it would have been nice to have one. Finally, the kitchenette was well equipped with dishes and appliances, but you should plan to bring anything you might need including dish soap and sponge, coffee and filters and drinking water. Even with these negatives, we quite liked the suite and felt comfortable there. Perhaps we just expected that at the rate we payed a bit more attention to these things would have made a difference.

There is no ice machine but there is an ice tray in the freezer. The coke machine near the office was out of every option except for coke classic - no water, diet, sprite, etc...

The location was good if you don't mind being a bit out of the central area of Key Largo. There is a deli a block away, but anything else requires a drive. Key West was a nice day trip - 2 hours each way, and there are an adequate selection of restaurants within 10 minutes, The Old Tavernier was our favorite.

Overall the few problems with the property didn't affect our enjoyment too much. We really liked the quiet, private beach and the spacious suite so much that it allowed us to overlook the shortcomings. I'm not sure that we'll be back in the keys anytime soon, but we would at least consider staying here again if we are.

Because TripAdvisor was so useful in finding hotels for a recent trip to Florida, I'm repaying the favor by writing a review here. We stayed at the newly renovated Bay Breeze Motel/ Atlantic Bay Motel for two nights in early April 2007. (I am a working travel writer and food editor.)

It is truly a sweet little place, very representative of the laid-back culture of Key Largo, and definitely on the high end of the bargain options in the area. The grounds are fairly spacious, with sandy sitting areas, a hammock, and a very casual, tropical waterfront setting. I really recommend it for low-maintenance people who want to get away from it all in a beautiful, bayfront setting with tiki huts, grills, a dock (you can dock a boat there if you want), some very cool marine life, a gorgeous sunset view, and tons of coconut palm trees, yet in terms of the actual hotel room doesn't mind a bare-bones, slightly generic feeling (albeit very clean) space. BUT...

Although the hotel has a pool, it is not a destination for folks who want to swim in the natural salt water bay. In fact, only after arriving in Key Largo did we learn that there are no natural swimming beaches on any of the Keys, and of the man-made beaches, there are only a couple of deep water swimming holes in the entire island chain! (More on a couple of those later.)

While we had a great time relaxing here, we were disappointed to find that the so-called "swimming beach" was actually an expanse of shallow water (2-3 ft deep all the way to the dock, then only 3-4 ft max past the dock) filled with underwater plants, fish, and jellyfish the clung to the plants.

BUT... the plus side to this is that within five minutes of arriving, we walked out onto the dock (also new) and saw an undulating ray that was 2 feet in diameter, as well as a small shark, probably 3 feet long, that resembled a baby hammerhead! There were a couple of colorful tropical fish as well.

Anyway, it would have been a bit better if there had been a ladder installed on the end of the dock, so that you could avoid walking through the jellyfish-laden plants if you wanted to at least put a floatie in the water and float around in the slightly deeper water off the dock. One of the women we met had braved swimming and had suffered a few very minor jellyfish stings.

The people we met, by the way, were very cool. There were a few families, as well as a few very laid-back, outdoorsy lesbian couples, which was wonderful. My boyfriend and I are hetero, but it always feels great to see gay couples vacationing comfortably since mainstream America is still so homophobic.

We stayed in the Heron Room (the smallest room - more motel-like than the bigger cottages), which despite its diminutive size still had a refrigerator, two burner stove and small sink, as well as a coffeemaker, microwave, dishes, pans, glassware and cutlery for two (plus a dishtowel and dish soap!), which made it much more convenient to set up for a grilled fish dinner, although it definitely took some creative preparation to work in such a small space.

Great water pressure in the shower by the way. Bed not the highest quality but totally on par with what you'd get at a Best Western. Plenty of the easy parking. No ice machine, though - just a drink machine near the office. You have to drive to restaurants, which can interrupt the relaxing, but it's worth being in a quiet, remote-feeling spot. No phone in the room, and once it hits 5pm, the staff leaves so you're on your own. Make sure to check in before 5pm or if you arrange to come later (which is fine with them), ask for extra towels and that sort of thing in advance. The maid did not clean the few dishes and glasses we'd used when she made up our room on our 2nd day - and they were minimal - this is before we'd cooked the fish dinner.

Although the humidity made it hard to light the charcoal we had bought from the nearby Circle K convenience store (two blocks away on the highway), and the grills were damp from an afternoon squall (afternoon showers are very regular in the Southeast), we were still able to light a fire and grill the super fresh, super delicious fish (Cobia and Yellowtail Snapper) that we had bought at the Islamorada Fish Company market, part of a very worthwhile tourist area on neighboring Islamorada Key. Even the raw jumbo shrimp we got at the Winn-Dixie (for only $7.99/lb!!) were from Key West, and were incredible. We ate under a big tiki hut by the water, where a couple of big tiled tables have been installed permanently.

Next to Islamorada Fish Co. is one of the most idyllic cocktail bars I've ever been: Morada Bay Cafe. Everything that other reviewers said about this place is true: gorgeous bay view, preppy Caribbean plantation architecture, a giant, sandy expanse of beachy patio with Adirondack love seats, and drinks served in mason jars. It's expensive, and the food menu looked as if it was overpriced and not quite as creative and exciting as it made itself out to be, but we did not eat there. Just drinks. Totally awesome.

Where we did eat dinner: back on Key Largo, a place that was very highly recommended was Ballyhoo's. if you're looking for a straight up southeastern fish house experience, this is it. It's not fancy, but it's pleasant and the food is simple and excellent. Make sure to ask the waiter which fish are local and fresh however, because they do serve some fish that are flown in from the Pacific. I had a really great plate of fresh, local yellowtail snapper, prepared with their signature Meuniere sauce (worcestershire, garlic, lemon, sherry, etc), with a side of reaaaaaaaaaaally savory, perfect seasoned Cuban black beans and rice. Good pick.

Breakfast at Harriette's, and at The Hideout, were standard cheapie southern breakfasts with grits and lots of local flair. We saw one of the older biker couples from Wednesday night karaoke at the Caribbean Club, an AWESOME waterfront bar populated by salty dogs and long-haired ladies who've been tanning and wearing jeans shorts for decades, breakfasting off their hangovers at Harriette's (just like us). Good fancy coffee at Key Largo Coffeehouse.

Deep water swimming can be had in a pretty specific place: off the side of the road on a little stretch of land bridge called Indian Key Fill, which if I recall is right near Islamorada. It's around MM77 or so. Clear blue water, rocky coral shore, deep swimming, and endless open space. Really nice impromptu swimming spot, but by no means paradise with the road running right past.

Daytime locals at the Safari Lounge bar (good spot to stop for a frozen margarita) told me about a little park behind the library and the firehouse in the main village of Islamorada that had deep bayside swimming. It was a small beach by a playground and lawn, but enclosed by water shrubs, so not the most picturesque, but could be perfect for a family looking for a safe, enclosed space for a swimming day.

All in all a great trip full of character and relaxation, considering our hotel room was only $99/night pre-tax. Not bad!