Have you ever dreamed of a romantic vacation in one of those Maldives’ overwater bungalows? We constantly do... But with the sky high prices and the pandemic keeping us grounded, that trip is further and further away!
Fear not! We found the next best thing and it is right here at home! To be more precise the Tiki suite is 15 minutes away from Key West by water taxi!
The adventure begins with a long list of instructions you will receive from the host! Important items on the list: No kids allowed, only two adults per stay. You have to arrange your own water taxi ride and pay for it separately. The round trip comes out to $60 for the two passengers. Not bad considering the ride will only include you and maybe another couple, staying at a different tiki boat. The semi private water taxi allows you to take your bags in and out at your own pace.
Once you arrive at the tiki boat house two things come to mind “Wow this is super cool” and “I hope I didn’t forget anything because I am in the middle of the ocean”. The boat house is beautifully built. It has dark wood floors, vaulted ceilings, a lanai facing the ocean and a comfortable king size bed. There is also a small bathroom with a toilet and a shower-head together in the same space. There is no kitchen or heating appliances, just a small counter top with a coffee maker. The most beautiful features are the three French doors opening right into the ocean from each side of the room!
You have to bring your own food and drinks as well as the ice to keep them cold. They have a big cooler capable of keeping the ice intact for days! There is also a generator to turn on a small AC unit and a water heater for a short shower. There is no TV in the room, One nice perk is an Alexa that can turn off the lights on command! Needless to say WiFi is good too!
Once you are all settled in ... Let the magic begin! Unobstructed sunsets and sunrises are guaranteed! Think... your favorite romantic song playing in the background, the ocean breeze caressing your face while you lay on a hammock over the water hugging your significant other and admiring the stunning sunset!
The afternoon gives way to a dark night where the only things you see are the small shore lights in the horizon! A strange feeling sets in that is both scary and freeing at the same time! Hey, you can walk around naked if you want, after all the fish won’t talk! We slept with the doors open and the soothing sounds of the waves crashing against the tiki boat house.
The next morning, go swimming, snorkeling (equipment comes with the rental) or use the paddle boats that will be waiting for you at the tiki home. There are countless fish and maybe even a dolphin or two to see out there. This is the perfect adventure for honeymooners, couples looking to reconnect and parents who want some alone quality time (aka us jejeje)
Here are some things that happened to us, because life is not all magic... We forgot our phone chargers and there was nothing we could do. At some point we were completely cut off from the world and our kids back at home. We took some food items that did require a little heating up and we had to throw them away (no microwave). In the morning we were quickly whisked away by the water taxi company because there was a storm approaching... We had to rush from the paddle boats to the room and pick up the bags super fast to basically evacuate under intense rain showers! Thirty minutes later, the sun was shining, typical Florida weather. Unfortunately by then we were gone, so we did loose valuable time at the tiki suite.
The experience is definitely unique and it comes with a price tag of $600 a night booking through Airbnb. This includes the base price, plus cleaning and service fees. Add the $60 for the water taxi + food, drinks and ice. At the end of the day you could be near the $800 dollar mark.
Here is another secret revealed... it’s booked months in advance!
Hope you enjoyed reading our experience and as always we appreciate any feedback and love answering your questions. Disclosure, this blog was written base on our own experience. This was not sponsored and we would never recommend a product or service we did not try.
Love always,
Saj .
