Not Your Average Hotel Key West Review
Not Your Average Hotel (NYAH) Key West is a budget friendly option when staying in Key West. I recently stayed 2 nights in April 2024 and I got a little nervous a few days before arriving after seeing some not-so-great reviews online. However, I was reassured once we finally checked in! I think some of the bad reviews were due to people not doing their research beforehand. This is “not your average hotel” because it has private and shared rooms so it is almost a mix of a hotel and hostel.
Overall, my friend and I had a good stay and it was the perfect home base for our trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. I would recommend NYAH to anyone looking for a budget friendly option in Key West! This was not a hosted trip and below is my honest review of Not Your Average Hotel Key West!
Basic Information
NYAH Key West is an adult only hotel/hostel located in the historic area of Key West. It is the perfect home base for a weekend exploring within walking distance of many attractions!
- Address: 420 Margaret St. Key West, Florida 33040
- Phone Number: 844-399-6824
- Check in: 4 PM
- Check out: 11 AM
Amenities
Below are additional amenities provided at the hotel.
- Continental breakfast 8 AM to 10 AM
- Starbucks coffee and tea available 24 hours/day
- Happy hour 4:20 to 5:20 PM daily
- WiFi
- Multiple outdoor pools and jacuzzi
- Bike rentals (additional fee)
NYAH Rooms
There are multiple different room sizes, but the first decision you will want to make is if you want to stay in a private or shared room.
Private Rooms
The private rooms are a great option if you prefer more privacy and aren’t comfortable sharing a room with people you don’t know. The private rooms have multiple different sizes from 2 single beds up to 6 single beds. They also have room options with a king bed or 2 single beds and a king bed. If you are traveling with a group of 6 or less you can likely find a private room accommodation that will meet your needs!
There were only 2 of us on this trip when we stayed and the cost of the private room was significantly more than the shared room. Depending on your group size, I would check the prices to see which one is most cost effective for your group!
The private rooms include an in-suite bathroom, 1 set of towels per person, individual charging stations by your bed, private locker, hairdryer, and TV.
Shared Rooms
The shared rooms are co-ed or female only. My friend and I chose to stay in a shared female only room. There were 4 beds total in the room. The cost was around $120 per person per night for a weekend stay. Prices may vary depending on when you are traveling.
The shared rooms have bunk beds and include an in-suite bathroom, 1 set of towels per person, individual charging stations by your bed, private locker, hairdryer, and TV. The co-ed rooms are also 4 people per room. Your bed will be assigned to you at check in.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take any pictures of the room during our stay, but there was adequate space to move around the room and store your belongings safely. The rooms weren’t luxurious, but they were the perfect place to get some much needed sleep every night!
Why should I stay at NYAH Key West?
We chose this hotel primarily because we were looking for a budget friendly option. The total cost for 2 of us for 2 nights in a shared room was less than $500. When I was searching for a place to stay, most other hotels or Airbnb’s I looked at were around $500 per night.
There were a couple other reasons why we chose this hotel. The first is location, we were able to walk or bike to everywhere we wanted to go. It was only located 5 minutes from the ferry port to go to Dry Tortugas National Park which was the main reason for our visit to Key West which was an added bonus!
The room types were another reason we selected this hotel. The ability to book a female only shared room made me feel safer and I liked that there were only 4 people to a room. Other places I looked at could have up to 10 people per room. We ended up only having 1 other roommate during our stay.
My Overall Experience
Overall, our stay at NYAH Key West was positive! We enjoyed some of the hotel’s amenities including the free WiFi, pools, and bike rentals. Our check in and check out experience was smooth. We arrived early and were able to easily store our luggage for the day until we could check into our room. They also held our luggage after checkout since we had an evening flight. This allowed us more time to explore Key West.
Bike Rentals
We found it very convenient that we could rent bikes directly through the hotel and did not have to find another rental company. As soon as we dropped off our luggage, we rented a bike for the day and headed to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park! I highly recommend spending some time there if you are in Key West!
Pools
There are 3 pools and 1 jacuzzi. The pools are on the smaller side, but are perfect for having a relaxing day by the pool. We spent some time lounging and reading by the pool on our last day before heading to the airport. Pool towels are available from the front desk. We had no issue getting pool chairs and had most of the area to ourselves which was nice!
Continental Breakfast & Happy Hour
The hotel does offer a continental breakfast and happy hour daily. The breakfast included some basic items such as toast, cereal, fruit, etc. We opted not to eat breakfast at the hotel. The first day we had to leave early to catch the Yankee Freedom Ferry to Dry Tortugas. On our second day we wanted to catch sunrise and enjoyed breakfast at La Grignote (I highly recommend!) The breakfast at the hotel is fairly basic, but can provide you with enough to tide you over to lunch if you are looking to save some money by buying one less meal out. The happy hour included $1 off drinks. They had a selection of beers and hard seltzers available for purchase.
Other Reviews
The main negative reviews I read were about people who did not understand they would be staying in a shared room. However, if you’ve done your research, you should know what to expect! This was my first time staying a hostel style room and I would do it again!
I also read some negative reviews regarding the cleanliness of the hotel. In my experience, there were no issues with cleanliness. The room and shared bathroom were clean and I had no concerns during my stay.
Tips for Staying at NYAH Key West
A few tips I have is to pack your items in packing cubes. This makes it easier to stay neat and organized so you can easily keep your belongings in the locker throughout your trip. I recommend locking all your belongings in the locker if you leave the room.
I also recommend a sleeping mask and ear plugs if you are a light sleeper. There curtains were not the thickest and there was some noise from the pool area later in the evening. Overall, I was still able to get a good night’s sleep.
My last recommendation is to bring flip flops or shower shoes. You will be sharing a bathroom with others, so it never hurts to have a pair of flip flops you can shower in.
Ready to book your stay at NYAH Key West?
Overall, we had a great stay at NYAH Key West! The staff was friendly and responsive to any questions we had. The two biggest reasons I would recommend staying here is the location and overall cost. If you are looking for a 5-star resort experience, this is not for you. But if you are just looking for a place to safely store your belongings and a bed to sleep in, they have got you covered!
