Keys Houseboat Rentals

We stayed on the Tobbie Dee the beginning of July for a week. We were excited based on the website, to stay in «Key Largo», beautiful beaches, blue green water, restaurant on site, small beach, wow it was going to be great! Imagine our surprise to pull off Hwy 1 and see «croc crossing» signs then turn around the corner and see a run down hotel on the left and the boats on the right and both look like a motel 6. Straight ahead was the Office and restaurant building that looks like the 70’s. Was that the restaurant they rave about? Nope it was empty? The Tiki bar was to the left and that was where we could eat. So we dropped off all the luggage (it was after 7 pm) and walked to the Tiki restaurant. Food WAS great but not so good service and EXPENSIVE. The boat was old and the owner apparently doesn’t want to invest in it (said the manager when I called to complain in the morning). What was wrong? Two MINI fridges for a family of 6 and neither freezer worked (we found out the next day when we went shopping and all the ice cream bars we bought melted). The AC in the living room leaked on the floor, the AC unit by the back bed had mold in the vents and the walls were taped and painted over hiding behind the curtain. The armoire bottom shelf which was full of stuff and not a storage option for us, was broke and kept falling down. You are parked in a narrow waterway with dark green water and man groves (not a pretty view). The beach is small but full of rocks, not sand and you are not allowed to bring ANYTHING to eat or drink while on the «beach» (they want you to spend money at the Tiki bar). OH, and yes there are crocks, so swim at your own risk… ARE YOU KIDDING??? Sorry CPS worker, one of the kids I have was eaten by a Croc while we vacationed in the Keys… Now our bed in the back was fairly comfortable. The kids on the other hand slept on a rock hard futon (ever hear of memory foam???) with flat dead pillows and a pull out couch that was not much better and broke (metal busted) so we had to go to Kmart to get a blow up mattress for the boys to sleep on (teenage boys). And last but not least, if you have never been on a houseboat, ask about the bathroom/​shower process. Luckily we are smart enough to figure things out (because there were no instructions anywhere) but it was a process of elimination. The shower and bathroom floor are one and the same. Yep, you use the bathroom and can’t flush any paper in it (yes like third world countries you have to wipe and then put it in the trash next to you) and then pull the curtain in a circle around you to keep the water from spraying the sink and toilet. The water goes all over the floor and then you turn a knob and it sucks it outside into the water. No squeegee to move the water down the drain so the trash can gets pretty yucky from soap scum. AND if you happen to bring young kids who don’t understand how to operate the water pump and suction you end up having a child «go number two» and it gets stuck because they didn’t add water first… hmmmm what to use to get the toilet unstuck so that everyone else can use it? No plunger, no toilet bowl cleaner, nothing. ONe and a half roles of TP for a family of 6 for a week. REALLY??? We had to buy some. OK, enough bad stuff-​positive? They have a toaster, a blender, a microwave, TV with DVD player (no movies so bring some or rent REDBOX movies like we did), fishing poles (we left some stuff for the next person), a small cooler (for the stuff that didn’t fit in the mini fridges), silverware, pots and pans and a coffee maker and last but not least, a ironing board and iron… but no blow dryer. Would NOT recommend this place to anyone I know. Was NOT worth $ 1200 for the week mostly because of the area it is in… very ghetto. All that was missing was graffiti.

Gosh, where do we start. Well lets start with this, we rented the Tobbie Dee for 1 week. There were 6 of us (2 adults 4 kids). the size of the boat is ok as long as you have smaller kids. It was clean, the Tiki Bar has very good (but expensive) food, the master bedroom bed is comfy, the 3 A/​C units keep most of the boat cool and the manger was nice and answered all of our questions. Thats it for the 1 star rating now for why it should get ZERO stars. there are 2 mini fridges, neither of them is the freezer working. The older unit in the kitchen barely even keeps your food cool. Their website IS VERY miss leading. The so called beach is a rock covered area that you swim at your own risk (yes there are crocodiles in the area) although there have been no incidents we hae heard of, you shoulfd be aware. Cna’t bring your own food and drinks down to it either, your supposed to buy their food and drinks. Dont think for a second that your pulling into a «resort» its maybe a Motel 6 type resort, the boat is actaully parked next to mangroves and the scenry is not plesant, very mundane. This was our first experience on a houseboat and we were not aware of the no paper going down the toliet (would have been nice to know ahead of time). The pull out couch was so uncomfortable we ran down to Kmart and bought an air mattress. The Futon was also rock hard, but the younger kids were ok with it (hell they can sleep on a bare floor), but if you have teenagers or adults NO WAY will they be able to sleep on it.
Needless to say we would not recommend the Tobbie Dee, can’t say I’d recommend the area either.

Stayed on the Wisdom in April and loved the experience of sleeping on the water under the stars. Will definitely come back again.