Baker’s Cay Resort Review: Beach Relaxation in Key Largo

Before a busy Disney World trip, we were looking for pure relaxation and beach time and chose Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo.

This fairly small resort is part of the Curio Collection by Hilton and has more individuality and contemporary island style than you’d expect from a chain hotel.

Baker’s Cay is one of the few hotels in the Florida Keys with a sandy beach (most on the island chain are rocky), which was a big factor in our decision to stay there.

The lush, tree-filled grounds add to the tropical, relaxing vibe, and the wildlife is plentiful—we saw dolphins, a manatee, and huge iguanas.

In this Baker’s Cay Resort review, I share the highs and lows of the hotel, including our thoughts on its rooms, beaches, food, activities, location, and more.

Contents

• Rooms at Baker’s Cay Resort
• Baker’s Cay Beaches
• Baker’s Cay Restaurants
• Facilities and Activities
• Location of Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo
• Baker’s Cay Highs and Lows
• Recommended For
• Cost
• Baker’s Cay Review Summary
• More Florida Tips

Rooms at Baker’s Cay Resort

Coconut Wing vs Hammock Wing at Baker’s Cay

The 200 rooms at Baker’s Cay Resort are divided into two wings.

The Coconut Wing is at the heart of the action and overlooks the main beach with the best beach and ocean views.

The Hammock Wing overlooks the much quieter Hammock Beach and is a little further from reception and the restaurants (although nowhere is too far).

There are many trees in this area so most ocean views are obscured with just glimpses of water through the vegetation.

If you want an ocean view in either wing, you must pay extra for a waterfront room. The cheapest rooms overlook the parking lot at the back and will have more road noise. If you want to spend time on your balcony, go for the waterfront.

I also recommend requesting a 4th-floor room (the highest level). This will get you the best chance of an ocean view (peeking over the trees), and in the Coconut Wing, you’ll have more privacy.

I loved our waterfront room in the Coconut Wing, but I would also consider a 4th-floor waterfront room in the Hammock Wing. It’s a little cheaper and a lot quieter.

If you want to watch the action, have a view of sand, or get to the main beach as quickly as possible, choose the Coconut Wing.

Our Waterfront Room in the Coconut Wing

We booked a King Waterfront room in the Coconut Wing and requested a 4th-floor room on arrival. We had to wait a bit longer (we arrived a little before the 4pm check-in), but it was worth it.

A large tree would have obscured our view if we’d been lower down.

We really liked our room. It was spacious with a King-sized bed (you can also book rooms with two Queens) plus a seating area with a couch, coffee table, and armchair.

It had all the facilities you’d expect—air conditioning, TV, coffee maker (annoyingly only with paper cups), an empty mini fridge, and plenty of storage.

The bathroom was fairly spacious, clean and modern, with a large walk-in shower.

The room decor was neutral and nothing special, but that didn’t bother me when I had a gorgeous view of the turquoise ocean.

Our balcony was a highlight, with two chairs and a small table. We had drinks, played cards, and ate our room service dinner here. It was ideal for watching the action on the main beach, and on the 4th floor, we didn’t feel overlooked.

The sliding doors to the balcony protected us surprisingly well from the noise on the beach, although we could hear live music on weekends.

The front door, which leads to a corridor open to the elements (overlooking the parking), protected us less well from the road noise, but it wasn’t too bad.

The biggest issue we had with our room was with housekeeping. On arrival and almost every day of our stay, the floors weren’t cleaned properly, so there was always sand around.

They also changed the towels every day (with no option to reuse) but often ran out. So, on several occasions, we came back to our room in the afternoon to find no towels and had to hunt some down.

Although our housekeeping issues were resolved when we brought them up, it was annoying at the price we were paying.

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Baker’s Cay Beaches

Baker’s Cay Resort has two beaches with very different vibes just minutes from each other.

Both are small and sandy with calm, clear, shallow water. The water is ideal for children or just hanging out with a cocktail, but you don’t have to go out too far to swim.

Beach towels are located in automatic machines. Use your room key (which is on a handy wristband) to open them and take what you need, and make sure you return your towels to the machine or you’ll get charged.

Coconut Beach

Coconut Beach is the main beach. There are lots of sun loungers (not padded sadly, but comfy enough) and floating platforms in the water that are a lovely place to relax.

There’s a water sports centre where you can borrow kayaks and paddleboards for free (more on that below), and a Tiki bar for cocktails and food (delivered to your seat).

Sometimes activities take place here—we played bingo one afternoon.

There are no umbrellas, but trees provide some shade. There were always sun loungers available on our mid-November visit.

Coconut Beach is by far the busier, noisier beach (with music playing), especially on weekends.

Our strategy was to start at Coconut Beach in the morning, sit in the sun and use the paddleboards and platforms, and then move to Hammock Beach by late morning/midday when Coconut Beach was busier and we got too hot.

Hammock Beach

Hammock Beach was our favourite beach at Baker’s Cay and really made our stay ultra relaxing.

It has a much more natural setting than Coconut Beach, under a shady canopy of trees with iguanas and squirrels darting around.

We loved how peaceful it was with far fewer people and more space between the sun loungers and Adirondack chairs scattered around.

Despite the name (which refers to the canopy of trees), there’s only one hammock.

Although it feels far from everything, you can order online to get food and drinks ordered to your chair, and the pool bar (with bathrooms) isn’t too far away.

We even saw a manatee while swimming off Hammock Beach!

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Baker’s Cay Restaurants

There are two restaurants and two bars at Baker’s Cay Resort. Plus a coffee cart with pastries in the lobby on some mornings.

You can charge everything to your room with your wristband, but note that a 20% service charge is added to all orders.

We had planned to eat outside the resort for some meals (most restaurants are a drive away), but we ended up eating every meal at Baker’s Cay during our five-night stay.

We loved relaxing in the resort bubble and found there was enough choice (even as vegetarians) to keep us from getting too bored.

We did bring some basic breakfast stuff, snacks, and drinks with us, though, and we’re glad we did. Breakfast isn’t included in most room rates and is quite pricey.

For the restaurants below, I’ve noted the opening times during our stay, but these may differ at other times of the year. You get an information guide when checking in with hours and special events.

Dry Rocks

Dry Rocks is where we ate the most. The restaurant has a large terrace (plus indoor seating) overlooking Coconut Beach. The food is Mexican-focused with the addition of pizza and pasta in the evenings.

The cocktails (with many variations of margaritas) were great and we enjoyed the veggie tacos, Mediterranean flatbread, and Key Lime Pie the most. The pizza is just ok.

I looked at menus for quite a few restaurants in the Keys and Dry Rocks has more vegetarian options than most.

There’s live music here on Friday and Saturday nights.

Dry Rocks is open from 11am until 10pm.

Tiki Bar

The Tiki Bar on Coconut Beach has some bar seating but most people (including us) order to their sun loungers.

There’s a wide selection of cocktails (including lots of fruity frozen concoctions) that we very much enjoyed and a lunch menu similar to Dry Rocks (tacos, salads, sandwiches etc).

The Tiki Bar is open from 11am until sunset.

Calusa

Calusa is a more formal restaurant on the top floor overlooking the trees and ocean.

It’s the only place open for breakfast (except the coffee cart). It’s a la carte with no buffet.

We ate breakfast here once and enjoyed our pancakes, avocado toast, and potatoes.

We skipped dinner at Calusa as the vegetarian options weren’t very exciting, but it does get good reviews. The focus is seafood and it’s more expensive than Dry Rocks.

Calusa is open for breakfast Monday to Saturday (7am -11am) and dinner (5-10pm) every day. On Sundays, brunch is from 11am – 1pm.

The Pool Bar

Much less visited than those above is The Pool Bar, which has a different cocktail menu (we enjoyed the various pineapple drinks) and some basic lunch snacks like grilled cheese sandwiches.

We would pop by here to grab a cocktail when relaxing on Hammock Beach.

It’s open from 11am – 5pm.

Room Service

Room service is another option at Baker’s Cay with a menu similar to Dry Rocks.

The $5 charge was worth it to us one night as we were able to eat on our balcony and save money with our own drinks.

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Facilities and Activities

Pools

There are two pools at Baker’s Cay—an adult pool and a family pool—separated by a waterfall.

They are set back from the beach, surrounded by greenery but closer to the road. They are nice enough but nothing special.

We preferred to hang out at the beach, but it’s good to have an alternative place to relax at busy times.

Note that the pools don’t open until 8am.

Water Sports

There’s a water sports hut on Coconut Beach where you can rent equipment or join fishing tours and sunset Tiki boat trips.

One hour a day of kayak and stand-up paddleboard (SUP) use is included in the resort fee. The gear is a bit beaten up, but it worked ok (make sure your SUP has a fin for stability).

Note that if you want to go outside the roped-off area and paddle down the coast, you’ll need to take a life jacket and whistle.

There’s a rather long waiver process the first time you borrow gear (take your phone to complete it), but after that, it was easy.

We did enjoy paddleboarding, but it was windy on our stay so it was hard work in one direction.

If you aren’t an experienced paddleboarder, be careful going outside the roped area and be aware of the wind direction (paddle into the wind first).

Other Facilities at Baker’s Cay

• Water refill stations throughout the resort.
• Store with basic snacks, drinks, and souvenirs.
• Gym
• Free bike rental
• Table tennis
• Pool table
• Library

Daily Activities

There are many free activities daily at Baker’s Cay, so the resort is perfect for kids.

You’ll be given a schedule when you check-in. You can expect activities such as:

• Daily fishing from the dock
• Arts and crafts
• Silent disco
• Beach bingo
• Trivia quiz
• Sunset yoga
• Boot camp
• Smores
• Family pool games
• Outdoor family movie night

Sunset Bubbly

Our favourite daily activity was the complimentary sparkling wine given out at sunset from a cart by the dock. It’s a lovely ritual at the end of each day.

Coconut Beach doesn’t have the best sunset view, but if you walk to the end of the dock, you can see the sun sinking below the horizon. Look out for dolphins—we saw them twice close to the dock!

Meeting and Function Rooms

There are various rooms for events in the resort. Weddings are very popular here in winter—there was one almost every night of our stay.

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Location of Baker’s Cay Resort Key Largo

Baker’s Cay Resort is located on Key Largo, the first island in the Florida Keys when driving from Miami. Find it on Google Maps.

Getting There

The nearest airport is Miami International Airport (MIA), 65 miles and about a 1 hour 15 minute drive to Baker’s Cay.

The resort is 95 miles and just over two hours from Key West International Airport (EYW).

You really need a car to access the resort.

We drove from Orlando (before our Disney World trip), which is five hours from Baker’s Cay. It took us 6.5 hours with two breaks, including getting lunch and stocking up with snacks at Trader Joe’s in Palm Beach Gardens.

Key Largo

Key Largo itself was a disappointment. It doesn’t feel like an island as a big highway cuts through the narrow strip of land, and you mostly can’t access the water except through hotels or private property.

That said, we didn’t explore the island as it was too windy to take the snorkelling trip we had planned. We also hoped to kayak through the mangroves at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.

I’m sure there are some lovely parts of the island, and getting out on the water is beautiful, but our first impressions weren’t great. That was fine for us as we wanted a relaxing resort stay anyway.

If you are looking for a running route, there is a path across the busy road outside the hotel. It was functional but not particularly pleasant.

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Baker’s Cay Highs and Lows

Highs

• Beautiful lush grounds.
• Stylish decor in common areas.
• Two sandy beaches (rare in the Keys).
• Quiet Hammock Beach.
• Ocean views from some rooms.
• Water sports (kayaks and paddleboards included).
• Lots of activities (especially for kids).
• Seeing dolphins and manatees.
• Fairly small resort so easy access from your room to the beach.
• Free bubbly at sunset.
• Good cocktails from all the bars.
• Decent vegetarian food at Dry Rocks.

Lows

• Very expensive.
• You can hear the road from most of the resort (we did stop noticing it).
• The beaches are small and loungers are close together on Coconut Beach.
• Housekeeping issues.
• Weekends are busier.
• Lots of weddings in the off-season.
• The charge for not returning towels to machines.

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Recommended For

Families and couples looking for a relaxing beach resort in the Florida Keys.

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Cost

Baker’s Cay Resort is expensive. In November, we paid $800 a night, including tax, resort fee, and parking for a King Waterfront Room in the Coconut Wing. Breakfast was not included.

Rates vary throughout the year, and a room without an ocean view is cheaper, but you can still expect to pay $550 a night, including all fees. You’ll have to decide if you’ll be happy with a view of the parking lot.

The $49 daily resort charge includes WiFi, bikes, paddleboards and kayaks, fishing rods and bait, various activities, daily sunset toast, and two aluminium water bottles (supposedly reusable, but I would bring your own).

Check Baker’s Cay Resort on Booking for the latest prices and availability.

You might find special deals if you are a Hilton Honors member and book direct on the Baker’s Cay Resort website.

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Baker’s Cay Review Summary

Your enjoyment of Baker’s Cay Resort will depend on your expectations. While you are paying luxury prices, this isn’t truly a luxury resort. Instead, you are paying for the location and the rare sandy beaches.

While the service (especially housekeeping) can be lacking, and the room decor is nothing special, we soon relaxed into the resort’s laid-back vibe and really enjoyed our stay.

We loved having an ocean view from our room and two beaches just minutes walk away. Hammock Beach was perfect for us as we always had a quiet place to relax, even on busier weekends.

We also enjoyed the free paddleboards, seeing dolphins and manatees, and many delicious cocktails.

While the resort is family-friendly with many free activities, it also works for couples looking for a quieter stay (although I’d avoid school holidays).

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More Florida Tips

If you are on a longer Florida trip, check out our guides to Disney and Universal in Orlando:

Disney World

• Best Things to Do at Disney World: Must Do Rides for Adults in Each Park
• Planning a Trip to Disney World on a Budget
• 21 Best Rides at Magic Kingdom
• 25 Best Things to Do at Epcot
• 24 Best Rides at Hollywood Studios
• 22 Best Things to Do at Animal Kingdom

Universal Studios Florida

• 11 Best Rides at Universal Orlando 
• 10 Best Rides at Islands of Adventure