Florida Keys and Local Resorts Named to Prestigious ‘Best’ Lists

FLORIDA KEYS — Readers of Travel + Leisure have ranked four Florida Keys properties among Florida’s 15 best resorts in the prestigious travel publication’s recent “World’s Best Awards 2022” issue. In addition, the Keys were named to the publication’s list of “The 15 Best Islands in the Continental U.S.”

Little Palm Island Resort & Spa on Little Torch Key was ranked number two among Travel + Leisure’s “The 15 Best Resorts in Florida.” The property also was named among “The 100 Best Hotels in the World” by readers.

Describing the private-island resort, Travel + Leisure stated, “… this recently reimagined adults-only retreat in the Florida Keys is accessible only by boat or seaplane. The 30 water-view bungalows have no TVs, encouraging tropical revelry of a more laid-back nature (think kayaking and snorkeling).”

The magazine has identified the luxury property as the only private island resort in the U.S. “where the resort is the island and the island the resort.”

Three other Florida Keys resorts ranked among Florida’s 15 best: eighth-ranked Playa Largo Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection, in Key Largo; the 27-acre Sunset Key Cottages, ranked number 12 and located just off Key West; and Key West’s Ocean Key Resort & Spa, which tied at number 14.

“We’re tremendously honored that four of our Keys resorts have earned this distinctive recognition,” said Stacey Mitchell, director of the Florida Keys tourism council.

“Each of these resorts showcases our stunning wide-open spaces, unique experiences and elegant accommodations that visitors are seeking,” she said.

Readers ranked favorite activities, including access to white-sand beaches, to help select Florida’s 15 best resorts among the state’s more than 4,000 properties.

Naming the Florida Keys 11th among “The 15 Best Islands in the Continental U.S.,” the magazine stated, “Passionate fishers, boaters and divers flock to this string of islands, where they can take advantage of the only living coral barrier reef in the United States.”