What’s new in the Florida Keys and Key West

From 15 December 2006, divers can enjoy extra days and dives at Amy Slate’s Amoray Dive Resort, mile marker (MM) 104 bayside in Key Largo. Visitors who stay four nights can get a fifth night free, and those who take four dive trips can take a fifth trip free. Weekends are included in the offer.

The Amoray resort offers waterfront rooms and suites. A custom-designed catamaran transports divers and snorkellers to explore the clear, warm waters of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
For details, visit www.amoray.com

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Snook’s Bayside Restaurant, located at MM 99.9 bayside in Key Largo, shines after a complete renovation. The interior dining room of the popular bayfront restaurant, bar and wedding venue has received a complete makeover, from carpet to ceiling to fixtures and artwork. The bright new look, however, doesn’t overshadow the casual, friendly atmosphere long associated with Snook’s.
For more information, visit www.snooks.com

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The Florida Keys History of Diving Museum in Islamorada is now open, featuring one of the world’s greatest collections of antique and historic diving equipment.

Guests begin their self-guided tour in the “Timeline of Diving” gallery with an introduction to 3,000 years of underwater exploration. The museum collection is presented chronologically and brings visitors face to face with some history-making dive gear — including the open-bottom Miller-Dunn diving helmet, which was invented and produced in Miami in 1916.

A separate gallery is dedicated to Art McKee, generally regarded as the father of recreational diving. McKee began diving with Miller-Dunn helmets in Islamorada in the 1940s and was the first underwater treasure hunter to turn his work into a tourist attraction.
The tour continues through the Parade of Nations, an unparalleled collection of historic hardhat dive helmets from 25 nations around the world; to scuba and mixed-gas diving; to “Into the Abyss,” a gallery featuring authentic 900-pound deep-diving suits.
For more information, visit www.divingmuseum.com

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Talk about a trip up the Lazy River — the Kayak Shack located at Robbie’s Marina, MM 77.5 bayside in Islamorada, is offering motor-driven kayaks for rent. Each kayak is powered by a six-horsepower, four-stroke removable Honda engine driving a small jet outlet (no propeller). Throttle and steering are controlled by a single hand control.

The motor-driven kayak measures 11 feet 8 inches long and 3 feet wide at its widest point. It draws just four inches of water and its three gallons of gas should deliver about eight hours of drive time.  Though noisy, the jet-propelled kayak gets passengers to a fishing, bird watching or snorkeling spot in a hurry. Top speed is about 15 miles per hour.

For traditionalists, the Kayak Shack also offers single and tandem paddle-propelled kayaks, as well as guided tours of the local backcountry.

Visit www.floridakeyskayakandski.com.

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Crane Point’s serene setting belies the buzz of activity throughout the 63-acre park, located at MM 50.5 bayside in Marathon. The unique site is home to the Museum of Natural History, Children’s Museum, Adderley Town Historic Site and a system of nature trails leading through a dense tropical forest to Florida Bay.

Approximately 80 new signs are being placed along the nature trails to help hikers and strollers navigate the entire area.

The Children’s Museum is being refurbished and the existing building will feature a 10 to 12 minute orientation video to introduce visitors to the history and ecosystems found at the site. The popular 17th-century “galleon” called Los Niños de Los Cayos, an interactive vessel complete with pirate clothes and treasure, is being moved to a new location along the existing deck.  Kids and adults alike will love the new and refurbished touch tanks.
For more information visit www.cranepoint.org

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Guests at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, a private island resort located three miles offshore in the Lower Florida Keys, can now enjoy the cuisine of Chef Luis Pous at the resort’s acclaimed restaurant, The Dining Room. The Cuban-born Pous trained at Cuba’s National School of Culinary Arts and honed his craft at New York City’s Hotel Plaza Athenee and the Mandarin Oriental Turnberry Isle in Aventura, Fla., among others.

Known for his blend of French and Pan-Latin cuisine, Pous has created a menu focusing on modern tropical flavours. Standout dishes include yellowtail snapper ceviche with passion fruit and coconut gelee, roasted pork tenderloin with roasted corn, black bean, sweet plantain and bacon hash served with mango mojo, and coconut flan with mamey ice cream.

Little Palm Island offers guests an intimate tropical hideaway incorporating 30 thatched-roof bungalows, the Indonesian-inspired SpaTerre and a private marina. The Dining Room was voted the best hotel dining room in the Southeast — and number three in the United States — by the prestigious Zagat Survey, the world’s leading provider of consumer survey-based restaurant, nightlife, travel and leisure information.
For more information www.littlepalmisland.com.

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Visitors can experience the Florida Keys’ underwater ecosystem without getting wet at the soon-to-be-completed Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Centre, located on the Key West waterfront at Truman Annex. Incorporating 6,400 square feet of interactive exhibits, the centre is to be open on a “preview” basis beginning 17th October. A grand opening is planned for January 2007.

The centre showcases the underwater and upland habitats that characterize the Keys, with an emphasis on North America’s only living contiguous barrier coral reef, which parallels the island chain. Through interactive and touch-screen modules, text and audio/video components, visitors can explore the region’s hardwood hammock, mangrove, patch reef, seagrass, deep shelf and Dry Tortugas environments.

Highlights include a walk-through version of the Aquarius Undersea Lab, the world’s only operational underwater laboratory, now located off Key Largo. Those who venture inside Aquarius can hear actual recordings from the lab, take interactive video tours of the Keys’ undersea world and view indigenous fish and sea creatures through the lab’s “portholes.”

The creation of the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Centre is a cooperative effort of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, the National Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the South Florida Water Management District.

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Couples with an “Ernest” desire to marry can opt for a ceremony performed by “Papa Hemingway” himself at Key West’s Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, 907 Whitehead St. Hemingway look-alike and licensed notary Bob Orlin is now available to perform ceremonies in the landscaped gardens of the home where the legendary author lived and wrote throughout the 1930s.

An artist by profession, Orlin has spent the past decade following in Hemingway’s footsteps, sharing his lifestyle and adventures from bill fishing in the Gulf Stream to an African safari. He is an avid collector of Hemingway books and memorabilia, and has competed for 14 years in Key West’s annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest.

The Papa Wedding Package, a daytime package allowing up to 30 participants and guests, includes the services of “Papa” Orlin to perform the ceremony, a tropical bridal bouquet and boutonniere, CD music, chairs for the ceremony, and an hour’s use of the Hemingway Home’s gardens for wedding photography. Cost is $1,495.

Orlin’s services also are available in conjunction with other Hemingway House wedding packages. For information, visit www.hemingwayhome.com.

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The Hyatt Key West Resort & Marina, 601 Front St., is undergoing a $9 million renovation to both private and public areas of the 118-room property fronting on the Gulf of Mexico. Renovations include a complete redesign of the lobby, upgrades to the pool deck and bar with teak furniture and new lighting, and new spa services in two fully equipped wet-treatment rooms, three stylish poolside cabanas and a luxurious private treatment room. The property’s guestrooms are receiving new interiors with a modern tropical flair. Highlights are to include white porcelain tile floors, bamboo-veneer furnishings, Hyatt’s trademark Grand Bed, tropical fabrics, contemporary artwork and new outdoor furniture on each room’s waterfront balcony. Guest bathrooms are being renovated as well, with walk-in showers and barrier-free layouts opening onto the bedrooms.

Other amenities include wireless Internet access, water activities from the property’s marina, a private sailboat for sunset cruises, an on-site fitness centre, meeting and banquet space, and the full-service Nicola Seafood restaurant.

The renovation is being undertaken in phases, with completion of the entire project targeted for spring 2007. For information and reservations, visit www.keywest.hyatt.com