The Marker Resort, located in Key West’s Old Town, is the first new-build resort on the island in 20 years. The modern and quintessential Key West resort is located steps from lively Duval Street and features lush tropical grounds, three saltwater pools, an open-air restaurant and bar for al fresco dining, and 96 spacious guestrooms—each with a private balcony. Recommend’s managing editor Deserae del Campo had a chance to chat about this new property and what makes it special with Michael Dwyer, director of sales & marketing, and Adelheid Salas, the hotel’s general manager.
Deserae del Campo (DC): The Marker Resort debuted this past December, so how’s business and where are most of your guests coming from?
Michael Dwyer (MD): Most of our guests are coming from the north and midwest regions, mostly domestic. Since May, we have also seen more South Florida local travelers, as well as guests from the UK and Germany.
DC: How large is The Marker Resort?
Adelheid Salas (AS): [The Marker] sits on two acres. We have 96 rooms, and all of the rooms are 400-plus sq. ft. The rooms have very large bathrooms with separate soaking tubs and showers, and each guestroom has a private balcony.
MD: They [the balconies] are great; they all are about 100 sq. ft. with a nice sitting area, so it’s really exclusive. Though we sit right in the heart of Old Town Key West, we still have exclusivity here. You really feel like you’re in a resort environment when you step onto the grounds…once you walk out the door, you have everything that Key West has to offer as far as watersports adventure, nightlife, and great restaurants. Mallory Square and Duval Street are both right around the corner, but once you’re on our property, you really feel like you’re within a very exclusive resort.
DC: What are your starting room rates?
MD: For the next three months room rates start at $199 to $399, and those are with some specials and packages that we are running through the softer booking months. Those rates will increase once we get into late September and into the peak months to $299 and range into the high-$700s over the holidays.
DC: What makes The Marker Resort different from other properties on Key West? What sets this property apart from the rest?
AS: I think one of the things that really sets us apart is, as you know, we are the first new-build in Key West in over 20 years, so it’s a
brand-new property; there’s all interior corridors, which is very nice because it keeps a really cool, quiet, and tranquil atmosphere. We’ve got three saltwater pools on property—one is adults-only, so again it’s a great spot to relax and unwind. We’ve got an open-air restaurant and bar, we feature a lot of local artwork in our rooms and grounds, and we have products from Key West Aloe in our bathrooms, which the guests really love (and they can purchase more [Key West Aloe] products just down the street from us).
DC: What type of guest books at The Marker?
MD: We cater to a large demographic. If it’s a honeymoon stay, a couple can really get lost here just sitting by the pool, enjoying our restaurant and bar, and doing something really low key; and then maybe having a great day over at the Dry Tortugas on a private propeller plane. We can offer all of that and have it planned through our on-property concierge. We also offer 30 connecting rooms that are 400-plus sq. ft. each, so for a family environment this can be very nice. When you get into single travelers, between the ages of 30 and 45 years old, Key West is all about Duval Street, and the nightlife is only two blocks away. We are a higher-end resort and we hope to attract those that are searching for more of a luxury Key West experience.
One thing I want to highlight is that we will be offering weddings and special events in one of our private event spaces, as well as our gardens and private pool area. That’s something I want to highlight for travel agents who have groups coming, as well as leisure groups; we will be offering some really fabulous menus that will be driven towards groups of up to 10, as well as receptions for 150 people.
DC: Do you offer the average 10 percent commission for agents as well as FAM trips to experience the property?
MD: We do offer 10 percent commission and FAM trips are certainly something that we are always open to on a case-by-case basis, and agents are more than welcome to contact me so we can look at the dates on when they would like to come down.
For more information about The Marker Resort, call (844) 229-8312 or visit themarkerkeywest.com.
