Key West is super gay! This small island in south Florida is a notorious gay mecca, with a whopping 30% of its 25,000 residents identifying as LGBTQ.
The island’s history as a gay destination dates back to the 1950s when well-known LGBTQ celebrities like Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal, Jerry Herman, Leonard Bernstein and Elizabeth Bishop have since made it their home. Subsequently in 1983, Key West became the first place in the US to elect an openly gay mayor (Richard A. Heyman), then in 2000, the island’s motto became: “One Human Family“.
We’ve visited Key West on several occasions and always had a blast, especially on the gay scene on Duval Street. There are so many things to do for gay travellers and with regards to to the hotels, it was never a case of ‘please can we have a double bed’, but more – ‘which of these many gay hotels should we stay at on this trip?’
There is an impressive number of different gay Key West resorts to pick from, so we’ve put together our 10 favourite, which also includes gay hotels and guesthouses.
Island House
Island House is notorious across the entire LGBTQ community of south Florida. It’s also one of the largest male-only clothing-optional resorts we’ve ever been to.