Authors Guesthouse

Authors Key West Guesthouse occupies a compound of historic Conch-style houses at 725 White Street, a short walk from the Historic Seaport and the ferry terminal, and a block and a half from the Armory in the White Street arts district.

There are thirteen accommodations across the property, eleven rooms and two private cottages, and the guesthouse was conceived as a tribute to the writers who lived and worked in Key West. So the rooms carry their names: Hellman for the playwright Lillian Hellman, McCullers for Carson McCullers, Wilder for Thornton Wilder, Herlihy for James Leo Herlihy of Midnight Cowboy, and Kirkwood for James Kirkwood, who co-wrote A Chorus Line. Margaret Truman, who became a mystery novelist, and John James Audubon, who painted in Key West, have rooms too, as does Harry Truman, who simply liked the place. Three more are themed rather than named: the Library, the Artist and the Poet, the last being the largest suite and the one that sleeps four.

The two private cottages, Hemingway and Williams, each have a bedroom, a living room with a sleeper sofa, a full kitchen and their own porch, which makes them the pick for a longer stay.

At the centre of the compound is a dipping pool and spa, with sun decks, outdoor seating and garden space around it. Rooms are split between ground floor and second floor, several of them poolside, and a few have private balconies.

The literary names are a tribute rather than a guest register, but the setting earns them. This stretch of Old Town is where a good deal of that writing actually happened.