Crystal Bay Resort, Marathon

I had a feeling once Jack and Ronnie sold the place it would go down hill. you can't just sell a property of this size to just anyone. we stayed here every year for 6 years until we bought a house in Big Pine. Now that I have read all the reviews I can see I was right. sounds gross.

When Jack & Veronica had the place it was excellent. Since it has been sold it has gone way down hill. Stayed 7-22 & 23 2010. Room had spiders on the ceiling, coffee grounds on the kitchen table, and used soap in the soap dish. Floors were dirty & there were cobwebs in corners. When I went to plug in my cell phone charger, I moved the night stand and saw a lighter and tons of black dirt. The next day, no one cleaned our room or gave us fresh towels. The chairs were so stained I put paper towels on them before I sat down. I hated using the shower and even sleeping in the bed. The pool needed to be cleaned. It was not too bad, but still they needed to get the leaves, bugs and feathers out. I will sleep in my car before I will stay there again.

We have stayed here for 18 years. There's been 3 owners and each made improvements. The previous owners Jack and Veronica added private beach area, heated pool, repaired the marina and docks. Completely remodeled the putt-putt course, added a basketball and tennis court. Built bar-b-ques, put a fridge and backbar in the large tiki hut so guest could hold open or private parties. Added a wedding pagoda, that we saw used 4 times. EVERY room was remodeled, new furniture, flooring, bathroom fixtures, new fridges, AC's, beds and towels. In one way we were very sad to see all the improvements, not because the cost went up a little, but because we use to be one of a few couples who stayed there. We really LOVED the old Florida Keys style of living plus the peace and quiet. With all the wonderful improvements the resort was now filled to the brim every time we went down. BUT we were VERY happy for the owners. This couple along with their wonderful staff worked 18 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that everything in this resort was TOP NOTCH. I told my husband that I would never own a place such as this if I had to work that hard. But you never heard any staff member complain. They were always busy, always pleasant and always ready to help with any of your needs. After numerous years and hours of real hard work they were hit back to back with two hurricanes. After the first one they worked at double time pace to restore the beautiful resort, but it was wiped out again less than a year later. I believe this took a great toll on everyones soul. I would say that the resort has somewhat reverted back to its old rustic form in the sense that the grounds may not be maintained daily like they use to be. The Mini putt-putt has not been repaired, the large bird huts no longer have Veronica's beautiful birds in them. Some of the lounge chairs need to be repaired. The pool needs some tile repair work(but it's still heated and wonderful to swim in). A few years ago I was told that this wonderful place was going to be torn down and replaced by (of all things) Key West style condo's and co-ops. Whether this was true or not I don't know. We believe that the unfortunate down turn of the building market saved Crystal Bay from being torn down, a real plus for us. We stayed from July 1st to July 16th, our room has a great little private porch, king size bed, fridge, microwave, coffee pot, cable tv. Half way between the front of the resort and the marina. We kept our boat in the marina. You can launch boats 20' and under at high tide in this marina, our new boat is 24' so we went 1.5 miles south to the new Marathon Marina on 33rd street, lauched it there and my husband brought it back to the marina. There is plenty of room to park 8 trailers near the basketball court. The present staff, that we met, at Crystal Bay is a wonderful group of 4 young people, Amanda who will check you in and never stopped smiling. Daisy who cleans the rooms and ready to help in any way. Derek and Derek and the two general maintenace men. We saw them cutting grass, cleaning the pool, cutting down a BIG old tree that was half dead due to severe damage from the hurricanes and always ready to assist you in anyway. These 4 young people are new to Florida and I'm hoping that they enjoy their time during this experience. I do not know who owns the resort any more, never met them but I do hope that they would consider repairing the lounge chairs, fix the tiles in the pool, maybe revamp or remove the putt-putt area(it never was used very much) and replace the 4 docks in the marina lost in those hurricanes OR don't charge a boat fee. I don't know about the other rooms but mine was perfect for us. Crystal and Rooster Webster, Lake Worth, FL ALL Staff A++, Service A+ Room Cleanliness A+, Grounds C+(due to hurricanes not maintenance crew) GOOD JOB ~ AMANDA, DAISY, DEREK & DEREK.

This motel, which is NOT a resort, is a bit tired and rundown. Rooms are dingy and old. Not a very clean place. My family didn't want to go to sleep in fear of bed bugs so they pretty much had a sleepless night. Bathroom had small cockroaches. The only up side, it is very quiet and no obnoxious drunks were seen like we saw at Big Pine Motel. They do have a fridge, microwave and coffee maker. Not much to do on premises so if you are traveling with family that want a beach and activities you can go on to Tranquility Bay. A little more money but you will be more comfortable. Make reservations ahead because the place is practically always booked solid. Overall, if you just want a place to sleep after fishing, snorkeling or whatever and don't mind the lack of cleanliness and the bugs, then this would be okay.

I specially liked the property location and the private beach. Location best available in this price range. Near to all keys attractions like dolphins, snorkling and shoping too. Comfortalbe rooms with fridge, phone, cable tv....swimming pool, grill on property....shortly everything you need to spend some good time with your friends or family.