On a recent road trip, my wife and I stopped off for a few days in Stuart Town, Florida. It’s not Key West by any stretch. It’s much smaller, it’s more provincial, but still having now visited both places, I can draw parallels.
Key West is by far more vibrant, but Stuart Town has more of a community feel. It’s less touristy and there are still ample places you can visit for drinks, fine dining, mixed with adventures, of which I’ll get into.
Where to stay?
We really lucked out with a place called The Old Colorado Inn. Not knowing what to expect, the receptionist hopped out from behind her desk and got in our rental, and drove with us to the Serenity Suite; 1,100 square foot ground-floor suite with a large swimming pool with “Golden Mean” dimensions (44 x 27 foot lap pool) and spa. The Serenity Suite is located inside of Downtown Stuart’s oldest home (built in 1890) which served as the town’s first schoolhouse.
The hot tub took less than ten minutes to heat, the pool was not heated but perfectly warm enough to swim in after a soak in the hot tub. It’s a communal pool, but we had it to ourselves during our stay.
Where to Eat?
We enjoyed two breakfasts, in two different locations. First, there was Maria Cafe. They have an inexhaustible supply of eggs, French toast, grits (still unsure what that is) and the service was great. It’s open from 7am every day so perfect if, like us, you needed something before going out for a road trip.
Our second breakfast stop was Gilberts River Cafe, a casual 15 minute walk down the Boardwalk Run which gives you great views over the St Lucie River. The menu is slightly more limited, but the banana on toast, and the avocado on toast were fantastic.
We had lunch outside of Stuart Town, but we dined out twice. Once at the River Walk and Oyster Bar, and the last night at the Waterfront. Both a five minute walk from the hotel. I can recommend both highly, but for romance, try and book a patio seat/table at The Waterfront, and order the clams in baked cheese.
Things to do:
We drove to St Port Lucie for a pre-booked trip on River Lilly Cruises. This is where they filmed the boat chase location for the film Moonraker, which doubles as the Amazon Rainforest. It was $30 a ticket, and I highly recommend this tour. We saw alligators, blue herons, and woodpeckers.
We also did the market in town which was filled with stalls showcasing local arts and crafts, and the Tiki Boat Taxi to the other side of the port. We did that late in the day and it was filled with youngsters, perhaps too young to drink. You don’t need to book that, but best go before 8pm if you want to see more of the river. It was too dark and raucous when we joined. That leaves every hour on the pier by the Waterfront restaurant. For more things to do such as boat excursions, museums, etc you can find out more through the Old Colorado hotel listings here.