Hampton Inn Key Largo

The Keys do not need much introduction: water, highway, palms and the faint suspicion that your flip-flops are now formalwear. Hampton Inn Key Largo keeps things straightforward, with a beachfront setting, an outdoor pool and rooms designed for a night of recovery rather than a prolonged design discussion.

You get the useful comforts here: air conditioning, free Wi-Fi, a refrigerator, a microwave and a coffee maker in the room. The hotel website is available in English, as well as French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Czech, Swedish, Portuguese, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Chinese and Japanese; that shows a broad international target, although it does not confirm which languages the hotel team speaks.

Couples can keep the evening simple, with the water nearby and restaurants within easy reach. Families also have room options with two double beds, while the hotel welcomes children of all ages.

You are in Key Largo, United States, just off Highway 1 and about 3 miles from downtown Key Largo. The hotel is beachfront, with its own private beach and boat dock, so the water is part of the address rather than something you have to seek out by car.

John Pennekamp State Park is about 1 mile away, putting one of the area's best-known natural stops close to the hotel. Friendship Park is roughly 1 mile away, Dolphin Cove about 1 mile, and Harry Harris Park around 2.5 miles. For a longer outing, Everglades National Park is 31 miles away.

You also have several restaurants close by, including Catch, Alfredo's Cookhouse and Fish House. Caribbean Club is about 2 miles away, while Dunkin' and Starbucks are roughly 2 to 2.5 miles from the hotel. In other words, dinner does not require a pilgrimage, but a car remains useful for exploring Key Largo and the wider Keys.

The room choice is mainly about how you want to sleep and what you want to look at in the morning. Couples can choose a king room, including versions with a bay view, pool view or garden view. Some king rooms also have a patio and balcony, which gives you a more useful outdoor perch than a corridor-facing window.

For families or dive buddies sharing a room, the rooms with two double beds are the sensible option. Several rooms accommodate up to four guests, and some king rooms add a sofa bed. The accessible king room has a roll-in shower and is designed for up to two guests.

The rooms are compact rather than sprawling, so pack with discipline if two divers are sharing. The practical kit matters more: air conditioning for cooling down in the Florida heat, a refrigerator for cold drinks, a microwave for simple food, a coffee maker for early starts and a flat-screen television for the evening when conversation has run out before the day has. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the hotel.

Breakfast is served daily in continental buffet form. That gives you the sort of start that works before a morning on the water: coffee, something to eat and no need to turn the room's microwave into a restaurant. Special-diet menus are available on request.

There is one bar at the hotel, along with wine and champagne service. The information available does not set out a full restaurant operation, room service or a continuous snack service, so plan the main meal around the nearby restaurants rather than expecting the hotel to feed you from breakfast until bedtime.

Catch and Alfredo's Cookhouse are within a short walk, with Fish House also close by. You can therefore return from the water, shower, change into something that has not spent the day under a wetsuit and still reach dinner without a complicated expedition.

The outdoor pool is the obvious post-dive reset: less effort than returning to the sea, and considerably easier if your legs have already filed a complaint. Sun loungers and beach chairs are available, with the private beach and outdoor furniture giving you two places to sit and dry out.

The hotel also has a boat dock and water-sports facilities on site. Snorkelling and fishing are available, and some water-sports facilities may carry an additional charge. The point is not to build an entire activity schedule around the hotel; it is to have options when the sea is inviting but another full dive is not.

For land-based recovery, there is a fitness centre, golf is available, and the shared lounge has board games and puzzles. The concierge can help with practical arrangements, while daily housekeeping, luggage storage and laundry make a longer Keys stay easier to manage.

Check-in starts at 3pm and check-out is by 11am. You need photo identification and a credit card at arrival, and the minimum age for check-in is 21. Cash is not accepted. Cancellation and prepayment conditions vary according to the room selected, so read the terms attached to your booking rather than assuming every category follows the same rule.

Free private parking is available on site without reservation, which is useful in the Keys, where a car turns a string of islands into an itinerary rather than a collection of taxi conversations. The front desk operates around the clock, with express check-in and check-out, concierge service and luggage storage.

Miami Executive Airport is about 41 miles away by road, Miami International Airport around 55 miles, and Florida Keys Marathon Airport roughly 49 miles. The hotel is off Highway 1, so the final approach is uncomplicated once you are on the Keys. Pets are allowed on request, and laundry is available on site.