Florida help please

So Fh and i have a week to kill before we take our cruise so rather than staying in new york, we want to go to florida. We were looking for a beach type place (cruise leaves from miami but many people told us there are better places to stay.) I need recommendations on hotels please!! We were looking into Key West, Key Largo, Daytona, and Hollywood. We're looking for a nice hotel on the beach for a reasonable price and you know a clean hotel with no bugs For those of you who have been to any of these places, your opinions and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Oh we are also looking for a good night life. Someone said key west bars are open till 4. Is this true??? Thank you all!!

I went to Key West years ago and had a blast - big night life. Sorry - I don't remember where we stayed.

I've also been to Miami - which I wasn't wild about at all. It had a big night life - but wasn't for me - very clubby.

Have fun!

I lived in Fort Laudrdale for 4 years while going to grad school, so I know a lot about Florida.

If you want to party, Key Largo is not the place for you. It is really laid back.

Ive only been to daytona a couple of times, but I do know that is is REALLY far from MIami and I wouldnt recommend staying there the night before your cruise.

Key west is amazing. Duval street has great bars (yes, open to 4) and lots of cute shops. The Casa Marina is a really nice hotel actually on the beach (which is hard to find in Key West). However, it is a little expensive. There are also tons of cute bed and breakfasts if that is more your style. Also, it is way more expensive to fly into key west. You could fly into Miami, rent a car, and drive down. It is about 2 hours, but a beautiful drive.

As for Hollywood, It is a great place to be. It is right in the middle of Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Fort Lauderdale has a couple of places to party (Riverfront, Beach Place, The Hard Rock Casino). There are also a ton of great places to eat and sight see during the day. Also, Hollywood would give you the opton to go down to Miami for a day to check it out. The previous poster is right, the nightlife is very clubby, but there are great things to do during the day like Ocean Drive and Lincon Road. Since I lived in this area, I dont really know much about the hotels...

So, overall, I would say that if you want a lot of variety, do Hollywood. If you want a VERY laid back vacation wtih active nightlfe, do Key West.

Sorry this is so long, I just thought someone should benefit from the years I spent there... If you have any questions, feel free to FM me!