First Complete Implementation of Google 360° Tour Launches at Ibis Bay Beach Resort!

In September 2012 Google said that its 360° Tours would bring true all-access virtual tours to hotels, resorts and retail stores all around the world, and that future starts today with the launch of Ibis Bay Beach Resort’s new website featuring an all-inclusive Google 360° Tour! According to Ibis Bay owner Chris Holland, the website has been redesigned to capture the unique character and flavor of Ibis Bay in Key West, and the virtual tour is the ultimate way for vacationers to see exactly what they’ll get and what the resort offers.

“People say that Key West is like no other place on Earth, and Ibis Bay Beach Resort is like no other place in Key West. Now with the Google 360° Tour on our new website, every potential guest can see right into each room style we offer and find out exactly what they’ll get, plus stroll along our docks, into our restaurant, up to our tortoise and macaw cages and out onto our beautiful white sand beach. It’s an amazing step up from resort photos that I think is going to change the way people book their vacations. We made sure to highlight the tour in several locations on the new website so visitors don’t miss their chance to experience the resort before they book.”

Over the last two years Ibis Bay Beach Resort has seen a multi-million dollar renovation that includes redesigned rooms, new furnishings, new landscaping, and the opening of the fresh-as-it-gets Stoned Crab restaurant that specializes in stone crab dishes.  Ibis Bay has quickly become a favorite among travelers and locals and is already having a big impact on the local community through the many events and fundraisers it hosts. 

 

“We don’t want to be the Ritz Carlton,” Holland emphasized, “and have that hotel chain sameness because it’s so boring!  We’re looking to provide travelers with a unique experience that allows them to enjoy the Key West of the 1950s while utilizing the advantages of modern technology to ensure a pleasant and fun-packed stay.  The Google 360° Tour is a great addition to the modern side of our appeal that shows in bright, beautiful images how we’ve kept the 1950s alive at Ibis Bay.”

The resort has a lot going for it: one of only eight private beaches in Key West, the island’s only flats fishing boat ramp onto the beautiful Ibis Bay, the boat-to-table Stoned Crab seafood restaurant that has two of it’s very own fishing boats delivering daily catches, and two new water walkways for guests to swim and snorkel right outside their rooms. Now all of this can be viewed up close and personal with the Google 360° Tour. On the virtual tour visitors can walk around the entire resort and through each room style using the arrow on the screen, or jump to any area they desire with the tabs located just below the tour window.

“Since I began renovating Ibis Bay two years ago we’ve made incredible improvements and progress, creating a truly unique destination that has everything a traveler could ask for,” Holland said in closing.  “From the gorgeous beaches and ocean views to the updated rooms, friendly service and stellar dining, we’ve got it all.  So whether you’re going on a family vacation, a honeymoon retreat or a weekend fishing trip, Ibis Bay is the place to stay. And you don’t have to take my word for it, because now you can check out the entire resort from the comfort of your own home before you book!”

About Ibis Bay Beach Resort:

Ibis Bay Beach Resort (www.ibisbayresort.com) embodies the very best of Key West and offers guests a vacation experience like no other. With a full deck of options for active adventure-seekers, Hemingway buffs or travelers who want to fit in with the locals, there is something special for every guest. Featuring classic 1950s Key West architecture and design elements, 600 feet of beautiful private white sand beach, a 20-foot poolside movie screen for outdoor movie nights, two Ibis Bay water walkways for swimming and snorkeling, and The Stoned Crab restaurant, Ibis Bay Beach Resort is more than a resort—it’s a destination!

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The Stoned Crab, Key West's Hottest New Seafood Restaurant Receives 4 out of 5 Stars On TripAdvisor!

After officially launching in the fall of 2012, Key West’s hottest new fresh seafood restaurant, The Stoned Crab, has been awarded a 4 out of 5 star rating on TripAdvisor, the world’s leading travel and restaurant review web site.  Garnering hundreds of reviews from locals and travelers alike, it’s clear The Stoned Crab is the restaurant the Keys have been waiting for— a fun, zany, family friendly seafood restaurant that specializes in the most delicious of local delicacies, Florida stone crab.  In fact, it’s the first and only restaurant in the Keys to base the majority of its creative menu on the coveted crustacean! 

Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant features the Keys’ freshest stone crab, which is caught daily and brought right to the restaurant’s dock, giving guests a true ‘boat-to-table’ seafood experience. The new restaurant, which sits on the waterfront at IBIS BAY Beach Resort, was a no-brainer, according to owner Chris Holland. 

“It’s no wonder locals and visitors love The Stoned Crab. Florida stone crab tastes phenomenal and it doesn’t get any fresher than straight off our two fishing boats! Plus stone crab comes right from Keys waters and it’s one of our only truly sustainable food resources,” Holland explained.  “The best stone crab claws are harvested directly off the shores of Key West, so I was amazed there wasn’t already a restaurant dedicated to worshippers of the stone crab like “Joe’s” in Miami.  Stone crab is shipped to Miami, New York and as far west as Las Vegas, but it’s pretty clear a lot of other people love stone crab just as much as I do!”

 

In addition to offering locals and visitors the best seafood around, Holland designed The Stoned Crab menu and operations to support a sustainable fishing culture.  Working with local fishermen and serving local seafood, especially the stone crabs, which are returned to the ocean to re-grow their largest claw after removal, the restaurant is helping to promote the area’s delicious seafood resources while helping the community and protecting the local ecosystem.

“Our guests will get a fun, filling waterfront dining experience,” Holland continued. “They can order crab by the ‘Bubba Bucket’ and crack them using our professional-grade cracker arms that are normally only found in the kitchen, and we give big bowls of lemons and limes for each guests to flavor their crab however they love it most.  As our t-shirts say, ‘Everybody Must Get Stoned at The Stoned Crab!’”

Some of the diners’ favorite dishes are derived from the restaurant’s namesake stone crab, including the stone crab shot appetizer, which can be accompanied by a shot of Australian Bombora vodka for the 21+ crowd, the stone crab and royal red shrimp bisque, the 5-lb. stone crab “Bubba Bucket” and the two-person or four-person chilled seafood tower with an assortment of the freshest seafood in Key West, which are perfect for families or larger groups to share.

Other delectable seafood dishes include a delicious whole Florida lobster stuffed with crabmeat, lobster ravioli, a flash-fried whole local yellowtail, lobster mac & cheese, among others.  For crustacean and shellfish aficionados the restaurant offers steamer combinations plates with selections of stone crab claws, Alaskan king crab legs, Alaskan snow crab clusters, mussels and clams.

For those in the mood for land-dwelling fare, the kitchen grills a mean New York strip steak and Angus burger as well as a pesto seared chicken breast. And every meal can start with an assortment of four salads including sesame-crusted ahi wasabi salad, twelve appetizers including crab and conch fritters, flash fried calamari with New Orleans remoulade and Key West bouillabaisse, and three raw seafood dishes including Florida oysters and mango ceviche.

The restaurant is open from 7 a.m. to midnight and features a full bar with all manner of tropical drinks and a wide range of beer and wine, including liquor, beer and wine selections from Australia, where Chris Holland harkens from.  Located at the corner of North Roosevelt Boulevard and Kennedy Drive, The Stoned Crab is a destination in itself—one where the whole family can gather for delicious food, fun, and photo opportunities with the beautiful waterfront views and the restaurant’s unique sea-inspired atmosphere.

Visit us on Facebook for more of the full menu, more information, and more photos from The Stoned Crab.

Photo 1 – The Stoned Crab at night, as seen from N. Roosevelt Boulevard.

Photo 2 – Old Bay steamer with stone crab claws, Alaskan snow crab clusters and Alaskan king crab legs.

Photo 3 – Stone crab shot, served in a shot glass with homemade tangy tartar sauce and cocktail sauce, plus a lemon slice.

Photo 4 – The Ahi wasabi salad includes sesame-crusted seared rare ahi tuna, crisp greens, seaweed salad, edamame, roasted red peppers, pickled ginger and cucumber wasabi sauce.

IBIS BAY Beach Resort Brings Exclusive Nighttime Ocean Adventures To Key West

IBIS BAY Beach Resort is opening a whole new world of ocean exploration in Key West with a new unique nighttime adventure, Nightboarding™.  Using I-Lumenate’s new Night-Ops waterproof LED light bars, IBIS BAY Paddle Sports is proud to be the exclusive tour operator in the Florida Keys!  The unique oceanic experience will launch Feb. 15, and interested parties can sign up now by calling IBIS BAY Paddle Sports at (305) 896-0342. 

According to IBIS BAY Beach Resort owner and Key West resident Chris Holland, 

“Wildlife lovers, watersport enthusiasts and anyone who wants to try something absolutely brand new are going to love Nightboarding.  The ocean floor comes alive at night with creatures you normally don’t see in the daytime, such as lobsters, crabs, colorful sponges and loads of tropical fish.  IBIS BAY is the only place in the Keys and one of only a handful of places in the world offering this.  And as we quickly found out, the 3,000 lumens of white light Night-Ops light bars produce makes for some amazing sights and photos!”

IBIS BAY Paddle Sports will offer two different Nightboarding experiences on the protected waters of Ibis Bay. There is the 2.5 hour Sunset Cruise and the 1.5 hour Nightrider Experience.  The Sunset Cruise launches an hour before sunset, allowing the group to get out to the open water while watching the sunset, then make the return trip in the dark with the full spectacle of the powerful LED lights shining into the crystal clear water below.  The Nightrider Experience launches 15-30 minutes after the Sunset Cruise returns (exact times vary with the season).

Launching right from the dock at IBIS BAY’s popular restaurant, The Stoned Crab, the adventures costs $55 per person for The Sunset Cruise and $45 for The Nightrider Experience. Each trip accommodates groups of up to 10 people.  What’s more, the IBIS BAY Paddle Sports guides narrate the tour and take high-quality photos that are uploaded wirelessly and put on CDs for each guest to take home when tour finishes back at IBIS BAY!  Guests will pass through many areas of interest including mangrove island rookeries that are the home of ibis, herons, pelicans and their fledglings.  Interested parties are encouraged to book in advance as tours are filling up quickly! Call IBIS BAY Paddle Sports at (305) 896-0342. 

About IBIS BAY Beach Resort: 
IBIS BAY Beach Resort (www.ibisbayresort.com) embodies the very best of Key West and offers guests a vacation experience like no other. With a full deck of options for active adventure-seekers, Hemingway buffs or travelers who want to fit in with the locals, there is something special for every guest. Featuring classic 1950s Key West architecture and design, 600 feet of beautiful private beach, a 20-foot poolside movie screen for outdoor movie nights and The Stoned Crab restaurant, IBIS BAY Beach Resort is more than a resort—it’s a destination.

New IBIS BAY Beach Resort Brings 1950s Key West Style to 21st Century Travelers

Thanks to the vision and commitment of former New York ad executive Chris Holland, Key West’s biggest eyesore has been transformed into its biggest ‘site’ for sore eyes — the new IBIS BAY Beach Resort!  For years, one of the first things visitors to Key West would see was a struggling property called The Blue Lagoon Motel.  It did have one thing going for it, however: it was one of only eight Key West hotels with a private beach, and it happened to be the biggest of them all.  Since then, Holland has even extended the beach, so that it’s now the largest private beach in Key West!

Now just two years later, the resort has benefitted from significant renovations and upgrades including redesigned rooms, new furnishings, new landscaping, the popular new Stoned Crab restaurant that specialized in stone crab and a new dock for fresh daily deliveries from local fishermen.  IBIS BAY has quickly become a favorite among travelers and locals and is already having a big impact on the local community through the many events and fundraisers it hosts.  As the island’s only beach resort to embrace Key West’s Cuban history, IBIS BAY stands alone as both a resort and a destination.  Holland is all about authentic travel, and he fuses his personal design aesthetic with the island’s classic 1950s style to create a fun, unique Key West destination.

“We don’t want to be the Ritz Carlton and have that hotel chain sameness because it’s so boring!  We’re looking to provide travelers with a unique experience that allows them to enjoy the Key West of the 1950s while utilizing the advantages of modern technology to ensure a pleasant and fun-packed stay.   Our Fun Desk booking service is Key West’s one-stop shop for the island’s best dining, shopping, adventures, tours and rentals, so we’ve got something for everyone.  We’re not going for Palm Beach,” Holland emphasized, “we’re going for Jimmy Buffet.”

The new on-site Stoned Crab restaurant offers a true boat-to-table seafood experience with daily deliveries of fresh stone crab, lobster and other locally caught delicacies that go right from the dock to the kitchen. Located adjacent to IBIS BAY with its own dock, the restaurant has beena big hit with locals and visitors who love dining on the freshest seafood anywhere, including the local Key West delicacy, stone crab!

“A lot of air travelers see the giant crab claw on our restaurant’s roof,” Holland continued, “and their first question off the plane is ‘What’s that giant crab restaurant?’  It’s really amazing how much people love our stone crab dishes.  Recently a couple took a 7 p.m. flight from Miami to Key West just so they could enjoy the fresh stone crab claws that The Stoned Crab is famous for.  Then they turned around and took the 9:30 pm flight back home.  Whether it’s the food, the atmosphere or the special events we host, we’re all about keeping things fresh and exciting, so there’s always something fun going on at IBIS BAY!”

IBIS BAY is a study in contrast, maintaining the classic Key West feel while including all the modern amenities and technologies that travelers expect.  Pelicans and ibis birds roam the pebble stone courtyard, palm trees and hammocks dot the white sand beaches, and parrots and iguanas can be found all over the resort.  The design aesthetic mirrors classic 1950s Miami/Havana, contrasting with the flat screen TVs in every room and the Fun Desk that offers guests and locals an easy way to plan a whole day or week full of exciting Key West activities.  Even the resort’s approach to maintenance is high tech, with the maid staff now using eco-friendly clean UV wands to sanitize each and every room.

The 80-room resort caters to all kinds of travelers, from families to fishermen to honeymooners, with special dock-front rooms for boaters, plus it sits adjacent to Key West’s hottest new fresh seafood restaurant, The Stoned Crab.  And to make IBIS BAY’s white sand beaches even better, Holland has extended it to more than 600 feet, so that it’s now Key West’s largest private beach!

Holland came to Key West, like a lot of people, as a second homeowner.  But he brought with him nearly 30 years of experience as the founder and creative director of Holland Advertising in New York, and as creative director for Ted Bates in Hong Kong prior to founding his own agency.  Holland has created memorable campaigns for clients as diverse as Panasonic, AIWA, McCall’s magazine and Esquire.  His creative sensibility is apparent everywhere in what’s taking place today at IBIS BAY.

“People say that Key West is like no other place on Earth, and IBIS BAY Beach Resort is like no other place in Key West,” said Holland.  “Since I took over the Blue Lagoon and turned it into IBIS BAY we’ve made incredible improvements and progress, creating a truly unique destination that has everything a traveler could ask for, from the gorgeous beaches and ocean views to the updated rooms, friendly service and stellar dining.”

What’s more, IBIS BAY hosts a wide variety of special events, from weddings and local designer fashion shows to Thursday night poolside Dive-In Movies and fundraisers like mixed martial arts fight nights for local causes and charities.  Holland and the resort have quickly become an important part of the Key West community.

The resort also recently introduced a new block of fishermen-focused rooms, called “The IBIS BAY Fish Camp”, where a boat ramp sits just outside the rooms and visitors can arrive by car or boat.  With seven fish-themed double queen suites right on the water, each with a kitchenette, it’s the perfect place for fishermen to get a head start on the day and then haul back the day’s catch.

About IBIS BAY Beach Resort:

IBIS BAY Beach Resort (www.ibisbayresort.com) embodies the very best of Key West and offers guests a vacation experience like no other. With a full deck of options for active adventure-seekers, Hemingway buffs or travelers who want to fit in with the locals, there is something special for every guest. Featuring classic Key West architecture and design, 600 feet of beautiful private beach, a 20-foot poolside movie screen for outdoor movie nights and The Stoned Crab restaurant, IBIS BAY Beach Resort is more than a resort—it’s a destination.

Scarlett Osborn Takes Over The IBIS BAY Fun Desk!

Key West’s truly unique resort, IBIS BAY Waterfront Resort, is proud to announce that Key West-native Scarlett Osborn is taking over the resort’s Fun Desk, where visitors and locals can get the inside scoop on the best local beaches, adventures, activities, restaurants, shops, bar crawls and fishing expeditions.  One of the biggest benefits is that locals with visitors in town can now plan a fun-filled day or week no matter what types of things their visitors love to do!

“I love Key West, and I want every guest to have the best Key West experience possible,” said Osborn. “I’ve spent most of my life here and I want to share the best the island has to offer with as many people as I can.  Even though it’s located in the IBIS BAY lobby, the Fun Desk is open to everyone, not just guests staying at the resort.  Everyone on the island can find the most up-to-date info and best prices for everything in Key West at the IBIS BAY Fun Desk!  All they have to do is tell me what types of things they like to do, and I can arrange a day full of fun for thrill-seekers, shopaholics, foodies, fishermen or families!”

With new Fun Desk activity packages specially designed for different personality types, Osborn has made it quick and easy for locals and travelers to plan and book their adventures and experience Key West.  Located in the main lobby of the popular new IBIS BAY Waterfront Resort on North Roosevelt Boulevard, the Fun Desk brings together all the best attractions of Key West, saving travelers time and money by offering them everything they could want all in one place.  With a quick stop by the Fun Desk, it’s easy to book and schedule activities and then get on with enjoying everything the island has to offer.  IBIS BAY has also launched a new second location for the Fun Desk right on the beach outside the resort!

The full list of activities, packages, and specials can be found at www.ibisbayresort.com/attractions, and visitors can book in advance by calling the Fun Desk at (305) 296-0616.

Scarlett Osborn grew up swimming, snorkeling, free diving and spear fishing on the island and she brings her love of Key West's aquatic lifestyle to her work at the Fundesk.  This was also the inspiration for Scarlett's own SOS line of designer swimwear which is now on sale at the IBIS BAY gift shop. Osborn’s SOS label will hold fashion shows at IBIS BAY to support local causes such as the Kevin Piper, Jr. Foundation.  She’s also active in the Key West economy, making sure the IBIS BAY gift shop will soon offer more local items such as hot sauces from Peppers of Key West. 

“I want to help stimulate the Key West economy,” Osborn added, “so I’m bringing more local items to the IBIS BAY gift shop and getting people excited about all the great nightlife, restaurants, shops, tours and watersports that make Key west so special!.”

IBIS BAY Waterfront Resort is known for having fun and original attractions such as Mixed Martial Arts Fight Nights, Thursday night Dive-In movies on the poolside movie screen, hosting performers during the Key West Songwriter’s Festival and holding fashion shows for local designers. 

About IBIS BAY Waterfront Resort:

IBIS BAY Waterfront Resort (www.ibisbayresort.com) embodies the very best of Key West and offers guests a vacation experience like no other. With a full deck of options for active adventure-seekers, Hemingway buffs, or travelers who want to fit in with the locals, there is something special for every guest. Featuring classic Key West architecture and design, 600 feet of beautiful private beach, a 20-foot poolside movie screen for outdoor movie nights and the Stoned Crab restaurant, IBIS BAY Waterfront Resort is more than a resort—it’s a destination.