Where a Fabled Past Meets Timeless Luxury
Guests of the Marquesa Hotel often speak of its effortless luxury and calming sense of home, which is no coincidence. Long before becoming a hotel, these buildings were luxe private homes. Every accommodation, parlor, garden and porch has offered refuge and relaxation since their founding. The Marquesa Hotel continues to welcome guests with the same sense of warmth today.
The James Haskins House
600 Fleming Street, Key West
The original home in the Marquesa complex was built by James Haskins in 1884 as a single-family dwelling. Over the decades, the home adapted to the ebbs and flows of history. The area where the current Café Marquesa operates originally opened as a clothing store before later becoming a grocery store.
By missing the catastrophic Key West fire of 1886 by just 20 feet, the building retained the patina and integrity that can still be seen today. As diners savor fine, coastal cuisine, picture windows frame a view of old streets and Victorian architecture that are uniquely Key West.
The main building of the hotel served as a boarding house in the early 1900s before being converted into apartment homes in the 1950s. The original grandeur slowly faded and the building soon lacked vision and design.
In 1987, Key West general contractors Richard Manley and Erik deBoer purchased the property from the archdiocese of New York and set forth to reclaim the magnificence of the original home. In February of 1988, the Haskins home reopened as the Marquesa Hotel and Café Marquesa. In 1994, the resort expanded into two neighboring historic buildings that flow elegantly into a single harmonious campus. For the resort’s first 30 years, deBoer and Carol Wightman owned and operated the hotel, securing a reputation within the community of the finest, most elegant lodging on the island.
The William Kerr House
414 Simonton Street, Key West
This historic home began as the private residence of William Kerr, a renowned Irish-American architect. Born in Ireland in 1836 and later educated in Boston, Kerr moved to Key West in 1872, where he worked as an architect, contractor and builder.
He built the original “carpenter gothic” cottage at 414 Simonton Street in 1878. A creative riff of gothic revivalism, this style and design is known for being romantic, picturesque and charming. The Kerr House joined the Marquesa collection in 2015.
The Pilot House
414 Simonton Street
Next door to the Kerr House, the historic Pilot House Inn joined the Marquesa Hotel grounds in 2016. The process of unifying the properties, by way of a full renovation, new pool, landscaped gardens and new construction, wrapped up in 2017. The new structure opened in 2018.
Honoring Our Past, Embracing Our Future
In 2022, deBoer and Wightman entered into a partnership with Noble House Hotels & Resorts, known for their unique collection of boutique hotels. Together, the passion for excellence has grown and the Marquesa Hotel flourishes in the charming Old Town neighborhood it helped define. Lovingly restored, preserved and enhanced with luxury, the hotel’s legacy creates the very cornerstone of its appeal. The Marquesa Hotel is quintessentially Key West.
The Marquesa Hotel opened in 1988 and is built around three restored 1884 Conch-Victorian homes in the Old Town Key West historic district, so it is genuinely historic and not a modern build styled to look old. The founding Wightman/deBoer family still helps steward the property, now in partnership with Noble House Hotels & Resorts. It is a MICHELIN Two Keys hotel for 2024 and 2025, the only hotel in Key West to hold that designation. Gingerbread verandas and porches sit across three tropical courtyards, one block off Duval Street and set back from the nightlife, which suits a quiet celebration.
The oldest part of the hotel is 600 Fleming Street, built by James Haskins in 1884 as a single-family home. It missed the catastrophic Key West fire of 1886 by twenty feet, which is why the original patina and detailing are still there to see. The house served as a boarding house in the early 1900s and was divided into apartment homes in the 1950s. Key West general contractors Richard Manley and Erik deBoer bought it from the archdiocese of New York in 1987 and set about reclaiming the original home, and it reopened as the Marquesa Hotel and Café Marquesa in February 1988.
Several historic houses, joined into one compound over three decades. The James Haskins House at 600 Fleming Street came first, built in 1884 and reopened as the hotel in 1988. In 1994 the hotel expanded into two neighboring historic buildings. The William Kerr House at 414 Simonton Street, a carpenter gothic cottage built in 1878 by the Irish-American architect William Kerr, joined in 2015, and the historic Pilot House Inn next door followed in 2016. A renovation with a new pool, landscaped gardens and new construction unified the grounds in 2017, and the new structure opened in 2018. The compound now holds 44 rooms and suites.
It is a single independent hotel, not a chain property and not one of several under the same name. Erik deBoer and Carol Wightman owned and operated it for its first 30 years. In 2022 they entered a partnership with Noble House Hotels & Resorts, a family-owned company that runs about 30 independent hotels, resorts and marinas across North America, each under its own name and its own management. Ownership today is split evenly between the founding family and Noble House. The hotel is also a member of the Curator Hotel & Resort Collection, a group of independent boutique properties.
The Marquesa is a MICHELIN Two Keys hotel, awarded in 2024 and 2025, and the only hotel in Key West with a MICHELIN Keys designation. The Keys program rates the quality of a stay and is scored separately from the restaurant guide, so Café Marquesa’s MICHELIN recognition is a second, independent award. Travel + Leisure has placed the hotel among its Top 15 Resorts in Florida, U.S. News & World Report gave it a Gold Badge in 2024, and Forbes, Condé Nast Traveler and Veranda have all recognized it in recent years. Guests rate it 4.8 out of 5 on TripAdvisor across about 1,553 reviews.
It is built for that. The hotel welcomes guests aged 14 and older, so the compound stays quiet, and at 44 rooms it never reads as a resort. Three pools sit in courtyards behind the houses, planted with royal palms, bougainvillea and a koi pond, and the gingerbread verandas and porches are where most mornings start. Café Marquesa is on the same grounds for dinner, with a seven-course tasting menu served each evening. The property is smoke-free throughout and does not accept pets. Duval Street is one block away when you want it and out of earshot when you do not.
The Marquesa Hotel is a 44-room independent boutique hotel at 600 Fleming Street, Key West, FL 33040, in the Old Town Key West historic district, one block off Duval Street, and its phone number is 305.292.1919. It opened in February 1988 in the restored 1884 James Haskins House and has grown into a compound of historic houses arranged around three tropical courtyards, each with its own pool. It is a MICHELIN Two Keys hotel for 2024 and 2025, the only hotel in Key West with that designation.
- It opened in February 1988, founded by the Wightman/deBoer family, who remain 50 percent owners and active stewards.
- Noble House Hotels & Resorts became a 50 percent partner in August 2022, and the hotel is a member of the Curator Hotel & Resort Collection.
- The 44 rooms and suites split into 14 in the original historic homes and 30 in the Marquesa 414 section.
- Buildings: the James Haskins House at 600 Fleming Street, built 1884; two neighboring historic buildings added in 1994; the William Kerr House at 414 Simonton Street, a carpenter gothic cottage built 1878, joined in 2015; and the Pilot House Inn, joined in 2016. Unification was completed in 2017 and the new structure opened in 2018.
- Recognition: MICHELIN Two Keys 2024 and 2025, Travel + Leisure Top 15 Resorts in Florida, U.S. News Gold Badge 2024, Forbes 2023, 2024 and 2025, Condé Nast Traveler 2024 and 2025, Veranda 2024, and 4.8 out of 5 on TripAdvisor from about 1,553 reviews.
- On site: Café Marquesa, a MICHELIN-recognized restaurant, and three courtyard pools. The hotel is adults-oriented, welcoming guests 14 and older.
