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Hemingway House
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40 reviews for Hemingway House
The house and grounds are beautiful. The history of the house and of Hemingway is amazing. The cats are adorable and mysterious (six toes on the front paws! meow!).
If you're in Key West and have a desire to peek inside the life of one the greatest writers in history, get your butt to the Hemingway house.
We walked into the Hemingway House right as a tour was starting on Friday morning. We joined the tour a minute or two in, and we were very impressed with the knowledge and wit of our tour guide. He gave us some great tidbits of information about Hemingway's writing, his women, the Hemingway children, his drinking habits, the estate and life in Key West.
Books in the gift shop were reasonably priced, and we ended up getting them as souvenirs for most of our family (there's a seal on the inside page that says the book is from the Hemingway House).
Another MUST-SEE in Key West.
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Arrived mid-afternoon, and immediately jumped on a tour. The tour lasted all of ten minutes - kind of surprised at the brevity, as we hit two rooms - living room and bedroom, before being told we could tour the rest of the place on our own. Definitely hoping for more, stories, etc. Oh well. The grounds were worth spending some time in, and having all the cats cross your path as if you were of no consequence in their world. I'm on the fence about this place. As a book lover, cat lover, sure it was neat - but the tour really soured the experience.
Essential tour if you're in the keys. The cats have 6 toes and there's no A/C.
Such a beautiful house! I think my mom and I were more interested in the cats than anything. (I now own my own Hemingway cat!) Ernest Hemingway I guess got into polytactyl cats because pirates thought they were the best mousers with the extra digit. The place is oozing with history. I dig the penny near the pool, he gave his lady every last cent...har har.
This is a beautiful house! We took the tour and the guide was extremely knowledgable! There is so much history in the house! I have also seen a wedding done there in the garden and that was beautiful as well! Oh and on a side note they have Hemmingway days in Key West! There are locals who actually dress up (or look like Hemmingway naturally)... Very cool!
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This house was really beautiful and a great addition to our tourism of Key West during a cruise I took several years ago. I loved all of the historic stories and sights in the house, as well as getting to play with all of the cute cats that live here.
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This is one of the best house tours I have done (and I have done a lot!). The house and surrounding gardens are well maintained. Our tour guide was well versed in the history of the house and in Hemingway's life. He kept the tour lively with his wit and humor. The gardens are a nice place to relax in the shade on a hot Key West afternoon. The gift shop was well stocked with Hemingway's novels, biographies, and prints of the house and the famous cats who still call it home. I would definitely recommend the tour to anyone visiting Key West.
After living in Key West, I realized I never "toured" Key West like a tourist. So, I ended up at the Hemingway House one day. This place is a joke. Don't waste your time unless you are a literature buff.
1) Military get in free, I ended up paying the $12 when I shouldn't have.
2)The grounds smell like a urinal from all the cats.
3) The house is not well maintained on the interior, there is mold growing in various locations within the home.
4) The tour guide was rude. I was accused of "texting" during the tour and was told I would have to leave if I continued. I was not texting, but clearing space on my memory card to take pictures. He acted as though we were touring the White House or something and all ears and eyes had to be focused on him. So I was not very happy with that tour.
On the positive side, the grounds were very pretty and the house from the outside is also very attractive, the tour minus the tour guide was great. I learned alot about Hemingway that you don't hear about in school while you are reading his books. He was an amazing individual and there is alot of history behind many items located on the grounds and within the home. Plus the cats are so cute and full of character.
Take your $12 and your self down to Kohr Brother's Yogurt Shop and get yourself a strawberry soft serve in a cone dipped in fudge instead!
A quaint museum for real Hemingway-philes. The cats were adorable of course, and you get to wander around an old home at your leisure, looking at all of Hemingway's memorabilia. Guided tours are available too. It is not air-conditioned. The hot and steamy atmosphere makes one wonder about the shelf-life of some of Hemingway's things, like his books, which are obviously curling up at the edges. Exposing them and some other sensitive materials to Key West heat will not keep them long. Also, some of the "period rooms" could use a little conservation work. In all, a relaxing, pleasant experience.
I visited Hemingway's house, and enjoyed the brief tour. Money was left to take care of Hemingway's cats, so over the years they have interbred and many have an extra digit on their paws. They lounge about the house and outside since 1935. Some of the original antiques that
Hemingway put in the home are there, plus his enormous pool that
he built, which was the first pool in Key West (a salt water one). This was an extravagance in those days, and it cost over $20,000 to build.
Hemingway was a great fisherman too in his day and hunter in the wild.
He wrote as a war correspondent too... and won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
I saw the weirdest thing while touring this house. Actually is was highly recommended to come here for this one thing.
It was a six toed cat!!
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One of the top attractions in Key West.
It is a beautiful house that has been well preserved on well maintained grounds.
The tour guides are excellent. They tell you all kinds of interesting stuff without being boring. Of course, we are talking about Hemingway here, how can it get boring?
Doesn't cost too much, and you get to see and pet all the cats. Keep your eye out for the 6 toed ones. You won't see them anywhere else in the world.
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You know...I never liked using a palm pilot....missed that feeling of being able to write....but now I'm too lazy of carrying around my moleskin note pad thingy that Hemingway allegedly used. I'm a sucker for good marketing...
Oh well...it's given me enough interest to look up his house in the area. I have to admit that his life was an interesting one...
No, I didn't take the tour...I'm not much a tour person but I did walk around. Yeah...lots of cats....and no I didn't pet one. It's a great looking house though. Wonder if they' d ever sell the place....
The area for the most part is a very laid back place.....long ass drive that gets me bored...and the humid weather of course kills my hair. lmao
It's just nice to get away...
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I met this guy here...he was Charlie Chaplin kitty style.
That about sums it up.
Hemingway is my favorite author thus I am a biased reviewer. If you are a Hemingway fan at all, you will love this tour. You'll know about the polydactal cats and will thrill when you see them. They're everywhere. I am not a cat person but loved seeing these cats. When you see the pool, and hear the history (& cost) to put it there you'll be amazed. When you see the rooms and know that Hemingway walked these halls, stumbled home from the bars, and wrote some of his best work in this place you'll be inspired. There's a little gift shop that you will want to purchase something from. No, the cats aren't for sale. The property is beautiful, and I love the style of the house. My daughter was with me when I toured here, and a regret of mine is that my son was not with us.
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What a delight this was. Being cat lovers; this was our must see destination and our first stop on our tour of Key West.
We happened to have spent the night in the historic hotel across the street, so after a nice breakfast poolside, we checked out of our hotel and walked over here. Surprisingly cheap tour fee (I thought) $12 to get in. Our tour would start in about 10 minutes and we could look around until then.
We met our guide, "Diamond Dave" at the front door and our group was ready to go. Dave turned out be quite a character himself and as he spun the tales of Hemingway's life, the building seemed to come alive with his secrets. You could just imagine how it was "back then" because pretty much they have left everything intact. That means, go early in the morning and hopefully not on a hot day as this old Victorian can really get cooking we heard.
Among the many things that Hemingway did while writing and imbibing on Key West was collect cats. He ended up with genetic polydactals (more toes than normal) and 40-50 or so cats from the original bloodlines still roam the property today. They were absolutely wonderful and we got our cat fix in as we wandered in and out of the house and about the grounds. One of the vets was there at the time and I chatted with her a bit. Having raised cats professionally for 15 years myself I know a little about the critters and it was good to get confirmation that they are all definitely well cared for here.
This really is an interesting site to tour from many perspectives. I imagine if you love Hemingway, you would want to visit. I bought a nicely stamped book on premises that I look forward to reading once I'd heard the story about why it was written and about whom (oh so many wives and much philandering going on here!). The home has wonderful architecture and original furnishings and photos that would make any antique buff go nuts. The grounds hold much beauty for anyone the least bit keen in a horticultural bend and then of course there are the cats. They were amazing to interact with and made me feel as if I could leave a part of me behind to grow old here with history.
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An undeniable history. A beautiful residence turned museum.
And lots and lots of kitties.
You'll hate the price but will absolutely love the tour.
I promise.
This is a must-see place if you are visiting the island. The house itself is very interesting and practically everything inside of it has a story. There are also a lot of cats walking around the property (they claim there are about 60, total).
They have multiple tour guides and run tours frequently, so there is not a lot of waiting before the tour. The guide that we had was extremely funny and quite a character.
It was an amazing experience and very educational. Not only do you pick up a lot of things that you may not have known about Hemingway, but you also learn a lot about the island.
Have fun!
Oh man, if you love Hemingway you have got to come here. It is so fascinating to be in the very same house as the great writer himself. The house is so different than you would think, it is all open so the wind blows through every room. (Because of the heat in the summer)
We walked by here a couple of times before we actually caved in and took the tour. The tour takes you through all of the house, through the rooms where they ate, slept and talked to friends. There is also a total rarity in the home too, a pool. A pool that nearly bankrupted Hemingway because it ended up costing about 10 times what the original bid was.
The tour guide also said Hemingway's home is the largest home in the entire island of Cape Coral with nearly one acre of land. Kind of surprising that that is the biggest one there.
The next and final part of the tour for me was to go over to the separate building and loft where Hemingway actually did his writing. Upstairs in a small room with a wooden floor, he wrote "A Sun Also Rises" and several other famous short stories. To me, being an English major from Berkeley, it was like going to the Vatican for a Catholic.
It was also kind of higher than the other houses and is the second highest home in Key West, a good thing in a hurricane.
And finally, I forgot about all of the cats which are everywhere. They run the place because you can't play with them or touch them or even look at them. Like cows in India. I am not a cat person but these cats were pretty neat because they had an extra toe. Go, if you are ever in Key West. It's a great way to blow off an hour or two and you will learn something about one of our greatest writers at the same time.
This was a great tour for an old Hemingway fan, and I think even non-fans would enjoy it as it's a great old house in Key West.
The admission is a little steap but you can feel good knowing you're helping to keep the house up.
Animal lovers will enjoy the cats.
Screw the house, if you love cats, you will be in heaven here. There are so many cats here, it's so much fun.
These cats are so subdued because it is very hot outside, just be prepared that most of them are not that playful but they are all really sweet. Only one of them scratched me!
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This is the best attraction in town, a quintessential Key West experience that should not be missed whether or not you are a serious Hemingway fan (which I am).
The house is very handsome, breezy but not as open as many other island homes. Hemingway lived here for nine years near the beginning of his career; while in the house, he wrote A Sun Also Rises, as well as some short stories such as "The Snows of Kilamanjaro."
The house sits 16 feet above sea level, making it the second-highest site on the island. The pool was the first installed in Key West; it cost $20,000 in the late 30's. The grounds are even more attractive than the house and offer several spots to sit down and take everything in. The crown jewel, in my opinion, is the gatehouse study. Hemingway refurbished the second floor of the gatehouse into his personal study. Although I might have decorated it differently, I could picture myself spending days upon days holed up in here. What a great life.
I bought a book in the gift shop. Of course, I could have gotten it $2-3 cheaper anywhere else, but it's great to have a Hemingway book from the Hemingway House.
I'd give it a 4.5 but since it's a piece of history I'll fake the funk and give it a 5. The Hemingway House is this beautiful bit of history and the depressed writer who wrote the Old Man and the Sea and many many more. We toured his home he shared mostly with his 3rd (or 4th?) French wife. I would hang out and wait for the free guided tour. Our guide sounded scripted but if you do it tons of times a day then I would be too. HELLA cats everywhere...like 50+ on the property and some descendents of the cats Ernest Hemingway had...note the inbred disease of having 6 toes (jk about the inbred part).
It's a nice piece of history to visit between cocktails and sunning!
I also want to add my voice to say that the really wonderful thing about the Hemingway House is the population of polydactyl kitties. I loved seeing them basking in the sun and on the walls and in the streets around the property. Thus, because they are wonderful it is somehow typical of our current political situation that:
"The US department of agriculture wants to fine the museum's owners up to $200 (107) a day for "exhibiting" the animals without a licence, according to a lawsuit filed in Miami, but the trustees insist that tourists pay to see the house, of which the cats are merely residents."
(That's from the Guardian)
Yes, the USDA wants the Hemingway estate to get rid of the kitties, descended from a female cat Snow White -- a gift to Hemingway from a ship's captain in Key West in 1935! And the cats have had free rein at the house since it opened as a museum in 1964, three years after Hemingway's suicide.
1964! Over 40 years! And suddenly the USDA needs to do something?
If the USDA is really this bored, I have things for them to do:
Stop allowing factory farming.
Start mandating that all animals be allowed to roam free.
Start Inspecting *all* cows for Mad Cow Disease (not one in every 600).
Stop allowing cattle to be fed concrete in order to weigh more at market.
Stop allowing animals to be pumped full of antibiotics.
Stop allowing animals to be pumped full of hormones.
Stop allowing Monsanto to produce GMOs until actual research can be done to determine long-term effects on plants and the environment.
Find out what is killing off the honeybee population (See Monsanto and Novartis)
How can we even take the USDA seriously when they let Novartis and Monsanto etal. do anything they god-damn want to -- decisions that well may effect life on the entire planet for centuries to come -- and yet they decide that the Hemingway cats have got to go?
If you read this scenario in a novel you wouldn't be able to suspend your disbelief long enough to continue the story!
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You have to visit at least once on a visit to Key West if you have an interest in literature, cats, history or just natural curiosity about life itself. If you are going for the first time you should do the guided tour to get a better idea about the man, the history and Key West. After that make sure you take the time to visit the rest of the grounds and visit with the cats. Don't expect to spend more than 2 hours, tour included... the house and the grounds are rather small. The gift shop is *excellent* and you can buy a complete set of Hemingways books if you have the cash and the time to read them.
Earnest Hemingway was pretty hot. In that old school Cary Grant kind of way. If I took anything away from my visit to his house, it was that he was good looking. From his portraits and photographs on display, he seemed like an active and outgoing individual. Bull fights in Spain, trips too Cuba, deep sea fishing, and his many trysts with women were a but a few stories that the tour guide told us about during the walk through the house. I found it really fascinating and the house itself had its own story to tell apart from the author that used to live in it.
This is a must see place if you ever get the chance to visit Key West.
Being that I went to grad school for an MA in Lit...I sooooo was looking forward to checking out "Papa" Hemingway's old stomping grounds!!
The house itself is rather unassuming and slightly run down but i'm sure it was quite the pad in it's heyday! $11/person will get you onto the grounds where you can either walk about freely or take a free guided tour (rather crowded when the cruise ships are in so beware!). There's the main 2-story home and a secondary 2-story structure behind it which houses his writing studio up top and the book store down below.
Cats run amuck ALL over the place...many have 6 or 7 toes as legend has it that most of them are descendants to the cats who lived there while Hemingway was alive. All that inbreeding gave the little guys extra digits!!
Fun place to check out for the history...Also learned that the reason Key West has so many friggin' roosters and chickens running around is due to the cock fighting of the past that occur ed right around the corner from the home. People got outraged and a city-wide ban was put in place protecting all fowl...so they have run of the streets and crow at all hours.
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FYI: I'm a lit nerd, so I'm biased. Just so you know, y'know?
I loved this home & the tour! The home itself is beautiful, of course, as are the grounds, but I found the bits of history related by our tour guide to be the cherry on the sundae, so to speak. And the polydactyl cats, of course - all sixty (or so) of them.
For those guests who can't traverse stairs to tour the second floor of the home, there's a small TV set up in the kitchen (roped off to everyone but us!) that plays a documentary about Hemingway & the home, showing a bit of the upper floor. It's remarkable - you get to sit right there next to the sink where Hemingway gutted fish, etc. It was quite moving for a lit nerd like myself.
Do go!
In a salute to Hemingway, I had 4 martinis at noon. Then I "swam" here through my own created fog, the spring heat and natures own humidity.
The tour was cool. Neat to see the cats and the old house...but there are definitely better ways to connect with this historic writer. Kick back in an old plaza square and read one of his books...that is better.
Although if you must come here, 3 or 4 cocktails make it more "fun" for others as well as yourself.
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As I am not a Hemingway fan, this place was only mildly interesting as an architectural example, we did not do a tour, though we did get chased out of areas of the house by them. The most entertaining bit about the house are the cats.
This is a great house. It is so airy. I would like to live there. There is a nice pool in the backyard. His wife put that in. The tour is pretty good and very informative. However, you can skip parts of it and just wander around also. The furnishings are sparse. I really like Hemingway more after seeing this tour and I think you will too.
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I am embarassed to say that I saw this on a visit to Florida but have not visited the Hemingway sites in his home town of Oak Park near Chicago.
This is a great literary museum and the guide offers a nice tour with fun stories about Hemingway. Rooms without furnishings have lots of photos and memorabilia anfd there is no interior photograpy ban. Interesting garden and pool plus his original study in the coach house.
Fun!
The Hemmingway House is just another one of those things you have to do in Key West. It's on the list just below visiting the Southernmost Point and getting trashed on Duval Street. I would have had a better time had I not visited on the hottest, most humid day of the year (August 26, 2007), but the house itself is beautiful.
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*whew*
we had just made it in time to visit Hemingway's house.
The house is amazing, it was one of the first houses in KW to have running water on the second floor. I liked the tour guide he was very informative and the way he spoke was very pleasant. Man o man the house is loaded with cats! as a matter of fact, the whole town is full of cats.
i just came back from my trip to KW and i thought the weather was perfect.
if you are ever in florida, you should make it down to key west for sure.
the hemingway house is steeped in history, intrigue, and... cats! seriously, there are like 60 roaming around the grounds. it's illegal for them to have as many as they do, but they won't get rid of them. they're everywhere you look. and not only that, they're in places that no one should go (ie. hemingway's bed). i realize i'm perseverating over the cats, but there's something else... over half have an extra toe... bad ass!! it all started from snowball, hemingway's polydactyl cat. fyi... that cats even have their own webpage.
the house is beautiful. it could probably use a little rehab and restoration, but i like the worn in old look. gives it character, like the man himself. it's a two story beauty, but what really impressed me were the grounds. key west homes are not know for their large yards, but hemingway's house is like 5 lots in one. housing the two-story home, his two-story writing studio, a epic pool (cost $40k back in the day, imagine what'd it'd cost now) and beautiful lush grass and plants. i've said it before, but i'm saying it again... i hate tours. that being said, take the tour. the guides know tons of interesting stories about the place that you'd never get walking on your own. they have character too. our guide, i believe, had already had a little too much to drink and it was only 11 when we went. but it completely added to the charm. def take the tour... learn about the urinal fountain, the girlfriends/affairs, his war injuries, his guests, the cats, etc.
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Yeah, I also heard something about what pea p. was saying - about the USDA wanting to force the cats to be taken away. I'm not sure of the status of that insanity, but I sure hope that the USDA isn't successful. The cats are part and parcel of the place. Especially since one little kitty was an absolute mirror image of my childhood cat that lived to be 19 years old. That was freaky - I have pictures of me petting her - wow, she looks just like my kitty and acted like her too. Anyway, the house is cool, all tropical and whatnot. It's a little pricey to get in, but it's worth it. Oh, and the tour guide is just about busking at the end of the tour for tips.
A cool museum that is now open to the public, you can see where Papa penned his work. I loved the gardens and the kitties running around.
Oh man, Hemingway's house was fantasic. Ernest Hemingway lived in this house from 1931 to 1940. They had fifty or sixty cats wondering around, some with six or seven toes on each paw. They were all named after thinkers, artists, writers, etc. like Emily Dickinson and Pablo Picasso. We toured the house, finding cats in and under various pieces of furniture, panting in the humidity despite the October date. His wife used the gate to an monastery in Spain for their headboard, the hinges still attached. Hemingway had a writing studio with a tiny Royal typewriter that he wrote during the most prolific period of his career. The light hit the house just right, tropical with the first swimming pool in Florida, cozy enough for me to wonder how I could live there myself. He took a urinal home from his favorite bar (Old Tony's, I think it was?) and set it up all altar-like in his yard. This was a Great tour!!
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