About Us

Our Happy In The Keys Story

Our story starts with a last minute trip to the Florida Keys in December of 2009.

The "Keys Disease"

Our Happy in the Keys story starts with a vacation to the Florida Keys in December of 2009. Within days, my husband and I simply fell in love with the islands – contracting what the locals call the “Keys Disease.” We extended our stay, extended our stay again and then decided to look at property. We bought a sweet older beach house in Key Colony Beach for our family to enjoy. The more we spent time in the Keys, the more we loved it and felt right at home.

The More We Spent Time In The Keys, The More We Loved It.

Welcome to The Caribbean

Before that first trip to the Keys, we did not truly understand that this chain of small American islands share the same turquoise blue ocean waters as the Bahamas, Cuba and the other islands of the Caribbean. In fact, Andros Island in the Bahamas is closer (as the crow flies) to Marathon, Florida than it is to North Miami or Fort Lauderdale. And most other people who have never known the joy of being in these magical islands do not realize these geographical facts. By way of island culture and ocean waters, the Florida Keys have more in common with the Bahamas than the mainland of Florida. Think warm tropical waters, shallow reefs, white sandy beaches, sleepy palms, extraordinary fishing, fresh seafood and a laid back, friendly island lifestyle. All with no customs or leaving the country. You can fly or drive to our islands because the Keys are connected by bridges!

A Familiar Story

Excited to share our newly found paradise with all of our family and friends, my husband and I almost always brought along sisters, mothers, children, and our close friends with us on almost every trip we made to our home away from home. When you own a vacation home in the Florida Keys – no one ever turns down an invitation!!! And that made it all the more fun and wonderful. But this evolution is not unique to us, most people who travel to the Florida Keys cannot wait to return and come again year after year with the life goal of buying property here or moving here for good.

A New Business Was Born

Because we loved sharing the Keys with other people and because we are entrepreneurs at heart, my husband and I started buying and building homes for a vacation rental residence portfolio. And that is how our business was born. Just like all of our adult children and most of our friends and family, even our standard poodles, Layla, Chopper and Roux, are happiest when they are in the Florida Keys, running the beaches, chasing iguanas and fishing the sandbars. If you are reading this story, you are probably feeling the lure of these American Islands in the Caribbean, and we think you will be just like us and will feel it too: Happy in the Keys.

Our Mission

To provide the very best vacation rental homes in the Florida Keys for the guests who choose our properties for their much deserved and earned vacations.

We put our heart & soul into everything we do

Our Team

Our job as we see it, is to make sure that the vacation rental homes our guests rent from us are exceptional in every way and exceed all expectations.

Martie

As co-owner and designer, I love to create extraordinary homes for our guests that speak to their vacation souls and provide every ease of life. I intentionally coaxed the ocean and tropical surroundings into our vacation rental homes with the details and elevated design approach that are found in each home. Built into my design approach are whimsical and fun beachy decor surprises to invoke smiles and happiness. I filled each home with the custom touches, luxury linens, specialty mattresses and furnishings that we all should expect in a home away from home. Nothing makes me happier than to hear one of our guests say - as many have - "I could live here and not change one thing." Marketing our vacation rental homes and our Keys lifestyle on our Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and blog keeps me connected to our mission and our guests.

Kim

As our Director of Residences and Guest Experience, Kim ensures you receive the best hospitality, communication, and service our small team can provide. Kim handles the inquiries, quotes, and bookings as well as most communications. She inspects every home before our guests arrive and welcomes them with a genuine smile. She works hard to make the entire process seamless and easy for everyone.

Jerry & Jose

Our maintenance staff of two work every day to keep all systems well maintained and operational and to keep our vacation rental residences in pristine condition for our guests' ultimate enjoyment. If anything at all is not working properly - a lightbulb goes out, a smart tv won't connect to the speaker --- they are on site in a matter of minutes.

Fall In Love With The Keys

So come on down and join our happy family of vacation enthusiasts in the Florida Keys. We know you will love it like we do and hope that our story will become your story as you make one of our special residences your home away from home and return to it time after time, and more and more in the years ahead.

Peace, love and vacations,

Martie, and Layla, the HappyintheKeys hunting poodle

Explore The Keys

In our goal to provide more and more assistance and tools for you in planning and experiencing the best vacation ever, we have expanded our website and the information on it to provide recommendations and information that can truly make your life easier as you prepare for your trip and while you are here.

We also have launched a blog that will discuss what to do while you are in the Keys, about where to purchase some of our home decor and furnishings, about where to eat or shop while you are here and what to order ahead of time, oh and even what kind of bait is best off the docks!

Things to ponder, things to do, things to love, and things to savor are a few of our topics. We think you will not only enjoy the blog posts, but you can actually use them before and after your trip in a meaningful way. You will probably want to share them as well. We have active Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest pages that are fun, inspiring and also very useful.

We have a Facebook Group and I urge you to join where you can post questions or comments and recommendations. The website, the blog, the social media accounts all help us connect in our love for vacations and the Florida Keys.