A family resort since 1987

Three generations of the Ortega family have welcomed guests to this stretch of Atlantic sand.

Resort villas and pool among coconut palms — The garden wing, rebuilt in 2018

Housekeeper arranging pillows in a suite — Turndown, the Azure Bay way

It started with turquoise paint

In 1987 Carlos and Elena Ortega bought a 12-room motel with a leaky roof and a view they could not stop looking at. They painted every door turquoise and called it Azure Bay.

Nearly four decades later the doors are still turquoise, but the motel has grown into a 42-room resort with three pools, a spa, three restaurants and a quarter mile of beach. Their daughter Marisol, who grew up folding towels by the pool, now runs the place.

1987
A 12-room motel on the Atlantic
Carlos and Elena Ortega buy a tired beach motel and repaint every door turquoise.
2004
Tidewater Spa opens
The old laundry becomes a four-room spa using key lime and sea grass from day one.
2017
Hurricane Irma and a rebuild
The resort rebuilds to modern storm codes, adding the lagoon pool and garden bungalows.
2019
Marisol takes the helm
The founders' daughter becomes General Manager and launches our reef pledge.

What we believe

Four promises that shape how we hire, how we cook and how we look after the island.

Hosts, not staff
We learn names, remember coffee orders and treat every stay like a visit from friends.
Protect the reef
Reef-safe amenities, no single-use plastic bottles and 1% of room revenue to coral restoration.
Island first
82% of our team lives in the Keys, and we buy from local fishermen, farmers and makers.
Slow on purpose
Late check-outs, long lunches and nobody rushing you off a lounger at 5 pm.

1987
Family owned since
42
Rooms, suites and bungalows
180
Team members, mostly local
4.8
Average from 2,146 reviews

The people who make it feel like home

Most of our 180-person team grew up on the island. Here are a few of the faces you will meet.

Born in Key West and raised on the docks of Stock Island, Marisol ran boutique resorts in Tulum and Nassau before coming home to lead Azure Bay in 2019.
Jonah trained at a Palm Beach grand hotel and now oversees every room, from housekeeping standards to the key lime cookies waiting on your pillow.
Theo is a certified dive master who has logged 900 dives on the Florida Reef. He plans every snorkel, sail and seaplane trip we offer.
Andre cooked in Miami and Port-au-Prince before settling in the Keys. He buys fish at 6 am and changes the Driftwood menu daily.