Hemingway House Review

This is a must for a fan of literature. In addition to seeing the furniture in the house there are many displays discussing Hemingway's life and the history of his work. You will need to read the displays and take the tour. The tour could be more in depth but these are likely volunteer tour guides taking people through. The museum does a very good job of maintaining the grounds. After seeing the house and Hemingway's office you can roam the grounds hunting for the six toed cats (about half of them are six toed).

I loved the guided tour and the cats laying around everywhere

Such a wonderful place to visit and see the sweet kitties.

Lovely place! Perfect for someone who wants to experience how people used to live in the past and what they occupied their lives with. And of course those weird but super friendly cats!

This place has too many cats and the cats have too many toes. Some would say that one cat is to many. Mr Hemingway must have not held that sentiment. Today the Ernest Hemingway home hosts at least a dozen cats. They are all free to wander about and pursue whatever cat's aspire to achieve (not much). Their extra toes apparently come in handy for catching mice and other vermin. I didn't see any rats on the tour.

Very interesting man that Hemingway. I love the fact that he loved cats and really took care of them. The little cemetary with the head stones for the cats that passed away shows me he had a good heart.

I had a great tour at the Ernest Hemingway Museum. Pretty interesting.

Perhaps the reason that made us visit Key West. For those who live more than 6,000 km, in Portugal, have been waiting for many years to visit this place. Fantastic. We love all the exhibition and description of Hemingway's history, as well as the famous 6-fingered cats, the cemetery at the back of the deceased cats, with their name plate. The whole house, or rather the entire city of KEY WEST, exudes Hemingway. EXCELLENT place to visit.

The tour was very informative with plenty of items and pictures to look at. Joanna was an excellent guide and I learned so much of Hemingway s life.

I cannot say enough about this place. Definitely worth the drive. The guides are interesting but we really enjoyed the self-guided experience. Hemingway up close and personal.

Really cool tours, awesome history, knowledgeable staff. Plus 59 cats!

Very interesting, recommended visit of the house where the writer Hemingway lived. For a fee. Difficult parking in the surroundings.

Amazing place, really well maintained. Friendly staff and awesome cats!

Excellent experience. Beautiful home with a lot of history, I can see why Hemingway lived there. Our tour guide was excellent - wish I could remember her name but I know she was from Maine. The tour was just the right length and you re free to roam after and stay as long as you want. Highly recommend that you get there early - we arrived around 10:30 and left at noon, by that time the line to buy tickets stretched down the street.

Marvelous house. I felt like I had actually stepped into a movie or back in time. I looked out of the windows onto garden and imagined what it was like to have lived there.

Obligatory step by Key West. The cats that lived with the writer are buried in the yard and he himself took care that the grave was there

Great tour guides... and most of the cats will let you pet them

Cats cats and more cats, also the home of a writer you may have heard of.

Very interesting guided tour followed by a choice to wander the grounds on your own

Really great tour, Doug, our guide was terrific! Good place for kids & adults.

Awesome place to explore and very informative tour guide.

One of the highest points in Key West! Anyone who knows at least a little of Ernest Hemingway's life or work is well worth the visit! The tour shows the whole story of the writer and his home, as well as his passion for cats (which by the way are still there in great numbers and are very docile)

My favorite author, the history in this home is worth the visit

Nice walk, the house is very well preserved and transports you to the past

Awesome. Loved the kitties! Loved the plants, loved the tour. It was a wonderful place to see.

Guides will give you great stories about Earnest. Six toed cats everywhere. It's like going into a time machine . A must see when in Key West

An enriching experience, the place maintains its energy and its essence

Tour the house of E. H. for $ 15 x people. It seems too much for what it is. In 5 minutes you go back and leave. Families pay x individual. A rush

Like stepping back in time. Hemingway was so cool and the cats are ADORABLE.

What are the chances to not only run into a tour guide (out of a dozen or more wandering around), Doug Maleno, who is originally from Greenfield, MA but the brother of Mike Michael Maleno a fellow classmate of 71 GHS graduate.

Polydactyl toed cats and a story more interesting than the books he wrote....highly recommend visiting.

Well worth the $14 to see such a large, lovely old house in Key West. The fact that it was Hemingway's home and writing studio is icing on the cake. Nice that you can join a guided tour or wander on your own, or both! I spent an hour here but would have stayed longer to just relax under the trees, if the weather had been warmer.

There s more to this house than you can imagine! Don t miss the 6-pawed 35 cats on the property and make sure to take the tour, the guides are great!

The tour was pretty quick but covered a lot. I was shocked to see so many of the cats on the property and how friendly they were. They were all adorable and super sweet.

Long lines, a little pricey to get in, but there's a lot of history in this place. Most of the tour guides I believe are volunteers and they work for tips. Most of them do a tremendous job.

The place has an intriguing alchemy in its air - one is inspired to pursue the nobility of forging oneself into a better person.

Very interesting tour - has me wanting to read Hemmingways books and watch films

Amazing experience, the grounds are full of stories about the life and work of Mr Hemingway. Enjoyed thoroughly the ability to pet and play with the Hemingway Cats

Great tour. Very historical delivered with a little humor.

Very fun place. Cute 6 toes cats everywhere. It's nice you don't have to go on a guided tour. Staff was very sweet and great at answering questions.

Great place to check out if your in the area. Good for all ages! The pool is great on a hot day

Very interesting place. Loved seeing and learning. Loved the cats but only down side is I literally could not complete the tour because my eyes were burning due to ammonia from cat urine smells.

Really fascinating place to hit if you're a fan of Hemingway or American literature. Don't make the trip down here without visiting!

Exciting. With his cats and all the furniture kept in excellent condition

I came in with little knowledge or interest in Hemmingway and yet I loved the tour and house.

Pretty cool. Better if you had to do the tour, because people kept walking through talking, made it hard to hear the guide.

A really neat experience. The tour guides are knowledgeable and enthusiastic. And the cats are fantastic!

Not very cheap but interesting to learn about Ernest Hemingway. Numerous cats (all have a name) frolic in and around the house and are also looked after here. Including some 6-toed cats like Hemingway had.
You can see the rooms in the main house, the pool, the garden and the study in the neighboring house. And of course the cat graveyard.

Awesome atomsphere! And so many cats...not the place to be if allergic to them. It was nice to see the past and the tours guides we're really knowledgeable. Hemingway was a player and and excellent writer. But shocked me to learn he was a "rolling stone"

Very interesting, great tour guide, beautiful grounds.

Nice place! I wish we could ve checked in and stayed a couple of nights

It's great education and great to see all of the cat's!!

It looked nice from the outside. They wanted $14 a piece to get on the property. I didn't need to see it that bad.

We came as a school group from Pensacola on 2/27/17, easy process paying for our tickets and the gentleman at the ticket booth was very nice. And that's where the niceness ended. Our kids ranged from 4th to 8th grade and we had a group of 27, almost half being adults. When we were waiting for the group to gather one of our kids dropped a water bottle and Bob immediately snapped that this was not a playground. He also made it very clear that he did not want to give us the tour saying that it's not for kids and that everything is labeled with everything we would need to know. Our 7th and 8th graders had previously read Old Man and the Sea and they had several assignments due on our visit, and all kids had to make a page in their journals. We basically got kicked out of every room we entered and the kids constantly being asked where their adults were even with us standing within a few feet of them. Very frustrating visit to say the least.

Beautiful grounds with a fascinating history and gorgeous kitties all around! The only doing I can give is that they don't take cards, but are happy to direct you to the ATM on premises with the almost $4 service charge.

We had a really good time here. Minus 1* because the lady at the ticket booth got really stanky with us when I asked if they had a military discount. I also find the price is outrageous for what it is.

Fantastic oral account and various plaques to document the full life of Earnest Hemingway. Sara was an outstanding orator and answered all questions and keep the tour moving. Highly recommend if you are a cat lover. 6 toed cats!!! Just Awesome.

WORST TOUR GUIDE EVER!!! Our tour guide Alisa told us to go inside and wait, the tour would begin in a few minutes. Now one would think, a few minutes, thats like 3-5, maybe 10 minutes, not with this lady, that means 20-30 min. It was enough time to completely walk through the house, read all the placards and find ourselves back in the original room. Most of the people waiting on the tour ended up leaving and going off on their own.

By the time the tour started, we might have had between 20-25 people. Alisa gave us her spiel about recording her, "I don't want to be a youtube star", or talking while she is talking. When we got to the dining room, she attempted to make a joke, no one laughed. She repeated it, motioning to the group that she wanted a reaction, where most of the group managed to force out a chuckle. A young girl with a family from Argentina, (mom and dad spoke fluent english), in a very low whisper asked her mom "why was everyone laughing". The little girl who didn't understand the poorly orchestrated joke nor the subsequent forced response from the crowd, simply wanted to know the story being told and was in NO WAY distracting the group. Instead of the grown woman leading the tour simply talking over this young girl and continuing, she stopped, rudely kept looking at her watch as if to time out the non-existent distraction and finally asked the family to leave the group, citing that it was distracting her from doing her job. Once the family had left, she started the entire room speech over again, expecting us to laugh at her horrible jokes...again.

By the time the tour ended at the back of the house just above the stairs to the basement, we had only about 7-10 people in the group. Even now, at the end of the tour, she scolded a woman holding her phone to her chest in fear she was being recored. Alisa, if you are reading this, the only reason anyone would want to record you it to show how rude and obnoxious your are. This is where she preceded to tell us how great of a job she had done and that we should tip her, yea, not happening.

What makes this a bad situation is not that she asked a bothersome tourist to leave, that would be understandable. She asked a family from another country with small children, who were 100% not being a distraction to leave. If what she said was true, and this place is in fact a national historical landmark, then she as a staff member should be an ambassador of our country to foreigners coming here to sample the history of the greatest country on earth. A well trained, seasoned tour guide would and could guide a group and not let the soft tones of a small child hinder them from doing their job. Instead, she came off as the over sun tanned, drunk American looking to make enough scratch in tips to run and buy the next bottle of booze while she passes out on a bench by the martello. Volunteer or paid employee, there is no excuse for her behavior. Luckily we caught up with the Argentinian family, ensured them that not all Americans are like this and found out they had received a refund. The house and grounds are beautiful, the cats are cool and the gift shop staff are super nice. The tour guide experience really soured it though. Maybe just get another tour guide and avoid Alisa.

Love it here...it gets a bit too crowded sometimes...but I love to visit the cats and just enjoy the beauty of it.

Interesting historical site
curiosity to see cats with 6 fingers

fantastic house and the beautiful resident Hemingway cats

Loved the history of a great man and the 6 toed cats!

I'm honestly not a Hemingway fan. Primarily went to see the cats. Was not disappointed at all, especially because there was a $6 spring break special for college students. Plenty of sweet polydactyl kitties to pet, and the house is beautiful. Great place to hang out for a bit, even if you're not a Hemingway fan, I recommend going if you're in key west.

Interesting tour. Chris our tour guide did a great job

Such a great place, thank you guys for taking care of these piece of history!