The house was built by Asa Tift on the highest point on the island. It was built from coral blocks that were cut from the property. The hole in the ground where the blocks were cut from became a basement, a very rare thing to have in Florida. The house is virtually hurricane proof and the basement is always dry. Hemingway had visited Key West often before he bought this house at a tax auction for $8,000. He lived here from 1931 until 1940 with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer and their two sons. He was absent a lot. Short absences were to the bars on Duval Street. Longer ones were to Cuba. During one of those trips, Pamela had a $20,000 swimming pool installed. He was so furious at the expense, he pressed his last penny into the cement on the pool’s deck. This wasn’t the first decorating project Pamela undertook at the house. She was an editor for Vogue magazine, and tried to bring the house up to that standard. She removed all the paddle fans and installed Venetian glass Chandeliers. The marriage didn’t last and the divorce settlement favored Pamela. He did manage to get some writing done in the upper floor room of the carriage house. Books from this era include: "A Farewell to Arms", "Death in the Afternoon", "To Have and Have Not" and he started "For whom the Bell Tolls."

The Hemingway boys had a cat named Snowball who had six toes on each foot. The grounds of the estate now are the home to about 63 six-toed cats. We were allowed to pet them but not pick them up. The tour started in the living room where we saw an original Picasso, a lot of hunting trophies and some unusual souvenirs from Papa Hemingway's world travels. Across the wide center hall that ran the length of the house was the dining room. Over the table was one of Pauline’s Venetian glass chandeliers. Ugly. A large side board housed the Hemingway liquor supply. From what we heard, bottles didn’t have time to get dusty. Upstairs the master bedroom is as large as the living room. A rope around the bed was to keep tourists off, but all the estates cats are welcome to nap there. The oversize bed has an unusual headboard. It is made from a gate. Above that is an original painting by Henry Faulkner depicting this house. An unusual set of chairs were also in this room. One was a birthing chair and the other was a midwife’s chair. A shaded veranda surrounded the second floor. We walked on it to get to the boys bedroom on the west side of the house. They also had a playroom and a lovely large bathroom that was the first second floor bathroom in Key West.
A small gift shop is in the pool house. The house/museum is open 365 days a year and the cost was $11/adult.

You should visit the former house of Ernest Hemingway. It was bought for Pauline and Ernest Hemingway by Pauline's uncle Gus in 1931 (Pauline was Ernest's 2nd wife). The Hemingway House is the only house in Key West with a basement and the first house on the island to get indoor plumbing, fireplace, and a swimming pool (Hemingway was outraged at what the pool ended up costing).The famous author owned the home until his death in 1961, and he lived there with countless cats, whose descendants, including the famed six-toed cats, still roam the premises. Hemingway built the brick wall around the house in an effort to get some privacy from the crowds of tourists.

It was during those years that the Nobel Prize winner wrote some of his most greatest works, including "For Whom the Bell Tolls", "A Farewell to Arms", Death in the Afternoon" , and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro". Hardware store owner Charles Thompson introduced him to deep sea fishing. Among the group that went fishing was Joe Russell (also known as Sloppy Joe).

Definitely take the guided tour (45 min. or so); the guide will tell you interesting stories and offer insights and anecdotes into the Hemingway’s, the house and the town. You will see rooms of his house with glass cabinets that store artifacts, books, and his study. Hemingway had a lot of friends in Key West, and many of them appeared as characters in his novel "To Have and Have Not" which is about Key West during the depression.

Even if you're not a Hemingway fan, the place is worth the visit for the house's architecture and lovely garden.

The Hemingway House was an unexpected pleasurable historical tour. I stumbled upon it quite by accident when I was parking on the street right across from the sight. Since I had heard such wonderful things about it from the locals, I decided to take a gander inside. For only $5 admission, it wasn't even a second thought- so I purchased my ticket and embarked on a tour.

I was never a big Hemingway fan (something about the womanizing, drunken rumors that always turned me off), but the tour guides completly played up these colorful parts of Hemingway's past and made them seem almost charming. From the tales of his ex-wive's taste in decorations and her penchant to drive Ernest crazy, to the reason why he selected this house (the lighthouse acrossed the street assured he'd find his way home from the bar). It changed my opinion of Hemingway quite a bit.

The tour guides here were very knowledgable and colorful, spinning tales and yarns about Hemingway as well as giving factual information about the premises. It was very entertaining.

Perhaps my favorite part of the tour was finding out that Hemingway, like myself, was a cat lover. Almost 70 cats inhabit the grounds today and are cared for by the caretakers. Some are descendents of Hemingway's lucky cats (they have 6 toes!) and they all have names after famous writers.

This was well worth the small price of the admission and I would highly recommend this tour to anyone visiting Key West!

You can tag along with a guide or just wander by yourself. Learn about Hemingway and some of his quirkiness. Look for the penny by the pool. Of course, there are all those cats! I recommend taking the guided tour. It doesn't cost any more, and you can wander the grounds after the tour is over.

The word "cat house" takes on new meaning with this visit. It is unthinkable to come to Key West and not see Hemingway's house. Even if you have not read his novels, it might entice you to do so after your tour.

The tour is optional, and free if you want to be led around. We opted to do our own browsing, as I was anxious to see what lay ahead. We started in the living room, which is filled with pictures of Hemingway with fish (of course, there's furniture) and one particularly impressive oil portrait of him in his macho days. The next area is an anteroom where glassware was kept and opened to the kitchen. This was cordoned off, but you could see that it was large and had all the amenities for the times. The floor tiles have fish motifs.

The hallway is replete with artwork of man and sea scenes, and one is particularly striking with a three dimensional marlin built into the canvas. The living area has some items under glass, and pictures of the real "old man" who is the subject of Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea. He lived to be over 100 or so. We also learn a bit more about the second and third wife, and yes, there was a fourth. It seemed that every time Hemingway moved from one country to another, he remarried.

I was greeted upstairs by one of the famous six-toed cats. They are totally uninterested in the visitors, as it has become routine for them.

The bedroom is sumptuous and has access to the veranda that surrounds the upper level. Green shutters adorn the windows and doors. There is another room with a fireplace with photos of the family. We see some of his children, but nary a word about any of his granddaughters. Across the way is a wrought iron staircase, which leads to his study where he did his work. The old typewriter catches the eye immediately, as do the stuffed deer heads on two of the walls. Books line the shelves, but the area, here again is sealed off though you can a fairly good look at its contents. His mantra was to write between 400 and 800 words a day, otherwise, he would consider the day wasted

. You can really get lost on the grounds; Chuck and I took separate paths and I was conducting a study of the plants and came upon a small bridge which spanned a rill that was algae ridden. It is there that I encountered my two lizard friends with which I had a staring contest. I continued walking through the various paths and thought that this could be Cuba recreated here for Ernest. Trees provide the very necessary shade and are surrounded by various species of flora. The house is the only one on the island with a pool and a basement. The elephant statues positioned by the pool look anachronistic.