I had never been to Gulf Shores/Orange Beach before and was just going by what I had seen on the travel channel and on the internet to base my decision to go there for a family vacation. I investigated around to find the "best" place to stay and stumbled upon Caribe-the resort. I debated whether I would like not being right on the beach from my condo, but after looking over the amenities at Caribe I decided to book there. What a great decision! Yes, it was sort of a pain to load up the car with all the beach junk and we got sand everywhere in the car (it was a rental, though), but we could have taken the Caribe's trolley to the beach if we wanted. It was soooo nice, though to hit the pools because there are many of them at the Caribe and they are all different, plus there are three waterslides, and the lazy river. Each building has an indoor heated pool (nice in the evening), but the pools outside were so nice we were able to go there at night too. I am definitely glad I made the choice to stay here instead of a condo right on the beach with just one plain old pool. The Caribe's location is great too and no matter what condo you stay in you'll have a great view of either Perdido Pass or the gulf. I would recommend staying up high in the condo if you could because then the view is awesome. We were on the 12th floor of unit B and just getting up and looking out the huge windows and seeing a mass of ocean was soooo cool. A great place to stay if you have kids who like to swim, but close enough to the beaches that it's fun to go there too.

Liar, Liar, Liar: Your pants are on Fire.
I specifically requested a room on the Gulf.
I requested that I would be directly on the beach.
If you consider getting in your car, driving one mile, across the bridge, then parking and unloading your beach stuff and then walking to the beach: on the Gulf. Then go for it.
Not only are the pictures deceiving, but the sales agent that booked the room for me told me that I was on the Gulf. I have e-mails to prove it.
I am incensed!!! I only have three days to enjoy the beautiful white sandy beaches of Florida, and Caribe Resort has ruined that for me and my children. Teenage boys do not want to stay cooped up in the room all day. They want to be on the beach. But now they have to be driven to the beach. All I can say is this is the worst vacation of my life. What a waste of money.
Liar, Liar, Liar: Your pants are on Fire!

Just returned from a week in Orange Beach/Gulf shores. Overall our vacation was a very positive experience. We had never been in this area before but had heard nice things about it.
We decided to spurge and stay at the Caribe Resort and were not disappointed at all, this place is first class all the way. The pictures from their web site didn't lie at all. From the minute we walked in the door of our condo our jaws dropped to the floor, it was beautiful, well furnished and spacious. We stayed in D901, from the balcony we could see the ocean, the bay and the pools.
I recommend Jake's Steakhouse in Orange Beach, our steaks were cooked just the way we ordered and were very tender. We also drove up to Foley and ate at Lamberts Cafe what an experience, kids loved it and the food was really good.
For fun we went to Adventure Island and the Track, both were alot of fun. And by all means drive over to Pensacola and visit The Naval Aviation Museum, this is also home to the Blue Angels, who practice Tuesday and Wednesday. One day we went to the beach and discovered jelly fish all over the beach so decided not to get in but overall the beach was very nice, real soft sand and clean water.

The Caribe was beautiful and absolutely a great vacation. We stayed June 2 through the June 9th 2007. The place was immaculate with a ton of amenities. The condo (a two bedroom) was as advertised. Huge with all the newest appliances and the balcony was large enough to lay out in the morning or hold a small party. Our two children (12 and 9) loved the pools and the lazy river. The fear of not being on the beach should not scare you away, the trolley is convienent and makes the 2 minute ride fun. I cannot say enough, our trip was awesome!!