We were a group of family/friends participating in a wedding ceremony at this fabulous hotel in early June. Service was top notch. We are from NY and can honestly say there was not one thing to complain about. Every single staff member that we came into contact with had a "genuine" smile plastered on their faces the entire 5 days we were there. The shuttle bus driver from the main hotel to the Grand Bay (approximately 2 minute drive) was so kind and didnt even want a tip!! Our rooms at the Grand Bay were spacious and clean and even when we had a bathroom "backup" the maintenance men were cordial and fixed the problem. They had to return twice and were STILL SMILING!!!! They offered to give us another room but we declined. We had spectacular views of the water and the toll bridge to Sanibel Island. We were treated to lightening shows at midnight and enjoyed every minute of it. Florida weather is weird. I wouldve rather stayed at the main hotel because thats where the action was i.e. the gorgeous pool and other amenties such as great resturants but our bride thought we would appreciate the privacy of the Grande Bay. That pool is just okay but the pool at the main hotel is unbelievable with bar service and views that are postcard worthy ~ especially the sunsets. The two specialty resturants, Courtyard Steakhouse and Tarpon house were above average. The steakhouse is very pricey !!! The chef of the Tarpon House came out and spoke with our group the night we ate there. She was very personable and the presentation of the food was worthy of a "TOP CHEF" episode. We also had a rental car and was able to hit the outlets and go to a nice resturant 5 mins. down the road called BIDDLES for the rehearsal dinner. That was really nice. This is a beautiful area in Florida and would we stay there again??? YES - in a heartbeat. I do believe we just received a $100 voucher from the Hotel if we do go back again. YAY!!
:)

This was a nice place. My husband and I stayed here for a professional meeting at the main hotel, but decided to stay at the Grande Bay for privacy. Checking in was great, on the second floor, with nice looking desks and friendly staff. Our room was so much more than we expected. So much so that my husband insisted on confirming it with the front desk to make sure that we were not accidentally placed in a room we hadn't reserved. =) Then breakfast was very delicious, and probably had the BEST cheese danishes I have ever tasted. Room service was prompt and the items on the menu were delicious!! The triple chocolate torte is worth it!

The overall stay was relaxing with the huge room and the balcony. The shuttle to the main hotel was very helpful and convenient. The area is beautiful and the boat rentals are absolutely essential to making the most of the trip.

That said, there are things that were disappointing. For one, the beaches were not the best. They were very narrow, and mostly unpleasant to be at. The view was wonderful, though.

The most disappointing and actually very upsetting thing was the maid service. I have never had any difficulty with maid service before. I had seen things about nightmare maids at hotels on TV, but I figured that only happened at not so good hotels. Well, I was wrong. I had a trip planned for a week and a half, with 3 days at the resort. Any valuables were actually packed up, just as a precaution, but, my prescription medication is usually left out on the counter so that I don't forget to take it every morning. After leaving the room in the late morning to spend a long day out on a boat, maid service came as usual and cleaned the room. It was well done, and everything looked tidy. Things were great, until the next morning when I went to take my medicine and I realized that I was missing several pills from one of my pill bottles. I don't actually keep count of my pills on a daily basis, but, I purposely get them both filled on the same day, take only one per day, and keep track of them by making sure that I have the same amount of pills in each bottle. Well, one bottle was normal and had enough pills to get me through my trip without a problem (as I had planned). My second bottle, was missing pills, and when In counted them, I found that 5 pills were missing. This isn't even a medication that could possibly be taken for recreational use!!! Because of that, I never even imagined that it could be any problem to keep it out on the bathroom countertop. I complained to the staff and at first they just said that they would look into it. I had to leave right away in the morning so as not to be late for a presentation. After the presentation, I went back to the front desk to see if there was any progress, and the person at the front desk had no record of my complaint. So, again I explained this to the attendant at the front desk and left a written complaint. I am currently waiting to see if anything was done or investigated.

Looking back, It seemed annoying that the maid service person was knocking on my door at 830 am while I was still getting ready. I told her to come back later, and she again knocked on my door 15 minutes later. I told her I still wasn't done, and I even put the latch lock on after that. I only thought it was annoying at the time, but, now I am a little more suspicious.

So, if you want to stay here, my only advice is to not allow maid service in your room and put a do not disturb sign on your door for your stay.

My boyfriend took me here at the end of May 2008 for my birthday. We didn't stay in the actual hotel part while we were there though. My boyfriend's grandmother owns a condo there but it's still part of the resort. We had an amazing time and every morning there was a wonderful view! We were told it was unusually hot for that time of year..it was about 95 every day but as long as we were hanging out in the pool it was great. We even saw a manitee from our 12th floor condo. We loved the pool in front of the resort and the pool side drinks and food were great. A little highly priced but that was to be expected. The staff are all very friendly! My boyfriend fished off of the pier...didn't really catch anything but it was a fun experience anyway. We got a chance to have massages while we were there. It was my first massage but I have to say this place HAS to be the best place to get one. It was such a relaxing enviroment to begin with and the massage was amazing!

We also drove over to Sanibel and Captiva Island. It was nice there but I was slightly dissapointed. There really isn't much to do on the islands. There are a few nice shops and I loved the landscaping at Perwinkle Place (shopping mall on Sanibel). We ate at the Island Cow..awesome food and great service! Not too terribly priced either! Highly recommend it there. If you want to go and swim or do some sightseeing it's great but it's not what I expected.

I also recommend a resturaunt just up the road from the resort called The Lighthouse. They have amazing seafood and the prices weren't too high either! Well weather you are in the hotel or the condos you will love this place! It has something for everyone and even if you don't do a thing but sit by the pool it's still an amazing place. I fell in love with the view. I recommend it to everyone!

Sanibel Harbour is a good 4star hotel with excellent staff in all areas of our stay.
Couple of points you should know so as not to leave dissappointed.
$15 a day resort fee
Punta Rasa location - $6 toll and 20 min drive to sanibel proper
Self park is located as far away as they could get it to main hotel - pay $15 a day for valet or take a hike!