We booked the Lighthouse for one reason: price. Having stayed at some of the better hotels on the beach (EBH, Pink Shell, Diamondhead) we were hesitant to stay here...we had driven by it many times while on Estero...and decided to take a chance, and save a few bucks....We were very pleasantly suprised !!

If you are a 30's-50's person/couple who enjoy socializing, music, and a few cocktails, then you will love this place. What makes/breaks this place is that in the middle courtyard of the hotel is a tiki bar that is open to the general public. On every night there is music or karoake. The staff/customers are friendly, and it seems like there are more locals than visitors, making it a very inviting, fun place to hang out evenings.

Now, if you aren't in that age group, or perfer things quieter and more sedate, (or younger and louder) you will not like this place !!! On Fridays and Saturday's the music and fun last well into the night...it is a Jimmy Buffet kind of crowd. Laid back and adult.

Some general stuff: We had a second floor suite and it was GREAT !! Complete seperate bedroom away from the noise in the courtyard, VERY roomy living area with complete kitchen set up, and clean. I don't know about the 'standard rooms'...some of the reviews hint that they may be up to lesser standards. The hotel itself is at the bottom of the bridge, so it is located right across the street from Times Square and the beach...ideal !!

One other thing we noticed...not to be snobby...but.....during the 5 days we were there...during the weekend the travelers staying there seemed very friendly and polite and over all good people....on Tuesday...it seemed all the weekend vacationers were gone, replaced by a new group of guests who seemed a bit more...umm....'interesting'. I recall one man who walked to the pool and crashed down into a chair with a coooler full of Busch beer...and another couple sitting on the trailer of their car, cleaning fish....not bad people, just a different social class for sure...Apparently the weekday rate is a lot lower than the weekend rate.

A nice suprise though overall !!

we arrived in ft myers beach after hurricane wilma.
We asked for a standard room and we got a room on the second floor, which we could reach by wooden stairs. All the appartments are centered on other locations, so we had to walk around and between the buildings to our room. Although the location and the room could be called romantic, it was not a very spacious and clean room, because of the outside location, there were insects in our room. I was even a little scared, because the door was made of glass and not that solid. But, we didn't pay that much for the room, so maybe we couldn't expect that much.

Spent a couple of nights here in April 05 on our way from Miami to cruise departure from Tampa, spotless rooms, friendly staff, excellent location, lovely pools, will return in near future hopefully for 2 weeks not just 2 nights

Stayed at the lighthouse for 4 nights in Aug 2005. Excellent rooms. Everything you need. Right across from the beach. Beautiful area. Great Tiki Bar in the center court of hotel. good food. Excellent pool
Will definitely return there.