The worst part of our trip was that we had to leave! We arrived on 3/11/08 about 3PM. Our 2 bedroom Sanibel Residence was beautiful, (granite countertops and updated bath rooms) and very clean. Through out our stay at the Sanibel Inn the entire staff was friendly and could not do enough for my family. Starting with Kathy at the front desk to Audry at the Poolside Bar & Cafe - she is extremly service oriented! The housekeeping staff and maintenance staff were also very friendly and accomadating. Late one afternoon we went over to the hot tub at the Song of the Sea and realized we had no towels. One of the maitnenance men went back to the Sanibel Inn and got us several towels right away. My three kids went bike riding every morning (ages 8,8 & 15). The hotel beach and grounds were beautiful and very well maintained. The kids played in the pool and on the beach every day and enjoyed the company of other children as well. That being said it was not a mob scene at the pool, it was quiet and relaxing while watching the children in the pool. We have stayed at other hotels where they were just so crowded it was impossible to relax and try to keep track of your children. This was not the case at the Sanibel Inn. We left on the 16th and can not wait to go back next year! I told a friend who is going down this week ( I did not know this until I got home) she told me to please not tell too many people how great this place is - to keep it a nice quiet secret. This was the most relaxing and enoyable family vacation our family has been on in years!

The Web makes this property look nicer than it is. I booked four nights at this hotel and averaged more than one call to maintenance per day.

Specific positives and negatives:
Restaurant -- Ellington's. Positive is great music for dinner. Outstanding jazz combo. Negatives: Food is OK at dinner but not great, and totally unacceptable for breakfast. Service is either rushed or nowhere to be found. Overpriced. You'll find much more creative dishes and better execution at several other places on the island.

Front desk: One very nice receptionist and several who seem asleep on their feet. Check in is slow.

Room: Positive: full kitchen and free wireless access. Negatives: run down look; cheap appliances; broken light in kitchen, defective toilet, nonworking lamp in bedroom, torn screen on porch, defective hair blower. Room was not clean at 4PM check-in time; when they finally finished, bedside table covered with sand and dust (and don't look under the bed). We were delayed checking in but we were rushed out on our last day.

Pool bar: one female bar tender is great, the male counterpart is totally inept. It's rather hard to screwup a pina colada but he managed, starting with skimping on the alcohol (half shot).

We rented a suite for four adutls.....March 8th through the 14th for vacation. We thought that it would be an ideal place to enjoy some quallity time together and take in some baseball games.
Initially, when we arrived at 4pm our room was not ready. Which I understand sometimes things do happen.
However, after waiting for a room, it should have at least been clean. It was not. Our room was very dusty and clearly not cleaned thoroughly. I opened the closet door and the door fell off the track and hit me. Then we went to turn the bedroom light on, only to find the bulb was out. This was our first day.at the Sanibel. During the night I awoke to a strob light in the room, the hair dryer decied to flicker on and off.
The second day the light in the kitchen began flickering incessantly, which the maintenance man stated was a bad baliste on the fluorescent light. Did he replace it, no he did not. but did address the closet door, replaced the light bulb and disconnected the hairdryer unit . So when he left we had the pleasure of having a flickering light for the remainder of our stay. in the kitchen area.
The final thing on the fourth night was the plumbing which maintenance did repair.

Now, for a suite at 500.00 a night, I would think that the hotel would have better maintenance and housekeeping so that the rooms would be in better condition than what we experienced.

Overall for the price, I was very disappointed and would not recommend staying at this hotel. Unfortunately,the only positive part of our visit was the awesome beach that we strolled enjoying the views.

My college-aged daughter and I just stayed three nights at the Sanibel Inn. Never having been to Sanibel before, we relied on Tripadvisor and travelers' reviews before booking...and were very glad we did! The hotel feels smaller than it is, which lends a feeling of privacy. Quiet and family friendly with a pristine beach setting. The grounds are beautifully landscaped, including a butterfly garden and various trees and bushes which attract interesting birds. Our room was excellent - beachfront, with a screened-in porch which permitted us to sleep with the door open and hear the waves. The room was very nicely done, very clean with great beds. The bathroom was immaculate - very modern with granite counters, plenty of fluffy towels and nice amenities. Upon check-in, the staff gave us a map of the island and recommended good places for shelling - and Sanibel definitely lives up to its reputation in that regard. We took advantage of the lounges the hotel puts out on the beach each day, spent hours walking the beach - didn't go to the pool at all because the beach was just too inviting! We ate at the poolside restaurant one day - food was what you'd expect, but good quality and friendly staff. You definitely need a car in Sanibel - the island isn't that big, but the restaurants and shops are a bit of a hike from the Inn. If we'd had more time, we would have taken advantage of the complimentary bicycles and ridden into the town rather than driving. Lots of good restaurants around - we especially enjoyed the Sanibel Cafe for breakfast (unbelievable omelettes and coconut french toast). Also went to the Island Cow - great family restaurant but good, relatively inexpensive food. Sanibel Bean is a coffee spot worth visiting as well. The hotel is a short drive from the Ding Darling wildlife refuge - do not miss it! If you like birds, you'll be in heaven here! Tarpon Bay, also close by, offers self-guided kayak tours which are well worth taking, as well as a sunset cruise on the bay with a very knowledgeable guide. Lots of dolphins, the occasional manatee, and thousands of nesting birds. All in all, a terrific getaway, just wish we had had more time.