My husband and I loved our stay at the Holiday Inn Sanibel. We were looking for a very relaxing sun filled vacation and this was it for us. We liked it so much we are returning in a couple of weeks.....I guess that is the best review I could give!!!

We loved it....the peaceful walks in the morning with the palm trees blowing in the gentle ocean breeze....it was just like paradise for us....quite a change from Ohio!

My family of 4 stayed here from July 30 to August 2nd and we really enjoyed it. The hotel is located on the beach and is off of the main road but very easy to get to. My kids enjoyed the pool which was fairly small but had a nice view of the ocean. We also enjoyed the beach here and at other locations on the island. The hotel is nicely landscaped with a few small lagoons where my kids did spot an alligator. The room we stayed in had 2 queen beds, a refrig., microwave and was basic but clean. The people at the front desk were great and handled everything quickly. They were happy to print my boarding passes for me. We did not eat at the restaurant (due to all of the great restaurants on Sanibel and Captiva) but we did use the Tiki bar by the pool which provided drinks and very basic food (hot dogs, nachos, microwaved taquitos). Overall, we enjoyed this quiet and relaxing Holiday Inn in a beautiful location.

We stayed in two joined rooms while on vacation at the Holiday Inn in Sanibel. The rooms were very clean and set up well. Pretty much a standard room. We had 2 queen beds in each room and lots of drawers and space to unpack. One of the rooms had a slight musty smell, but not enough to complain about. I think this is expected when you are staying some place so close to the water. It was a very short and pretty walk to the beach. The grounds are kept up very well. It was beautiful landscaping and the beach was beautiful as well. All very clean. We did not use the restaurant or the bar while we were there so we cannot comment on those. We saw the pool which was very nice, although we did not swim in it. We chose to swim in the BIG POOL(ocean) at the beach. The service at check in and check out was excellent. Anyone we encountered was so polite and helpful.
We had a great time and we will stay here again in the future.

In May, 2008 we made a quick overnight trip to Sanibel (my elderly mother and my 3 year old son). I had been visiting my mother in South Florida and we wanted to take my son to do some shelling. Although it is an older property, it has been recently renovated.

When I had called to make our reservation, I had clearly stated that we wanted a beachfront room, not "oceanview". We were pleased to see that our request was honored. Even though we were on the 1st floor (I believe it was only 2 or 3 stories tall), we overlooked the pool and the beach. Our reservation had been made rather last minute, so we felt lucky to get the oceanfront room.

Due to the size and age of the hotel, I should note here that the way the property was set up, there is only 1 building that has oceanfront rooms. The other buildings sit behind the beachfront building; therefore, as far as we could tell there were only about 8 rooms with oceanfront view. The others, however, were a very close walk to the beach and pool area. The grounds of the hotel were nice, with pretty landscaping and a little fish pond and waterfall.

The room had 2 double beds, a small table w/2 chairs, a small refrigerator, and the usual hotel accoutrements. The sink area was directly off to the side of the room, with the toilet and bathtub/shower in their own room. The beds were very comfortable and the furnishings were all in very good condition. Floors were tiled, which is perfect for beachfront. This particular room style was not large (especially with the 2 beds in it), but it was fine for a short stay. My 3 year old likes to sleep in a crib when we travel (a security thing for him!) and we were able to push aside the refrigerator to make room for the crib so that it was against the wall and out of the walkway. It worked out great.

Staff was accommodating and friendly. We had room service that evening and the food was absolutely delicious and delivered by one of the most friendly servers.

We did not use the outdoor pool, but it appeared to be nice, yet small. Instead we spent our brief time on the beach "shelling". The hotel offered chaise lounges for the beach, but we didn't inquire about them. There was a small bar in the pool area. Not sure if it offered food, we didn't ask.

We plan to visit there again and for a bit longer stay next time.