This was our 2nd trip to Sanibel and our 2nd stay at the Holiday Inn, and I must say, some of the comments by other reviewers have really taken me by surprise! We never had any problems with the staff; in fact it was just the opposite for us! We found all staff members to be friendly and very accommodating.

Granted, this is an older Holiday Inn and not a "5-Star Resort" by any stretch, but I cannot believe that anyone could possibly state that this is not a "beach front" property. The only thing between the motel and the beach is the Tiki Bar (more on that later), a small garden area, and some sea grass. I cannot imagine how anyone could possibly refer to this as "quite a hike". It is actually a very lovely, very short walk!

They offer beach chairs FREE OF CHARGE to their guests, which is quite a change of pace for most resort areas, where they usually charge outrageous prices. The pool is certainly not Olympic sized, but I wouldn't classify it as small either. It is larger than most inground pools in residential areas, and again, there is an abundance of lounge chairs with tables.

Rooms are average, but kept quite clean. A little updating is probably in order, but really not bad either, and this is a well-maintained property. They also offer bike rentals on-site at reasonable prices, which is very convenient.

The Tiki bar, although fairly small, is a nice diversion. My only complaint is that they really close too early for a resort area (around 6:00 p.m.). Their reasoning is that they do not want to distract the turtles who come ashore to lay eggs (resort lights disorient them). However, the sun does not go down until much later, and that is when the turtles come in, so I don't really think that is the issue at all. As far as the "orientation" of the bartenders, I couldn't care less. They always knew what we were drinking and they were very attentive and talkative. Perhaps my husband and I are just a little more tolerant than others, and I really don't see why that should be an issue to anyone.

We never ate anything other than breakfast in the dining room, where initial service can be a little slow at times, but our food was always served promptly and it was quite good with reasonable pricing.

All in all, the room rates at the Holiday Inn Sanibel are probably the best on the island, and we would not hesitate to stay there again and again.

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.