Beautiful beach. Billed as a Resort - service does not match that of a resort.
I would recommend and go back b/c I know what to expect now!
Knowing that you are not going to get maid service in a 2 bedroom prior to check in - ...also staff does not go the extra mile to make your stay nice. The staff is not accomodating and have attitudes. But the beach is beautiful and the shelling is outstanding.
The Thistle Lodge restaurant was lovely and the staff there were excellent.
The Coconut bar at the pool was convenient.

We loved this resort!! The staff is amazing and will do anything to make your stay special and the best. They helped us everytime we needed something and made we had everything that we wanted. I didnt want to leave the resort. The rooms were very clean and nice they had everything you could need in the rooms. I cant wait to go back to Casa Ybel soon. If anyone is looking for an amazing place to stay this is the place!!! I give this place a 5 stars and 100% aproval for a place to stay and 100% to the staff for all their hard work and great job and for being so friendly!!!! Thank you Casa Ybel!

We had a wonderful time and since we were on the 3rd floor, I lost 4 lbs (running up and down the stairs) and walking miles on the great beaches. Rented a boat a couple of times and went to Cabbage Cay and fishing. Had a lot of fresh fish and Jerry's has great veggies, so ate healthy!!! The weather was perfect that time of year also. We're going back in Oct. Kids had fun doing the local nitelife.

Just returned from Easter weekend at Casa Ybel. First comment: this is NOT a typical resort hotel. It is NOT a luxury resort. It is a time share community managed by Hilton Grand Vacations Club. Despite the price, visitors should not expect four or five star experience (like some of the other comments suggest). If that is what you are looking for and what you are used to, you will be disappointed. This is not clear on the website, but with a little digging we found it. So, we knew this going in, and thus had somewhat reduced expectations.

That said, we were pleasantly surprised. We found this a great casual family resort in a spectacular location and a combination of basic amenities that were perfect for our small family of four. We arrived early and our room was not ready. Not a problem. We were given the run of the place, including use of changing rooms so we could use the restaurant, pool, and beach until we could check in. Front desk called our cell a couple of hours later when our room was ready. Nice. Our "room", actually a timeshare condo, was clean and had a gorgeous view of the ocean. We had a one-bedroom suite for 2 adults and 2 kids, and it was perfect. Kids slept on the pull-out couch. One bedroom suites comes with housekeeping service which was timely and provided good service throughout our stay. Don't know why 2-bedroom suites don't have housekeeping, but that was not a problem for us. Given all the sand that inevitably gets tracked in, lack of housekeeping in 2-BR suites would be a problem, I suspect. Bathroom and kitchenette were recently renovated and clean. Two flat-panel TVs were a nice surprise. GREAT screened porch.

Location is spectacular, and really cannot be beat on Sanibel or Captiva (we've spent much time on both islands). We found the grounds beautiful. Lots of palms and banyan trees, and lots of other tropical plants. Wasn't "manicured", but who cares? This is a great family "resort" and had a simple, casual, family feel to it.

Coconuts poolside bar was very convenient. Casual food fine but not spectacular. Drinks fine. Pretty much what you'd expect from any standard poolside bar. But made life very easy with the kids. We also kept food/beverages in our unit so that helped keep the cost down. The pool itself was fine. Shallow end is 4 feet, which was a bit deep for our smallish 7-year olds, but they preferred the beach anyway, so we spent most of our time on the beach (which is really beautiful). It was really nice to have the beach/pool/bar combination in such close proximity. While other amenities were lacking, this made up for it in our minds.

We tried to rent bikes but they were all booked. Disappointing, but it was busy Easter weekend and we did not reserve ahead. Instead, we simply rented bikes in town for two days and rode back and forth.

We did rent beach chairs and umbrellas. This was costly ($50 for two days), but they did set it up in front of our unit first thing in the AM two days running. They actually checked to make sure we were legit on the second day.

We found the front desk staff friendly and accommodating (again, upon our early arrival). Staff at coconuts was great.

As for dining in Sanibel, we highly recommend Lazy Flamingo, Island Cow, and Over Easy Cafe (especially for breakfast).