I've enjoyed vacationing on Fort Myers Beach for a number of years. One time we had a big family reunion and rented a 4BR beach house plus a few smaller condos nearby. But otherwise I've stayed at a very nice family-oriented resort called "The Sandpiper." We stayed in a 1st floor gulffront room this spring for just under $200 a night. Those are the most expensive rooms. The resort is fairly small in size, but it has 2 pools (one for adults only), a hot tub, shuffleboard, and a watercraft rental business on the grounds where you can rent jet skis, arrange for parasailing, etc. The beach is beautiful and the resort is very well kept. All units have a kitchenette and will accommodate up to 6 people. The resort is in the middle of Estero Island, so it is away from the more congested end of things. Nice Publix store just half a mile away. No restaurants at the resort, but plenty of places close by.
There are lots of comparably priced resorts on Ft. Myers Beach too. i.e. - Outrigger, Holiday Inn, Neptune Inn, etc. There are 2 resorts that are trade-out resorts for DVC points. I went to check them out. They were okay, but I decided to use my points for other places while continuing to pay cash and stay at the Sandpiper.
Sanibel Island has some beautiful resort areas too, but they are more expensive. Also a number of trade-out places for DVC pts., all of which I went to look at. Plenty of nice choices there, although availability could be trickier depending on when you would want to go.
As was mentioned, Clearwater Beach is a beautiful area too. When I've stayed in that area, I've tended to go to Dunedin Beach instead of Clearwater Beach because there are fewer spring breakers at Dunedin.
I've also stayed in the Melbourne area on the east coast a couple times, but I decided I like the beaches on the Gulf coast better. JMHO.
Kinda long, but hope it helps.
