Gulf Coast Beaches

[Pixie_Dust]

I couldn't find the message board for non-Orlando hotels & atrractions, so I'll ask your advice here about staying a weekend on/near the Gulf Coast during our upcoming early December trip (2 adults).

I saw a Florida's Top Ten Beaches on theTravel Channel, and here were three: Sanibel Island for sea shells, Siesta Key Beach near Sarasota for soft white sand, and Lover's Key Beach near Ft. Myers. Any experience with these or others?

Would you recommend staying near Sarasota or Ft. Myers? Any hotel recommendations? I'm not sure if I should get something along the lines of a $50/night Wellesley Inn in Sarasota from Expedia or $42/night Knights Inn from Travelocity, or whether I want to take the Priceline crap shoot. (Through Priceline we stayed at a $35/night Wellesley near the Tampa airport this summer and were not overly thrilled except for liking the price and location, btw, but it was better than the Days Inn by Busch Gardens! DH said just don't stick him in a Days Inn again.)

I have looked at biddingfortravel with no set conclusions. Some people were getting the Baymont Inn in Naples for $30/night. Would it be worth it to drive that far south? Some posts suggested that an old Hyatt in Sarasota might be had for around $75/night. If it's really good that's about the limit of what I might be willing to pay, but then again there's no way to tell on Priceline what you'll get.

Thanks if you can recommend anything that is not a dump and also does not cost an arm and a leg, and also any recommendations of places to go/things to see during our weekend.

Cheers

 

[CPM]

well, I live right near Sanibel. Actually right between Sanibel and Ft. Myers Beach. Sanibel is a lovely island, very natural, shelly beaches. It's very expensive to stay there. There is a Holiday Inn that's usually reasonable on teh beach in Sanible and a new Country Inn and suites right before you get to the island with great rates. There is also a Radisson right before the bridge, it's older but I hear it's clean and nice. Ft. Myers beach is a nice family beach more touristy then Sanibel. The water is pretty shallow and there are restaurants and shops along the beach. There is a nice suite hotel called Diamond Head which is right on the beach. If you want to stay off the beach there is a new Hampton Inn very close on Summerlin and several other smaller hotels. It will take you three hours to get down to this neck of the woods, another 30 minutes to Naples which really isn't worth it IMO. Lovers Key is beautiful also, not sure about the resorts but I think most are nice and likely expensive. I have only gone to Sarasota (Siest Key) once, it's also very nice. I would think it' prety expensive to stay on the beach there or even close. The most reasonable of all of them would be Ft. Myers Beach, you can drive to Sanibel or Lovers Key from that area very easily.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask!!

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Thanks, I'm glad I found a local expert!
Maybe I'll check out that Country Inn & Suites; at least we wouldn't have to worry about breakfast. Any must-do local dining spots, btw?

If we don't stay on the beach, how is the parking when we go to the beaches? And what is there to do if it's raining the whole time and we can't go to the beach?

Thanks so much for your help

 

[Wolfelaw]

My son and I stayed on Sanibel Island for three nights last summer -- we drove across FL from Vero Beach (took about three hours) and it was so beautiful. We had never been to the Gulf coast before, and it is so different than the ocean beaches -- like a giant bathtub, but in a good way. My son spent hours collecting shells, which there aren't many of on the east coast. We stayed at the Holiday Inn -- I got a rate of about $100 a night from Travelocity, I think -- it certainly wasn't anything spectacular but it was clean, and had a big room. It has a very strange restaurant that has stuffed animals (by which I mean, dead animals that have been stuffed, as opposed to cute fuzzy toys) all over the place -- my son got a kick out of that, although it freaked me out a little. There are lots of great (albeit pricey) restaurants, and we spent an afternoon just wandering around checking out all the little shops.

Now, my son doesn't even want to go back to Disney World when we go to FL -- he just wants to go to the "shell beach."

 

[CPM]

I noticed that the Country Inn and suites gateway to Sanibel comes up on Priceline, so does the Radisson.
Morgans Forest is that strange restaurant at the Holiday Inn! LOL It is funky!
Parking shouldnn't be bad the beginning of Dec. Parking is expensive. I think it's up to $2.00 an hour on Sanibel! Maybe the hotel has a shuttle. There is no problem to park at Ft. Myers Beach, plenty of lots if the meters are full.
It rarely rains here in Dec. You can visit the Ford & Edison Museum, shop! There are outlet stores right near the hotel, bowl, movies, eat! LOL Visit me! <G> Oh and there is a shell museum on Sanibel.
If you want to email me your address, I can throw some maps and brochures in the mail for you.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Thanks, everyone, I'm going to print all this out for DH, then a week away from my computer (brother's wedding).

Cheers

 

[ttfn3]

Sanibel is great. We have traveled there almost every year for the past 6 years. I'll warn you that a couple of days isn't enough. After a week's stay in August, we wished we were there for two weeks!! It's a great place to rent a condo for a week (suggest using private owners - much better rates) and hang out on the beach. The island is VERY family oriented and nature focused. My BIL and SIL stayed at the new Country Inn right off the island (they live in Florida so the don't have as much of a desire as we do to be right on the beach) and came over during the day. There is a toll bridge over to Sanibel - $3. Parking near the beach is tough to find, unless you are staying at on the island. Bikes are the preferred mode of transportation. Sanibel has great bike paths all over the island.

It's funny about kids. My DS would much prefer a week in Sanibel to a week at Disney. And I feel torn. You're so lucky to have the best of both in one trip to Florida.

If you want specifics about things to do, best place to rent a bike and places to eat, PM me.