Palm Island Resort — Hotel in Englewood

I wanted to take a couple of days before I wrote this review. It is not an easy one to write as we have been loyal guests of Palm Island Resort for 30 years. This year was a bit different for my family because my dad is now in a wheelchair and the resort no longer accommodates our family due to his needs (an elevator or ramp to access restaurant, bathrooms, gift shops or villas). We wanted to vacation on the same island because it is so near and dear to us with many years of generational memories so we stayed just a bit down the road on Gulf Blvd. We were told that we could rent a golf cart from Coconuts on Palm Island Resort despite our shift in lodging accommodations and we did just that. Fast forward to 5 days into our trip and we had been coming and going off the resort and the only acknowledgement from the front security station was a friendly wave (as usual) and on we went to ride around, purchase ice cream for my baby and scout property as potential buyers (which was extremely exciting!) One afternoon we passed by that same security station on the way to our usual ice cream run for the baby/ to look into purchasing on the resort and were “greeted” with a very different representation of Palm Island Resort than I had grown up with. Tim Thiel with resort security stopped us and asked if we were staying on the resort. We thought maybe he had recognized us because we know several staff members by name after so many years of traveling there. We said “yes! We are staying on Don Pedro this year”. He immediately started asking why we didn’t stop which turned into him harassing us and sarcastically asking if we had ever seen a stop sign before or if we knew what that sign meant. He told us that we were required to stop and sign in at the front and “that’s what that red octagon meant”. Which is fine, however in 30 years I have never been asked to stop, ever, to which he replied “well then I am firing all my staff”. When we apologized and asked where we could sign in, he put his finger in my elderly mother’s face and said “I’m not speaking to you! I’m speaking to the driver (my husband)! You are banned from Palm Island Resort and if I catch you in here, I will “trespass” you”. Shocked to say the least and at this point, 3 of the 4 of us were in tears, including our baby. He even said while smiling and laughing “what? You look dumbfounded!” Completely confused as these rules have never been communicated to us nor are they posted anywhere as a requirement. Nobody in our family has ever received a speeding ticket, been late for a bill and always follows the rules. We are very respectful of other people’s property while we are here as guests and I am still in total disbelief that this is how a member of Palm Island Resort staff spoke to a completely innocent family who would have LOVED to stay on the resort if it weren’t for my dad’s physical limitations (as if we weren’t feeling unwelcome and ousted enough). We reached out to Palm Island Resort’s general manager to which he has not replied. Heartbroken that somewhere so personally special and coveted is now somewhere we are “banned from” because we didn’t follow a rule that we had no idea was in place as it is clearly not something routinely followed, historically. If we had known, we certainly 100% would have taken all necessary precautions to be on the resort safely and properly. Palm Island Resort, is this really the ugly truth of what is happening behind the scenes? We have recommended this resort to countless families and friends, many of which now come annually as we always did. I certainly hope this NEVER happens to anybody that we have sent on our recommendation. Emotionally draining, humiliating and downright unacceptable to treat anybody that way, but a guest??? Honestly, I feel horribly sorry for whoever reports to this staff member as a subordinate because our introduction as an innocent harmless family with a baby on board was emotionally abusive....

I had the pleasure to stay at this resort recently for a family event. Florida is generally not my top spot. I could do without the steam pot humidity and the jurassic park mosquitos but our family had such an amazing time at this resort that I am really looking forward to returning there.

There is an outstanding continuity of professionalism with the staff who are friendly and go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need and you are never inconvenienced. The customer service is really top notch and I noticed this before I even arrived. It didn't matter how many questions I had or how many times I called the staff with questions before my arrival, they were particularly patient and knowledgeable.

The villas are all near each other so you can get together quickly with your fellow guests. Our ocean view villa was very clean and stocked with everything we needed. If you cook, the kitchen has everything you need. There was even some complimentary coffee and a bottle of wine to greet us. No need to bring towels or wash flannels (except beach towels as you cannot use the villa's bath towels at the beach).

There's a great sense of security and relaxation. The wonderful sea air and sound of the waves from the beach that surrounds you is so very soothing. Seeing an iguana, or small lizard scurry by, the sea turtles on the beach is a treat, the wildlife welcomes you.

Their Rum Bay restaurant has good food and I would personally have them cater food (yes they do that too) for our next event rather than bring in food. You want to spend your time enjoying your family and friends not cooking or unloading food from cars and transporting it to the villas. Just bring snacks and drinks, let the resort do the rest. There is also a little shop/cafe next to the restaurant where you can rent a golf cart as no cars are permitted on the resort beyond the resort parking lot. However, it is very walkable from villa to villa but when it is hot outdoors you will most certainly prefer the golf cart. They have yummy ice cream that's very satisfying on a hot day, breakfast sandwiches and shop items like Tylenol, chips, drinks, etc.

I would also highly recommend this resort to women. It is only accessible by ferry or boat so you don't see any riff raff hanging around. Nobody needs to tell you which areas to avoid as such areas just don't exist here. Bring plenty of lavender oil (mosquitos hate lavender) and mosquito candles. Palm Island resort is an all around great place for families and individuals who just wish to get away from it all. I would most definitely choose this resort for weddings. This resort was really a very, very pleasant surprise.

Tips: Punta Gorda is the closest airport. Unless you have a ride from Punta Gorda to the ferry, you'll need to take Lyft, Uber or a taxi or rent a car at the airport. Lyft and Uber are cheaper after 11am (and of course before rush hour if you arrive on a weekday like I did. Expect to pay $65 --$68 off peak). If you are not driving you'll need to arrange a ride from the ferry drop off on the island to the resort parking lot (only about a mile or two) where the office to check-in is located. Or you may get lucky with some local hospitality if you happen to run into them at the ferry drop off and catch a lift. People are really that friendly there. However, there are local car services. Inquire with the resort. By the way, if you are a resort guest there's no charge to come over on the ferry, they send the ferry operator a guest list.

I am seriously looking forward to returning...

Beautiful location & sunsets and beaches were relatively secluded which was nice. Our linai was screened with an excellent ocean view. The ferry service is a dedicated one to the island and guests are given a free courtesy 1 trip day pass to get to / from island in automobile. Overall, staff is courteous and helpful. Be prepared for a 250 yard trek to the beach and no umbrella rentals. They do have a few beach chairs available at the halfway point with no charge which was a plus but required a long pull to the beach to setup and then return trip dragging them through the heavy sand. Recovery process from recent hurricane continues with lots of construction crews all around which is understandable. The room was comfortable and clean but dated. If you don't rent a golf cart ($70 per day) or a bike, it can be somewhat inconvenient, however there is golf cart taxi service available. We opted out on the cart rental since we brought our own bicycles. No cars allowed past the entry point except service vehicles. Our car was parked a quarter of a mile from our villa, so we rode our bicycles to / from the parking area when we left the island. On night number 5, we returned from dinner only to find our TV and internet service was not working. I reported it to the night security guard who was to report it the next day to office staff but that didn't happen. I called the office the next a.m. to again report the problem. A maintenance person came in no time to help but it turns out that our service was not down due to work being done by the cable company in the area the day before but from interrupted service due to nonpayment by the villa owner. Thankfully I was able to use my cell phone as a hotspot to stream the evening news on my ipad. Service was finally restored late in the afternoon on day 6. The last night of our stay, we decided to load our bikes after we returned from an off island trip and was going to hail a cart to get back to our villa, but as luck would have it, none were available so we ended up walking the quarter mile to our unit. Overall, enjoyed the private days on the beach, the viewing of the rebuilding process of Stump Pass and the idea of having the private island experience. Will probably return to the general area but will most likely stay on Manasota Key when we do for easier beach access and to allow the island time to complete the post hurricane...