Sanibel Siesta on the Beach — Hotel in Sanibel

Our check in process for room 202 was not the greatest. Firstly, the office hours are Monday through Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday 9am to Noon, if you arrive after the office is closed, you need to go to the Sanibel Island Beach Resort’s office to pick up your key and parking pass. They claim it is “next door” but unless you plan on walking through the hedges to get to their front office, it is more like a street away. So if you are coming from Periwinkle Way/the Causeway, make a left onto Donax Street, then once you hit the 3 way stop at Middle Gulf Drive, go straight across to what appears to be the Sandollar Restaurant, but the Sanibel Island Beach Resort is also housed in the same lot. As we were coming from Sanibel Siesta, the Sanibel Island Beach Resort’s sign faces Donax Street and our GPS got us a little lost, plus there are virtually NO lights on Sanibel, so it was DARK trying to find where to pick up our key. And I say “key,” as in ONE, since we didn’t find out until the very last day that we were supposed to actually “check in” at the office to receive our second key. The confirmation email nor the texts I received never mentioned it. On our last day as we were leaving, I received a text welcoming me to the condo and to check in to receive the second key, which is pretty much a fail on communication. I had even stopped by the office to pick up a package a few days in and they didn’t mention checking in while I was there either. Also I was told that booking with VRBO that I overpaid for my stay, which I guess is nice they were honest I could have saved a bit of money…?

Unit 202 is the furthest from the ocean/beach, it’s maybe a 3-5 minute walk. FYI the beach chairs are stored outside the condo next to your front door in a closet (we also didn’t learn that until 3 days into our trip). Also our lanai, while very nice, only had a garden view, no ocean or beach could be seen. I couldn’t even hear the ocean from our lanai during the day. :\

Updates are definitely needed for this condo complex, for one please get the numeric locks on the doors, instead of keys. The last 2 places I stayed at on Sanibel had them and they were great, since we had multiple people and everyone could come and go as they please without having to worry about a key. There is no full length mirror, as mentioned by another reviewer, and the blinds are missing a blind/slat in the family room area. Secondly, the beds are absolutely terrible. If you like soft mushy beds, then you’ll have no problem with this condo, but I prefer a firm bed to support my back. Also they will charge you $10 to “marry” the two twin beds to make it a King. No where in the VRBO listing mentions it being a cost, it said “available upon request,” so it should really say “available upon request for a small fee.”

Also there are no washer or dryers in the unit, there is a coin laundry close to the pool. At the time of writing this 11/2021, it is $1.75 for top load and $2.00 for front load washers/dryers per cycle. Also the Tide Pods are 50 cents each and dryer sheets are a 25 cents. The machines do take credit cards and the office does have quarters, if you prefer to pay that way as well.

Overall, I enjoyed my stay on Sanibel Island, but I’m unsure if I’ll be back to Sanibel Siesta unless they make some changes, I just felt very “nickel-and-dimed”…and grouchy from lack of sleep on the uncomfortable beds. :(

Also...

Stayed here in August 2022, unit 703. Super convenient, beautiful beach access. The beach wasn't too crowded and was full of interesting things. I guess August is not the peak season though. ||The lanai (every unit has one) was perfect for hanging wet gear (drying racks provided), and the furniture out there was actually comfortable to sit and watch the sunset or afternoon rainstorm. In most of the buildings, the second and third floor units share a garage on the first floor. So 703 was on the third floor, 701 was on the second floor, and they shared a garage on the first floor. The garage was equipped with plenty of beach gear. The unit was clean and equipped with everything we needed - kitchen gear, soap, the towels were not unlimited but we had enough. You need to bring your own beach towels though or rent them from the office. ||The biggest problem while we were there was the internet, but it was really only a problem on Sunday, and as soon as the property manager came in on Monday he had it sorted out for us. Also he mentioned they are replacing the system, so hopefully by winter it will be more reliable. The front desk staff was very friendly and helpful.||Medium problem - the mattress. Rental beds are always a problem for me. This wasn't the worst I've ever been on, and I managed to sleep, but it wasn't what I would call "comfortable". Besides the bed everything in the unit was in very good condition.||The other smallish problem I will mention is that the approach to the garages is quite narrow and lined with bushes, so it's rather hard to pull in without scratching up the rental car. But worth it for the covered garage, I think.||The location was good - I don't think you could walk to many restaurants, but it wasn't far to drive wherever we wanted to go. The island is very bike friendly, but we weren't about to try biking to dinner in the...

We’ve been coming to Sanibel Island for the past eight years and have always stayed at this condo. Sadly, this year’s experience has been frustrating, disappointing, and enough to make us rethink ever returning. The main issue stemmed from an incredibly poor handling of parking accommodations. Well ahead of time, we reached out to clarify our needs, specifically that we would have 3 to 4 cars. We were explicitly told by Sara that this would not be a problem. Based on that assurance, we went ahead with our booking. Fast forward to a few days before our arrival, we were blindsided by Dana, who told us that they could only provide one parking spot. No backup plans, no flexibility, no apology — just a cold “not our problem” tone. Dana was not only unhelpful, but her attitude was extremely backhanded and rude, making an already frustrating situation worse. We were forced to find overflow parking 25 minutes away on foot, which is hardly convenient when you’re lugging beach gear, groceries, and traveling with a group. And to top it off, it cost us an additional $400 for the extra two vehicles for the week. What made matters even more infuriating? When we arrived, the place felt like a ghost town. There were maybe four cars in the entire lot. It was obvious there was plenty of unused space, yet they continued to insist that the lot was “full” and there was no flexibility. Whether this was poor management or just plain laziness, we’ll never know, but it felt like a slap in the face. After years of choosing this condo and bringing business here year after year, we were treated like an afterthought. No customer care. No accountability. No reason...