There was visible mold in our hotel room, and it made both me and my husband extremely sick…read more Despite notifying the staff immediately, they waited three days to move us to a different room. By then, our symptoms had worsened significantly--I developed severe allergy-like reactions, and my husband's eyes became extremely red and irritated. When I spoke with the manager, Brett Sherman, he outright denied the presence of mold, offered no apology, and even laughed at me. My husband, who works in high-end real estate in Los Angeles, sent a photo of the air vents to a mold inspector he's worked with for over 20 years. The inspector said the growth strongly resembles Aspergillus, though of course, proper testing is required to confirm that. Regardless, it was completely unprofessional for the staff to dismiss our health concerns, deny the visible issue without proper evaluation, and refuse to acknowledge the inconvenience and harm caused. We weren't even offered an apology for the delay in moving rooms or the resulting illness. Attached are photos of the vents and my husband's eyes for reference.

What's not to love. Charming, tranquil and near the water. We stayed for two nights and were well…read moretaken care of my the staff who were always friendly and helpful. David especially remembered our names which made us feel very welcomed. The Picnic Basket served coffee, teas, drinks and pastries. Hands down the best cinnamon twist donuts I've ever eaten. The best. Beach club was amazing. The best virgin piña coladas at the bar. Love love love the Gasparilla inn and will be back. The perfect getaway in the off season.

We decided to stay in the Pinfish room (smallest room) and were pleasantly surprised with how…read morecomfortable it was. The Inn is in the perfect location as almost everything, including the beach, is within walking distance. Margarita (GM), front desk staff, and housekeeping staff were all very welcoming and friendly during our stay.

My daughter and her family stayed at the Palmetto Inn over spring break, 2018. They had a great…read morevisit in Boca Grande and were very happy with the Inn, very reasonably priced, clean, perfect location in the middle of town and the folks from Boca Grande Resorts were great. Today, they became more than great, they are wonderful. This year we booked two rooms for both of my daughters and their families to visit over Thanksgiving week. We had an issue with travel plans and reservations and the folks at the Boca Grande Resort office went above and beyond our wildest dreams to take care of us. I am a fan for life and we will utilize the Inn and resort whenever possible for all of our guests visiting the island. Great customer service is not dead but lives on at Boca Grande Resorts and the Palmetto Inn. Thank you and happy, happy Thanksgiving.

The Innlet is located on the beautiful Boca Grande Island. Our family visits every year…read more The restaurant is accessible by car, golf cart, or boat. A favorite spot for fisherman. Everything is fantastic. Our regular meals: Breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and club sandwich.

Yelp says they are closed but they are open and wonderful. My go to little hotel on Boca Grande…read more Best Breakfast on island as well. Clean, cozy with all the necessary amenities. Great customer service, room rates, housekeeping and it's a waterfront property providing easy access for boaters and fisherman. They even have a boat ramp.

We reserved the Pelican House at Manasota Beach Club months in advance for our 20th wedding…read moreanniversary. Leading up to the trip, we made repeated efforts to communicate with the property about details and amenities. At one point, we were told their system had been hacked and that we should not accept emails from them for a period of time. Then, shortly before our trip, we received what they described as an "app," which appeared incomplete and contained little to no useful information. Taken together, the communication issues raised concerns early on. The day before our cross-country flight, we received a call from Charles, who identified himself as the head sales manager and said he was "the boss" when asked about a supervisor. He informed us that the Pelican House was no longer available due to a reported bedbug issue. Regardless of the reason, the timing left us with virtually no ability to make alternative plans. The replacement options offered were, in our view, not comparable. We specifically chose this property for a quiet, intimate beachfront experience with access to amenities like kayaks, canoes, and bikes. The suggested alternatives were larger, more traditional resort-style properties without the same privacy, beach access, or features we had planned around. While these were described as "nicer," the focus was on things like interior finishes rather than the experience we had intentionally booked. What made this especially difficult is that just the day before, we had conversations with staff where we shared that this trip was for our 20th anniversary during a period of repeated family tragedies. At that time, the tone was empathetic and understanding. However, once the cancellation was communicated, that empathy disappeared. The interaction shifted to a rigid, take-it-or-leave-it approach with no meaningful acknowledgment of the impact. We were given two options: accept a replacement that did not meet our needs or take a refund at the last minute--leaving us with non-refundable flights, a car rental, and no place to stay. There was no effort to provide a comparable solution or to help mitigate the disruption. After the call, I attempted to reach Charles again, but did not receive a return call. My wife later received an automated refund email. When I contacted Susan, the house manager, to confirm what had happened, the response was brief and, in our view, lacked empathy--stating only that they "couldn't risk it" because of bedbugs. From our perspective, this experience was deeply disruptive and disappointing. It left us with significant unexpected costs, no accommodations, and a milestone anniversary trip that had been planned for months effectively undone at the last minute.

My mother worked here for 20 years, so I grew up in this special place when I was a child. Returned…read morewith my mom last night for dinner for the first time in a very long time and it is exactly how I remembered. A slice of "old Florida" that remains timeless and committed to quality and service. Recently, this special place was added to the National Historic Registry. I am so grateful to the Buffum family for staying the course! Likely one of the best meals I have ever had and a memory that will last a lifetime. Thank you MBC!

Palm Island Resort is a beautiful place I've visited many times since childhood, and returning this…read moresummer with my own children brought back wonderful memories. Although we weren't overnight guests on this trip (we rented a beach house on the non-resort side of the island), we were paying customers--dining at Rum Bay Restaurant, visiting Coconuts and the gift shop, and enjoying the island. Unfortunately, the general manager, Rob Brown, confronted our group with unexpected and shocking hostility when we inadvertently drove our golf cart beyond the restaurant area. Instead of calmly explaining that the road ahead was restricted to resort guests, he engaged in an argument, used profanity in front of four young children, made an obscene hand gesture, threatened to call the police, and then waited in the parking lot in his vehicle to watch us leave. The children were frightened, and the entire group was shaken by the interaction. I made multiple attempts to communicate my formal complaint privately and respectfully through the proper channels before posting publicly, but I received no acknowledgement . That silence has been just as disappointing as the incident itself. I've always held this resort in high regard, which makes this experience especially painful. I hope leadership begins to take guest concerns more seriously. Families deserve better.

If you plan to stay on Palm Island you need to be aware that Palm Island Resort doesn't have any…read morepublic docks. If you want to do a Fishing Charter, Dolphin Tour or Sunset Cruise with a Captain of your choice, there isn't any place to get picked up other than the Rum Bay Restaurant dock. If your tour operator picks you up there the Rum Bay Water Taxi operator gets pissy and tells them it's a private dock and they aren't allowed to pick passengers up there even if the party is staying in the resort. So, after taking one of the most expensive and shortest ferry rides in the world to get on the islands , which can take over an hour, they expect you take the ferry back to the mainland to take a boat tour instead of getting picked up on the island. You may want to consider staying in one of the Islander Properties rentals - https://islanderproperties.com/. Most of their properties have access to a dock where the tour operator of your choice can pick you up and drop you off instead of requiring you to take the ferry back to the mainland. Tour operators may charge a small fee for this service but it's much less than the ferry's fees and way more convenient. Update: Well Rob, you need to look up the definition of "Public". According to Chris, the head of your transportation department, the dock at Rum Bay is private and if I drop off passengers there to eat at the restaurant I will be arrested for trespassing. I realize that without a court order that won't happen. Fortunately, there are plenty of other restaurants with better food and way more menu options in the area that are happy to see me pull up to their docks with a group of hungry passengers. It would be interesting to hear Chris's explanation to the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office Marine Patrol as to why Rum Bay Restaurant's dock is public to everyone else but suddenly private when I show up with restaurant customers. You should check out Cabbage Key Restaurant when you get a chance. They serve over 1,000 lunches a day in season and welcome dozens of charter boats that bring passengers to their docks every day without requiring anything of them. From my observations, it appears as though over half of their patrons arrive by charter boat. I'm taking a group there tomorrow if you would like some photos of all the charter boats dropping off passengers.

Dear Pelican Shores, For decades my parents - The Brandts -…read morerented the big cottage on the left at the entrance to your safe haven by the sea. Months, weeks and especially Memorial Day Weekend every year. From the time we were obstinate brats just out of our teens and on forward to the days that saw my own parents become grandparents. Thirteen cottages, apartments and homes clustered together in a tiny conclave. Each residence is decorated differently (and updated regularly) and we have stayed in most of them as we eventually outgrew sharing the big cottage with our parents. But it remained the focus of our visits as we rented our own spaces within The Shores. All of the rentals are fully stocked with linens, cookware, flatware, dishes, pillows, beach towels, you name it. One of my favorite cottages is causally seated close to the stairs that lead directly down to the beach. It is clean and comfortable and reminiscent of the seaside cottages that still dot Cape Cod - wood paneling, small, compact appliances, screened porch and groovy mismatched patio and lawn furniture. (That's the ultimate beach compliment). All you need is an old transistor radio that can reach back in time and holler out some 1970s gold to complete a lazy afternoon of sunning. Cast a line into the sea from your own private beachfront, the local pier or rent a little skiff. Fishing is a big pastime as is grilling what you grab. Most cottages have grills you can use. The public beach is a walk up the street where you can also find great little places to eat and shop and even booze it up. After all, you're on vacation. The grocery stores (Publix, Winn Dixie and a local favorite - Sweet Bay), fancier eateries and fast food are a very quick drive. Pelican Shores is a place to go to and then go back to, in order to make some of your own family memories. Every Memorial Day for decades, my family squatted in the shared party pavilion (with huge community grills - just pick up your own trash!) and cooked for anybody and everybody who was around. My brother and I grilled lobster, shrimp, chicken, steaks, corn. My sisters served amazing salad creations and my Mom manned the camera as well as barked orders to keep it all moving. I have hundreds of photos from those holidays. One of the kids in the family, now a mother herself, caught her first fish at The Shores with Grandpa. She was so proud until it was time to filet him and she insisted he was thrown back. Every new baby that arrived in the family ended up playing in that sand. My nieces recall telling the grandparents they couldn't make it one year and surprising the family by arriving late at night and camping on the porch, sprawled across blown-up beach floats and scaring my Dad as he left early to go fishing. ("Who ARE you guys? The Manson Family? Get in the house before the neighbors think we're a cult!"). My grown son says some of his earliest memories are of the beach at Engelwood and being dragged across the sand on a board by his older cousins. My parents have gone on to their next vacation and even the words Pelican Shores make me a bit teary now. I miss those vacations that ended not so long ago. The last photo I took of my Mom in Engelwood was the one she would want YOU to see and NOT BE TEARY-EYED, but joyous as you pack up and head to over to The Shores. She's lazily floating in the water and calling toward the shore, "Come on in, the water's just right!" And of course it is. That's Pelican Shores. Now it's your turn!

Great place to vacation. Perfect views of the ocean. Beds are comfortable. AC inside the cottages…read moreworks good. Pelican Shores brand ambassador Margaret Fuson is a great hostess. Chief operations manager Danny was fantastic. Call "Ernie" for a good time. Highly recommend staying at the Pelican Shores cottages.