This is a great spot for group outings and family reunions. You can bring your boat since they have…read moretwo dock spots right beside their private white sand beach. They also have a pool and a covered pavilion that is perfect for group meals with a beautiful water view.

Great place for families and friends to get together. Lots of areas to get together and relax.read more

Great place We come here often and walk around to the different restaurants. We love itread more

This place was great. Staff was all do welcoming. Didn't have my room ready in time but took care…read moreof me because of it. Beautiful resort. The food at the Asian place was excellent. Best poke I've had in a long time. Kids loved the fried rice and Mongolian beef. Side note: little strange to me (but I'm not from Florida). Many of the patrons were Hispanic so everyone in the pool was speaking Spanish. The servers are older white folks. I'm used to all inclusive resorts in Mexico so it's the total opposite. Felt a little bizarro.

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!

Grate place a lot to do from cruises to Sunday brunch. Great stores check out all the pictures. The…read morestores I recommend are on the picture. we are definitely going to take some of the cruises that has offered. and they are not expensive

I still love Fisherman's Village and it's been some time since I visited…read more When we visited was after Xmas, but I am still thinking about all things Xmas. It was a nice surprise to see how decked up Fisherman's Village is. Def a place to get into the Christmas spirit. So many decorations and fun photo ops everywhere. We walk throughout the area, the have lots of shops, cafe, ice cream and restaurants and a tiki bar. You can also take a sunset boat tour. They also have nice water views. This is def a great place to visit for all and especially at Xmas. A new restaurant is opening the second week of January 2026 too towards the very end after all the shops. Just keep on walking. This is also dog friendly so we are happy to walk our dog here. Half is shaded half not and there is plenty of free parking in the lot next to it. 4 stars bc prices can def be tourist prices.

Fantastic we had drinks at the cattle company bar James was fantastic from drink recommendation to…read moreconversation great night and experience

I booked a two-night stay at Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo for a school trip for my…read more7-year-old son. One week before check-in, I received an email saying the resort could not honor the reservation and it was cancelled. No explanation. No solution. Just cancelled. What followed has been an absolute nightmare. I spent hours on the phone with trying to get this resolved, and the only thing they offered was a $50 credit -- which is frankly insulting considering the time, stress, and last-minute scramble this created for a trip involving a child's school event. The resort has been completely unhelpful and their customer service is terrible. If a reservation can simply be cancelled a week before a stay with no meaningful support, then their platform is unreliable and not worth using. I have also spent days trying to work directly with the resort to fix the situation, making multiple phone calls and still not receiving a clear resolution. For something that should have been a simple reservation, this has turned into an exhausting and frustrating ordeal. Families plan trips months in advance. Cancelling a reservation a week before arrival with no real assistance is unacceptable. Between lack of support and the resort's inability to resolve the issue promptly, this experience has been incredibly disappointing. I will never book through Expedia again, and I would strongly recommend others think twice before relying on them for important travel plans.

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.

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.

Flair DE Laroche is a very relaxing environment. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. I was having…read morethe time of my life here. I highly recommend this for anyone who wants to relax and feel luxurious!

Corner room with a wraparound balcony overlooking the ocean -- hard to beat. This place really…read moredelivers on the experience. The room was spacious with a full setup (king bed, pull-out couch, kitchen, living area), and the bathroom was large and well maintained. Housekeeping was fast and the staff checked in often to make sure we had everything we needed. If you're looking for a relaxing stay with a great view, this is it.

Needed a quick getaway and found this beautiful remodeled resort. It is in a great location right…read moreon the beach. The grounds are maintained and the pool is clean and spacious. There is no restaurant or bar on site, but there are some close by with a 5 to 10 drive. The staff is friendly, attentive and helpful. We were able to head to the beach while we waited to get our room, since we were early. There are loungers and chairs at the beach and it is first come first serve. The same applies to the pool. All rooms have ocean view, but our room was the one closest to the street, so we didnt get the same view as the ones up front. They have 2nd floor and a ground level rooms. The rooms are remodeled with an ocean theme, making it welcoming and getting that vacation feel. I did nit give it a 5 star due to the ac and all the humidity that you can feel at night. Not sure if it was our ac or just being too close to the beach that it was super stuffy, smelled a bit like mildew and it was uncomfortable to sleep. It is pricey, specially during the holidays but a nice hotel with an awesome beach