Because of all the airport delays and chaos from our July '22 Spain trip, hubs and I wanted to round out our Summer before I start teaching in September. With the exception of a quick Dec '21 Tampa trip for hubs' nephew's wedding, when we routinely come to FL, it's not to Disney. We've never been Disney people. We don't have a connection with Disney and it doesn't bring us nostalgia. Truly no offense. We're fine. Seriously. With the 8 or so times hubs and I have visited Sanibel Island in the last umpteen years, we've tried a few places including one odd rental home when Airbnb wasn't even a thing back in '03. After that, our other trips became easier to book- including a favorite repeat of mine on W. Gulf Dr. that we wanted to pause from and instead come here again. While many resorts on Sanibel Island lean towards larger grounds, Seaside I. is the opposite. It has a quaint feel both inside and out. The Main office/Registration takes care of some of your hotel needs with Tide detergent packets (don't know where machines are), beach towels, sunblock for sale, Complimentary breakfast of bagels, dry cereal, milk, granola bars, banana, oranges and other lite fare every morning from 7:30-10:00, water paddles and few of other amenities. No on-site restaurant though. The several hosts we encountered were pleasant and so was Amber who explained in detail the ins & outs when we first checked in on a late Thursday afternoon for our August '22 stay. She mentioned that Seaside Inn+Sunset Beach+The Dunes Resort+ Song of The Sea fall within the same family company and that if we wanted to hotel hop to enjoy each of their amenities, we should wear a turquoise bracelet our hotel provides as proof we're guests here to enjoy Happy Hr, use the golf course (we don't golf) and other perks. Our Gulf View room was large with Queen size beds (used one to lay our clothes on), updated 'modern' furniture/frames/light fixtures, a small kitchenette with a mini fridge, TV, bathroom toiletries and a screened balcony- that STILL gave us an eye-catching view of the beach. The bed has white pillows and sheets and was comfortable. And while our AC was in full working order giving us relief from Sanibel's heat (love it though), it was LOUD. And annoying. So was the bathroom's layout with the door being way too close to everything around it like the shower and toilet. Doable but awkward. Plus some parts of the bathroom shelves were dusty. As mentioned, hosts were pleasant and easy to talk to. Aside from the bit of dust and loud AC, our room was comfortable and we had a restful 4 night stay- but we all know the pandemic has made some cleaning crew turn a blind eye and don't care about putting out 100%. read more

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My sister has been recommending this place for many years. She visits once to twice a year for the last 20 years. So, since I haven't been, we decided to finally check it out. I love this place! We asked ourselves "why did it take us so long to come here?" This is our new favorite spot! The location is everything! Right on the Gulf of Mexico and it's super chill and laid-back. The exact relaxing vacation I was hoping for. Our room was facing the ocean so we were on the patio a lot. Listening to the ocean waves and the birds is very meditative. Our room had everything we wanted. Decent space, a small fridge, flatscreen TV, screened in patio facing the ocean. Clean and quiet. They offer canoes, bikes and ocean gear for free. There's also a decent size pool that was never busy. Very private area. Staff was friendly. Water was amazing...clean and refreshing. This is our new favorite and we will now be regulars. read more

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This was a very relaxing place to stay. We stayed in the cottage (105). The rooms were nice, nothing really fancy but cute. Clean bed and pull out couch, little kitchen and dining area. We got there Friday night and walked out to the beach which was close. It was absolutely beautiful. We found sand dollars and conch in the sand (if you dig your hands deep in the sand you will find them) my little one collected shells most of the time. The pool on the property was right in the middle and nice. The water was warm and there was some floats for the kids. You can also take the bikes on the property. We rode them down to the pier. I do recommend going in the morning or evening due to the heat. Over all we had a great visit and will be back again. read more

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I picked this place because they had a great discount for healthcare workers and wonderful reviews on Yelp and tripadvisor. I love that this place has a "mom and pop" feel and that's what gives it four stars. At first I was disappointed driving in and seeing that the cottages were mobile homes. I like luxury when I travel because I live to travel!!! However when we checked in, my trepidations started to change and by the end of the weekend, I understood the outstanding ratings. The customer service is beyond. They have so many little extras. They have free bike rental, free kayaks, beach toys,pool noodles. The pool is beautiful and so is the location to the beach.. basically steps away. They even set up lounge chairs and umbrellas and the beach isn't crowded. It's very private and that is lovely. They also have a list of basic breakfast items you check off and they make a breakfast box for you. So even though our cottage was average all the little touches made this a simply fabulous stay. I would definitely stay here again. read more

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Really a 3.5 but feeling generous. The Seaside Inn is part of three properties, and it's the last one to be renovated. Heard that it will soon be demolished to be built to be more in line with the other nicer properties. Having said that, we knew up front that this was less expensive than the other properties and plus, we got one night free with three paid nights, a nice discount. Our stay was from Thursday Sep 27 to Monday Oct 1st. We stayed in 116 on the first floor. It was just what we needed and wanted for a quick inexpensive getaway. While the red tide / algae bloom had mostly disappeared, we still did not feel comfortable wading in and swimming in the Gulf. My brother, a marine biologist in Pensacola, discouraged it. We accepted that and made an exception with a day trip to Marco Island and pool time on the island instead. PROS: A minute's walk to the beach. Perfect for waking up at 7:00 AM, throwing on clothes, and being on the beach in 5 minutes for the beautiful sunrises and daily shelling for an hour before the heat of the day. Basic breakfast - we were addicted to the freshly squeezed Sun Citrus daily juices. And hey, a little rum mixed in as an afternoon drink ain't too shabby either. They also provided bagels, pastries, yogur, milk, etc. Decent for free. Kitchen amenities included a microwave, toaster, coffee maker and small fridge. Ice machine and grills were used constantly by us. Woo hoo! They even had a washer and dryer for paid use on site. Beach towels were on demand at reception. Pool was nice, but even better at Sanibel Inn where they have a bar and snack foods. OK for dipping in and lounging around. Staff were very nice and gracious. CONS: Some minor maintenance issues. One of the table lamps was missing a bulb. The fridge was running warm and that was fixed immediately upon a phone call. The toilet ran if you didn't jiggle the handle. The AC worked well, but every time it started up, it was VERY noisy and woke up us a lot the first night. Sometimes the ceiling fan was just enough. Wifi was dropped constantly, more of an inconvenience than anything. I wasn't doing much more than light social media, but I can imagine if I was dependent on it for work, it might get annoying. Really, we are pretty easygoing so we were happy knowing that this was just a simple, easy getaway. read more

We stayed here two nights after staying at The Sanibel Inn, one of their sister properties. It definitely doesn't have all of the amenities that they have, for example, two restaurants on site and a large unit with a separate bedroom/living space. It is much quieter though! And they had plenty of bikes to choose from and towels for the pool/beach which the Sanibel Inn seemed to run out of every day around 4 pm. On our last day, we asked for a late checkout at noon and were told that wouldn't be a problem. We biked to breakfast and came back around 10 am that morning only to find the cleaning woman IN our room changing the two beds. I had left stuff on the other bed so she moved the stuff. And wasn't wearing a mask. All of our stuff was still in there so I texted the front desk who said she shouldn't be in there until after check out and did apologize. With Covid, we are very concerned about this as we have no idea how long she was in the room. We won't be returning to this inn. I do hope that they have housecleaning staff wear masks....she wasn't wearing one which is incredibly scary. read more

Enjoyed our stay very much. Took advantage of the bikes available and rode to the lighthouse. Didn't use the kayak or paddle boards available. Very basic breakfast available. read more

A quaint beachside inn that has immediate access to the shore. We stayed in a spacious 3 bedroom suite, complete with a kitchenette. It even has a nice little patio to lounge on. Only downside is that everyone has to share a single bathroom! Though somehow our family managed. The place also shows a little age but is well maintained. Other than that it's very picturesque and the beach is practically empty. They provide complimentary breakfast which, during these covid times, you submit your selections the night before and pick up from the lobby in the morning. As a result they don't have cooked items like bacon and eggs but hey it's free. The inn also provides bikes, kayaks, and paddle boards. We took the bikes for a 15 min trip to the lighthouse where we took some nice pictures and got some ice cream on the way back. All the staff and even the locals are exceedingly nice and friendly. We all definitely enjoyed our time here. read more

This place has everything! Starting off with a daily breakfast basket, then the heated pool was a must stop before hitting the beach. Complete with gulf views and available/complimentary: bikes, seashell cleaning station, kayaks, surfboards, beach towels, bug repellent, and more. The Inn houses up to 3 bedroom suites as well, able to sleep 8! The staff is SO polite and helpful, especially with what to do on/around Sanibel Island. Lovely spot. read more

Seaside Inn - (from their website) the view of the shore beyond the pool within the Inn - Hotels Near Me - Sanibel, Florida

LOVED IT! I am REALLY picky and my mother is even pickier and we loved it. We had a partial-view of the ocean which really just meant you could see a chunk of it from either the front room entrance or the patio door but it was still lovely to sit out there in the morning and drink our coffee and stare at the ocean. This is a lovely inn! The rooms are clean, and have a very nice updated look. There is unlimited kayak (note: the 1 kayak they have is old and tipsy, but they have one!) and paddle board (2-3 paddle boards) and bicycle usage (LOTS of cute blue bicycles in good shape, some ). I really loved this place an can't wait to go back! read more

Overall average place. There were 2 staff members that was really pleasant. Steven was AMAZING and deserves a raise/promotion! Stephanie (i think that was her name) was also very nice. When we first got there however, we were supposed to have a bottom coast view (we paid $100 extra for) the day before and found out that it actually was a 2nd floor room. So, that wasn't the best first start, but when we got in our room we were satisfied, and they did offer to see if one of their alt places had a bottom level open. None-the-less we stayed. The breakfast basket every morning was a nice surprise! Cereal, pastries, bengals and milk and OJ... good stuff. The pool was a nice temperature and was nice and deep too which was nice as well. They also had flavored water in the main office which was nice as well. However, when we went to check out at 5:30am... we had to drive down the way to another facility which was not fun... And come to find out they didn't have anyone there at night which was not comforting at all knowing that it would be trouble if there was any emergency. Lastly, the night before the last when housekeeping changed out sheets, they put a dirty sheet(s) down (photo attached) I did go down and get clean sheets and, again, Steven was super nice and apologetic. Overall just an average stay for a average budget... I won't be paying extra for the gulf view though if we return. read more

Seaside Inn - Hotels Near Me - Sanibel, Florida

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Our visit was pure magic right from the extremely friendly check in experience complete with helpful maps and recommendations on where to eat, to the check out where we were invited to stay on the property all day if we liked. The room was comfortable and quiet with very soft bedding. The hotel oozes with hospitality, including delightful breakfast baskets delivered every afternoon for the next morning, to free bikes and kayaks for guest use. The beach was a stone's throw away and completely gorgeous. I highly recommend this establishment! read more

Great hotel on the beach. Very helpful staff and the complimentary cycles provided were a great way to explore the island. The private beach ensured we did not have to leave the hotel to visit other public beaches. Will surely be staying here whenever we visit sanibal next time. read more

Not updated for a long time but clean. Not the nicest front desk team pretty rude but didn't have to deal with him too much. They have very little parking and made a big issue of it. Lovely sandbar to see sea creatures and needs more chairs and umbrellas read more

Nice property and staff. Room was nice. And on the 1st floor. Only problem its a non smoking property. So its crossed off our list of going there again. read more

Very clean hotel rooms during COVID pandemic. Large and spacey bathrooms compared to the typical hotel room. Overall had a great stay for 2 nights. read more

This hotel has a great location right on the beach. Free bikes available to ride around on the island. Rooms nice. Although we had some issues: AC dripping the whole time creating puddles and drip noises all night. Ants in the kitchen. They do give you a breakfast basket which is nice. Good location and lovely views. read more

Seaside Inn - View from our room. Relaxing - Hotels Near Me - Sanibel, Florida

Love this group of hotels. Have stayed at each one and have loved them all. If you want "Big Box" resorts, this won't make you happy. But if you want quaint, cute, low key vacationing, I highly recommend these hotels, (against my better judgment knowing it might just make it more difficult for me to book next year!) PS: Signs were out when we arrived stating that chairs and umbrellas would be taken off the beach at dusk because of sea turtles coming ashore to lay eggs. That's cool by me! :D read more

The Seaside Inn was a great place to stay. I would definitely go back. Great access to the beach. Our room was clean and comfortable. The staff there was amazing and very accommodating. Thomas could not have been nicer. read more

This place is small and cute; quite;lovely beach; nothing too fancy; one issue thou is it is not for handicapped person; stairs everywhere; no elevators. Room comfortable and very clean. Staff helpful. And I had not been to Sanibel for 25 years and there is still few eating options; and ones there are packed!!! So go very early or late or you will wait wait wait. read more

We have been coming here for a couple of years and love it. Bikes kayaks and paddle boards available for use with a breakfast basket as well. This year to celebrate our 30 year anniversary we came over for a long weekend. we had trouble with the door lock for our room. After troubleshooting it couldn't be fixed quickly by Karen. So amber and mike upgraded us into a beautiful gulf front room and helped us move our luggage. While we were out for dinner they delivered champagne and decorated our room. Very nice and pleasant surprise. We love coming here and highly recommend it because of the great people and kind acts like that. Christina and Steve are always very helpful as well. read more

Seaside Inn - Hotels Near Me - Sanibel, Florida

Such a cute little quaint place. It's not your typical luxury resort but it's perfect for a little 3-4 day getaway. They greet you with baskets filled with fruit and breakfast items. The Orange juice is delicious. The rooms are fairly large. Nice for a quick get away. read more

Seaside inn is very kid friendly , quiet and pleasant. Christina and Steven were very accommodating. Amazing staff. We will definitely be coming back, we recommend this inn! read more

I had booked a room back in December with the hotel on expedia, I had made cancellations via the phone and expedia prior to this to ensure I had was within the cancellation policy time frame but then received a call from the hotel asking why I had not showed for my reservation. I explained that I thought I had previously canceled this reservation way back in December. The hotel was not understanding and refused to refund my over 600$ deposit!!! Very poor customer service, very disappointed. read more

We stayed at the Seaside Inn for our Honeymoon, June 29-July 3, 2015. It was a wonderful place to stay. The price for our second floor, pool side guestroom, was excellent. We could see the Gulf from our balcony. The Inn was quiet and relaxing. The grounds, and pool were kept very clean. Everyday, we were supplied with a breakfast basket that contained different breakfast items such as; Apple juice, milk, bagels, cream cheese, muffins, and more. This was very much appreciated! The staff switched up the basket daily so that you didn't always get the same things. The walk to the beach was literally 45-60 seconds from our guestroom. There were chairs and umbrellas, provided by the Seaside Inn staff, daily on the beach...and they put them out super early too. Only one little thing I would recommend: a wash to the curtains to the balcony. It looked like someone opened the curtains with sauce on their finger...but I can see where it could be easily missed by the housekeepers. Other than that, our room was spotless, and beds were cozy...we tried out both. ;) I will be going back again. Sanibel Island has a little bit for everyone, and the Seaside was a perfect place to stay. read more

Seaside Inn - Morning, sun is just starting to come up. View from guestroom. - Hotels Near Me - Sanibel, Florida

Had an absolutely marvelous time at the seaside in. Staff was outstanding, service great and you couldn't miss with the breakfast baskets every morning. We were here for eight days and didn't even leave the island, because the seaside in provided free bicycles, kayaks and other beach toys. Chairs and umbrellas were always waiting on the beach when we arrived read more

Well, here we are at the hotel. After having booked the room in December of 2017, specifically requesting the same room we had in December, stating we were unable to climb steps and needed a first floor room, we checked in, and were assigned a second floor room in the building furthest from the beach. We were offered a first floor room, and after telling the check-in person that we wanted 2 queen size beds, the room had a queen bed and a day bed that pulled out into a bed. So here we are, in this dump of a room. The room seems to been designed for a handicapped person, as the bath tub has 2 handheld attachments as well as the stationary one. There is no vanity in the bathroom, so all our bathroom items are residing in a drawer. The hair dryer is on a ledge at the head of the tub. The kitchenette, if you'll pardon the expression, is a sink, small refrigerator with no door on the freezer compartment, barely enough cabinet space for the dishes, and no place to sit to eat breakfast. The closet has a wire shelf with the hanger bar below. It is about 3-1/2 feet off the ground, and our clothing has to reside on either side of the safe. Oh, and the safe is about a foot off the floor, which makes putting anything into it or using the combination a real trial. I am so very disappointed and upset. If we hadn't driven 3 hours to get here, I would have left the bags in the car and gone home. ADDITION: Lydia at the front desk was wonderful. They changed our room to a poolside view, rather than the storage shed view. This room is 100% better than the first one. She even arranged to have all our stuff moved to the new room. Learned our lesson. Gulf view is not the same as gulf front, and call directly to make reservations. Do not use the 800 number unless you really don't care where your room is. read more

Decent place. Fabulous location. Okay rooms.

Very pretty setting with clean rooms in relatively nice facilities. Several frustrating points though. Hotel never informed us we needed to pick up our key at another venue due to our check in. Requested a chair and umbrella on the beach and spent two hours waiting - Actually still waiting. Nice staff but results could have been much better. read more

Took a mini getaway to with kids and friend here! It was quiet, and a short walk to beach which was awesome! Enjoyed having access to bikes and kayaking during the stay . Everything was close by which was great. A few things they need to maintenance however when letting the front desk know (Steven & Cristina) we're very accommodating to the issues. We will def be back ! read more

Really pretty and nice hotel. Love the provided bikes. The small ants that another reviewer mentioned are present though, and will only come out if you leave any food out. read more

Best thing was the unobstructed view from our second floor Gulf View room. The area is quiet and the sand just steps away. Room was clean, but we were invaded by tiny ants. Downside was the price. At the price we paid, I would expect less shabby and worn furnishings and fixtures, and definitely a newer and firmer mattress. Oh, and don't expect to watch the sunset from the beach chairs provided, as they are removed just prior. In general, a good experience in a great location. read more

We stayed at the Seaside Inn as a backup plan to our planned mini vacation to Marco Island...Sanibel and the Seaside Inn did not disappoint...We stayed in a gulf front unit (127) this past weekend...the room, 2 beds with efficiency were clean and comfortable...the room, however, needed a little table for a place to eat as outside screen porch was often hot with no breeze...the beach was amazing, a paradise for sellers...the staff was friendly and helpful...the continental breakfast (pastries and cereal) provided a nice touch...the only blip in our trip were the tiny black aunts in the kitchen...despite being very clean, the aunts were drawn to the muffins in the breakfast basket...management did take care of the issue but it was temporary as the aunts returned...the remedy would be to have maids put muffins/pastries in refrigerator...Despite this minor setback I recommended this hotel read more

I rented cottage 102 this week and I wanted to write a honest review. I wasn't please when we arrived to find out that we couldn't check in to our cottage until 6pm due to housekeeping. This was not good considering that already have a late checkin time of 4pm to begin with. However, putting that aside we loved the cottage. It wasn't the Ritz but I wasn't expecting it. It was cute, clean and beachy which was what I wanted. Some of the pros were the huge breakfast baskets we got. At one point towards the end of our stay we had them stop bringing them because we had some much stuff stocked up. We loved that they had bikes, kayaks and paddle boards for our use and took advantage of them. Some of the cons were mainly housekeeping. We didn't have enough towels knowing we had three women staying here. We found out at 1am when going to bed that there were no bed linens for pull out coach. That was extremely inconvenient because we couldn't nor wanted to call anyone at that hour. I called desk in morning to report these issues and by 4pm still no linens or towel nor was our place cleaned. When they finally came they didn't make bed just took old towels and washed dishes. Housekeeping service was really not good. My only other issue was that I called to see what they had for cooking supplies and was given a list of what they had so I knew what to expect and bring. However that wasn't the case. They didn't have enough plates and very limited cooking and eating utensils. They also didn't have a cookie sheet, mixing bowls, pot holders, kitchen towels or sponges. One major issue was they pull beach chairs from beach too early (5pm). It says sun down which should be 8/9pm here but that wasn't the case. We asked the guy to leave ours but he wouldn't. We were forced to get off them on the first day of our arrival. Keep in mind that we couldn't get into cottage until 6pm that night. The desk staff was very pleasant, attentive, responsive and apologized for the late checkin and issues we had. They tried to accommodate our needs quickly. However a few days the front desk phones weren't working so we had to go to office to tell them what we needed. On a side note they did accommodate a late check out for an add'l fee. All in all I would stay here again but they need to hire more and better housekeeping staff, stock kitchens better and leave chairs on beach later read more

Place was so quaint Steve an Jim so nice. Loved the bikes an paddle boards Steps to beach. Everyone so friendly would go back. From Southern California. read more

Seaside Inn - Hotels Near Me - Sanibel, Florida

The cottage we rented would best be described as a dump. Old, half-broken appliances; dirty, stained sofa and chairs; cracked bathroom tiles; leaking faucet, broken stove, leaking fridge also missing shelves; scratched old pans - only one kitchen knife, so blunt it wouldn't cut anything; deck door missing screen. They charge luxury prices for barely rentable units. Additionally, the management seems to be in chaos, with terrible or no communication among staff about the many problems with our unit. They also bungled the attempt to compensate us for the inadequate lodging and service, saying "If I were you, I would have left and stayed somewhere else," and only offering a discount on our stay after we insisted on it. My family has been renting in Sanibel for 20 years, and have stayed at 5 different properties - they were all far superior in quality and cheaper than Seaside Inn. read more

Wow, what an awesome place! This was my first time on Sanibel island. The hotel is placed in a great location, away from noise. Steps to the beach through a deck, pool area. Bicycles were available to move around the island. At full capacity but nice and quiet. Ac was great. Rooms nicely sized with a mw oven, fridge, sink. Everything around was clean, in working order and taken care of. I didn't get a chance to meet all staff but whoever I met was courteous and helpful. One thing I found unorthodox was that they charged my ccard at the time of booking, 2 months in advance. At check out I paid with real money and upon request they refunded my card no questions asked. My experience there was definitely 5 stars. read more

This was my first time to Sanibel Island. We had a room facing the beach and it was beautiful to wake up a look out at the ocean. The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. I really enjoyed my trip because it was quiet and beautiful. I could sit on my balcony with a cup of coffee and look out over the beach and ocean. How relaxing!! There were bicycles to use at no charge and a small continental breakfast as well. I have stayed at 5 star resort hotels and I am pleased to say that I will definitely return to Seaside Inn. It was family friendly if you had small kids, peaceful and relaxing. I can't wait to return next year!! read more

Love the awesome location and the cottages were perfect for our family. Pool and beach were great. Fantastic staff! Tressann went above and beyond when my family needed to relocate our vacation to Sanibel due to weather in another part of the state. She even gave us great tips for our Disney trip. We'll be back for sure!!! read more

Awful. I spoke to a manager prior to arrival about an early check in as it was my 70th birthday. When I arrived, the person behind the desk retorted, "well, you didn't speak to me" - no early check in. Hotel advertises complimentary breakfast - it was month old, rock hard discount pastries, a couple of apples and Cheerios, left in the small room frig. Ants scurried all over the kitchenette area. Very noisy from people above. I've worked for a St. Pete Beach hotel and stayed in places far better for half the price. NEVER AGAIN. read more