South Seas Island Resort
Cutting to the chase, this place is huge, situated on 335 acres—Captiva's entire northern third, in fact—most of which you will either have to drive or trolley through. The list of the resort's many, many accommodations is huge, too, with descriptions running from "beach villas," "tennis villas," and "Gulf cottages," to "Harbourside Marina View" rooms and "Harbourside Water View" rooms. It's sort of confusing and for some units the word "villa" is a misnomer, as most happen to be one-, two-, and three-bedroom condo-style apartments housed in low- to mid-rise buildings. Those apartments are certainly convenient for families with kids who want full kitchens, but they're far from the resort's fantastic pool, water slide, kids' club, and retail and dining complex down at the marina. The rooms there, overlooking the marina and housed in two-story buildings, were updated a few years ago, but are showing the wear and tear of many pairs of sandy feet. That being said, I'd choose these rooms over the dated condos any day. (The condos are better for people who prefer a more homey feel.) If you're looking for a real resort feel, stay at the marina end, where everything—the candy, ice cream, and pizza stores especially—is within walking distance. A new branch of Fort Myers' popular watering hole Doc Ford's is open at the entrance of the resort. There's also a Starbucks and a strip mall retail complex, accessible by the resort trolley, which provides round-trip transportation so there's no need to get into your car unless you plan to explore the island. With all the things to do here, however—tennis, golf, the Sanibel Sea School, snorkeling, day cruises to nearby Cabbage Key and Useppa—leaving really is a last resort.
Cutting to the chase, this place is huge, situated on 335 acres—Captiva's entire northern third, in fact—most of which you will either have to drive or trolley through. The list of the resort's many, many accommodations is huge, too, with descriptions running from "beach villas," "tennis villas," and "Gulf cottages," to "Harbourside Marina View" rooms and "Harbourside Water View" rooms. It's sort of confusing and for some units the word "villa" is a misnomer, as most happen to be one-, two-, and three-bedroom condo-style apartments housed in low- to mid-rise buildings. Those apartments are certainly convenient for families with kids who want full kitchens, but they're far from the resort's fantastic pool, water slide, kids' club, and retail and dining complex down at the marina. The rooms there, overlooking the marina and housed in two-story buildings, were updated a few years ago, but are showing the wear and tear of many pairs of sandy feet. That being said, I'd choose these rooms over the dated condos any day. (The condos are better for people who prefer a more homey feel.) If you're looking for a real resort feel, stay at the marina end, where everything—the candy, ice cream, and pizza stores especially—is within walking distance. A new branch of Fort Myers' popular watering hole Doc Ford's is open at the entrance of the resort. There's also a Starbucks and a strip mall retail complex, accessible by the resort trolley, which provides round-trip transportation so there's no need to get into your car unless you plan to explore the island. With all the things to do here, however—tennis, golf, the Sanibel Sea School, snorkeling, day cruises to nearby Cabbage Key and Useppa—leaving really is a last resort.
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