South Seas Resort

Will never visit again Unfortunately we’ll never return to South Seas for the following reasons: 1. Elevators not working in 3 story buildings - not notified of this when we booked. Fortunately we were able to get a different room. 2. Unless you’re close to the marina you have to drive your car to the beach and pool - or wait for a shuttle that isn’t frequent. They have golf carts - but it would’ve cost $700!!!!! to have a cart from Fri at check in to Monday check out!!!! 3. We booked a tennis Villa to play tennis but no court there - so luckily we were able to sneak in one of the others that were usually locked. 4. No restaurants - 2 food trucks - which were pretty good. 5. This is the deal breaker - 12% fee charged at checkout for housekeeping (we were never offered), front desk (???), engineering and security. So first you pay a lot for the room - and then they want you to pay for their operating expenses. Nope - never again. Oh - and I emailed them to express my outrage and never received a response. _

Book directly through South Seas Love Beach Villas 2638 renovated condo! Sleeps 9 comfortably. New everything, floors, appliances, renovated bathrooms, furniture and mattresses. Love the short walk to “town” to have dinner, ice cream, drinks and best sunsets in the world. If you want access to amenities you have to rent through South Seas and not a 3rd party (vrbo, king fisher etc.). Condos in South Seas rental programs can only be booked through South Seas and come with access to amenities; fantastic golf course, beach chairs with towels and umbrellas, pool with chairs, towels, trolly bus and iconic tiki bar. Houses, timeshares and condos not in South Seas rental programs do not pay into the very expensive construction and maintenance of pools, restaurants (2 reopening in fall 2024), water park (late 2025) and spa/fitness center (late 2025) or even roads, security or resort staff. While it makes non program guests mad to not have access to amenities it’s a choice the condo owner made and they can join the program anytime. Such a fabulous place, can’t wait to go back! ignore the haters that rented through 3rd party and didn’t read the fine print.

Never coming back after 35 years at South Seas Club After 35 years of coming.. new ownership says we no longer have access to the main pool, golf, empty beach chairs, or even the food truck because our unit doesn’t have access to these “amenities”. Nothing is available. Do not go, total waste.

READ BEFORE COMMITTING TO SOUTHSEAS Beware NO Soul! I’m writing this so your expectations are set before you spend your hard earned money. For us, South Seas was a Massive disappointment after 25 years of coming here and loving it!! We all realize there was a hurricane, but read on…. I personally embrace change and capitalism but my money is going to Tween Waters and other Sanibel Resorts going forward. Yours should too. Look right past the reviews that are written by the local guides….they’re biased. SouthSeas imposed ridiculous rules that fundamentally prevent your freedom and a positive vacation experience. Examples follow: 1) on check in, expect to be inconvenienced by two stops … one spot in Sanibel and a second spot in Captiva in remote small offices with no sense of welcome. 2). SouthSeas new rule: No more umbrellas at MOST pool chairs because management is worried about the view getting blocked! Ridiculous…. Umbrellas are taller than line of sight. When requesting one due to prior skin cancer, we were told NO. 3) SouthSeas new rule: Rent ONLY THEIR golf carts for almost twice the price (no yolo or other golf cart rental companies), and then SouthSeas limits your range outside the resort which means you can’t get to places like Tween Waters (as you can with Yolo). They want NO money spent outside of the resort. And if you dare rent a golf cart from Yolo, or an outside source, the resort will not allow you to park it anywhere on their property at risk of fines and towing. They do not give a damn about supporting the local community nor businesses. Their talk is cheap otherwise. 4) SouthSeas new rule: no floats at pools. 25 years of joy over. 5). SouthSeas new rule: no riding your golf cart around redfish pass anymore. No golf cart access to the point nor Sunset Beach. 6). SouthSeas new rule: Don’t wear a necklace on the slides or you will be banned. REALITY — Sanibel and Captiva are largely rebuilt after hurricane Ian . This resort tore down the hotel, lodging, employee, housing, and all amenities except original pools. This means no fun, no food, no shopping, no water sports, no normal bathrooms, locked gates, and very limited service due to an inability to attract employees. In two years, while HOA’s, other resorts and private homes all got rebuilt…. SouthSeas only succeeded at installing Porta potty toilets and two incredibly crappy Food trucks. There are NO restaurants and ZERO pool nor resort activities (Examples: no log roll, movies; s’mores,, yoga, gym, T-dock access; sunset beach live music). The soul of this place is dead. Talk to management and they don’t care one bit. Kyla Burkitt is one of the managers who could benefit from hospitality training at minimum. Timber Company (the new owners) are apparently confident they will make their financial returns for themselves and their private equity partners when they do the massive build out they plan and sell private residences to unsuspecting people who naively don’t understand the complexity of the monopolistic contract they’ll have to sign. Visitors will be begging for the experience of a professional resort management company, such as Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, etc. Timbers is an epic failure at creating a positive experience. Be aware of the lawsuit currently filed by the Captiva Civic Association regarding SouthSeas Development plans. Lee County — do what’s right for the residents and visitors to this beautiful area to provide ACCESS to all (that means more public parking and beach access for fees payable to the county. You did right by the original developer EXCEPT that it’s a public policy failure that the public has largely been CUT OFF from practical access to these beautiful beaches Sanibel and Captiva are naturally stunning environments everyone should enjoy. Just do it at Tween Waters or one of the many Sanibel resorts …. Sadly, NOT SouthSeas anymore.

Felt like royalty! We absolutely loved our stay at South Seas Beach House 32. We got a little turned around upon check in as we arrived around 11 pm and it was really dark and we didn't see the registration sign but no big deal. Woke the next day to absolutely breathtaking views. The description says Beach House 32 has a partial ocean view, but it is truly a beautiful FULL ocean view. We did not have beach umbrella and chairs, but called and they were not only delivered right away, but also set up on the beach for us!! We spent our days between the beach and Bayside pool where Andrew is a delight and took EXCELLENT care of us. Seeing the dolphins and manatees everyday was awesome! Beach House 32 is wonderful. We were aware that there is construction and upgrades going from Hurricane Ian, so we were appreciative of that information at the time of booking. Beach House 32 had everything we needed and more! As a mom, I loved the large washer and dryer! (It's the little things, right?) We had a regular coffee maker AND a Keurig. The living room was excellent to sit and visit and have family time. The sofa is very comfortable!! Coffee on the beautiful lanai every morning was a dream come true! My only complaint with the beach house is that it seemed the main sections of the house got no air conditioning. The bedrooms had great air conditioning which we were very thankful for, but there was no air coming out of the vents the living room/dining area, kitchen, or laundry room. The air conditioner ran non stop while we were there and the temperature in the house got up to 78-80 degrees each day, not coming down to 72 degrees until around 5 am each day. The resort as a whole is absolutely beautiful and it will be gorgeous when all renovations are done. The service and attitude of all staff was overwhelmingly positive and friendly - a breath of fresh air! Overall, this was a phenomenal vacation and we had a fabulous time. As a hospitality management teacher, South Seas gets an A+, and I don't give those out very often! Excellent job South Seas! Thank you!