We had been staying at a very large and lovely condo about 20 miles away, with no beach. We came to Sanibel for the day and knew we had to stay there for our sake and our kids. Went into the Caribe and they were very friendly and let us look at a few of the units to select which we preferred. We chose the one above the office in case our 2 year old woke up and cried as we did not want to disturb others. It was the perfect fit for us. Make no mistake, this is old school Florida, but we loved it. We had a bedroom with a full bath and a Murphy bed in the living room for sleeping. The kitchen was well stocked and there was a 1/2 bath in the hallway. The grounds were very nicely maintained and had lovely vegetation. The pool was perfect. Best of all, we were a short walk to the beautiful Sanibel beach for shelling. If you are expecting luxury, this is not the place for you. If you are there to be a beach bum and not worry about sand on your feet, this could be the place for you.

First, the positives: Quiet. Clean, well-maintained grounds, friendly maintenance staff, good location on West Gulf Drive. Pet-friendly. Now for the negatives: We arrived to discover the specific ground-floor room we were promised (in writing) was occupied and unavailable, though no one had warned us. The property manager agreed to our request for a 15% discount for the inconvenience. I guess the room key says it all about the need for updates on this property: when was the last time you stayed at a hotel that gave you a metal key attached to one of those brightly colored plastic fobs with the "drop in any mailbox" instructions? The room number had long ago worn off the fob, and had been retraced with white-out. Other issues: Exterior door louvers that were inoperable, ants in the kitchenette (friendly maintenance staff did lend us a can of ant and roach killer, but it didn't get rid of them), an unsupportive mattress on the Murphy Bed, a policy that directs guests to exchange dirty towels for clean ones but ONLY ON WEDNESDAY MORNING and ONLY FROM 9:00 till 10:00!!! Any other time, and guests are just plain out of luck. And one final item you may find interesting. Internet access was cut off at 12:00 AM the day of our departure, even though checkout was ten hours later. And, Surprise!, when we logged on to our home page later in the day, hundreds of miles from the Caribe, guess whose log-in screen appeared? Yes! The Caribe's! And it won't go away.

I've been coming to the caribe since I was young, probably 5 or 6 and I am now 26 and I still come every summer with my family. Between me, my mom and my grandmother, we have 3 time shares there and it is so nice and memorable because all of the family can get together. I actually got engaged at the Caribe. I am now a mother of two and I am so glad that I am able to share the memories with my children. The accomodations are amazing, the beach is wonderful, staff is great and everything is so close and convenient. I would reccomend this place to anyone.

The Caribe is a timeshare resort, but when you visit you aren't slapped with one of those annoying sales-pitches. The resort is older and in severe need of updates. The refrigerator, dishwasher, wallpaper, and the entire bathroom should be removed and replaced with something more modern. Even with these problems, however, our stay was fantastic. Our room on the 2nd floor of building A had a beautiful Gulf View. The wind in the palm trees was relaxing, and the pool was refreshing. What really made this place great was the people. The employees have got to be some of the best in the business. Moreover, the other vacationers made this time so enjoyable. We were traveling with a 9 month old who was the star of the resort. Everyone remembered his name and asked about him. I had never slept on a Murphy Bed before and was expecting something akin to a pullout sofa. The bed was actually rather nice and the pillows were comfortable. A flat screen tv was a nice touch to the room as well. The resort is located, in my opinion, near the best spot on the whole island for shelling (the Tarpon Bay beach access area--from the resort, go to the beach and turn left...it's about a five minute walk to a fabulous tidal pool filled with sea life and shells). Although four adults could sleep in the room, I wouldn'd recommend it. Two adults, and at the most two small children, would maximize the room's occupancy. We didn't really spend too much time in the room, so it's small size didn't really bother us. Be sure to check out the Ding Darling Wildlife Refugee on the island and cruise on up to Captiva to eat at the Mucky Duck or the Bubble Room.