Stayed at PWink from 1-30 thru 2-13-10, and couldn't have found a better fit. For some, perhaps, the ideal vacation is lots of planned activities, on-site high end dining, spas and pool attendants. If this is what you seek, do yourself and others a favor and stay elsewhere. If, however, your idea of "the perfect holiday" is a small, private, uncrowded facility, a nicely decorated, clean and well equipped cottage/apartment, and an unhurried, un-in-your-face management presence, PWink Cottages may be ideal. The location is an easy bike ride/stroll to the almost empty beach, (for which bikes, beach chairs, an umbrella and beach towels are provided), and, should you choose/need to drive, complimentary beach pass parking is provided. While it is true that the West End of the island is, compared to the Middle and Eastern end, secluded, PWink is close enough to get to Bailey's or the Santiva General Store without encountering the Periwinkle Drive traffic.
Mark and/or Kathy is on premises frequently, but never in an obtrusive way. Rather, there are those guests who perhaps don't encounter them except for check in/check out procedures. This, again, was perfect for us. The rates are the most reasonable we found for comparable properties, and our kitchen was well enough stocked that of 14 nights, we dined out only 3 times; the rest we made and ate in our cottage.
On any future trips to Sanibel we will certainly be looking at Periwinkle Cottages first for our needs.

If you are interested in having a relaxing holiday in the most beautiful setting imaginable, this is the place for you! My husband and I spent a week at the cottages and were able to completely forget about the pressures of our "real life" back home in the big city. Only a short walk to the beach, the morning and evening walks along the beach allowed us the opportunity to get a little bit of exercise without feeling like we had just been to a boot camp. And the sunsets can simply not been beat. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything as spectacular. We particularly enjoyed the privacy and quiet we were afforded on our porch as we sorted and cleaned the beautiful seashells we brought back from our daily walks. I adore seashells, and these are some of the finest beaches for shelling I have seen - not to mention the sand dollars and starfish. Accomodations were lovely and the furnishings were reminiscent of the spirit of "Old Florida." If you are tired of the concrete jungle, these adorable and quaint cottages are for you. But that does not mean you'll have to do without the comforts of home - we were glad to see that there was internet access - that allowed us to send tons of photos to our family and friends. I really enjoyed the convenience of being able to use laundry facilities without having to drive to a laundromat. We took a couple of day trips during our stay to see the Everglades as well as nearby Ding Darling on the advice of the couple who owns the cottages. Were they ever right - they seemed to know exactly what we wanted and were never to busy to answer any question we might have had about the area. It was nice to have a "local" help us find our way around. We're definitely planning a return visit to the cottages next summer.... and if I can talk my husband into it, I'm thinking it might be nice to see the quiet beauty of Sanibel this winter, as well!

Just returned from another recharging stay at Periwinkle Cottages. Already planning our next {5th!} visit which can't come soon enough! We actually live less than 50 miles away, but it seems like another world. With stressful hospital jobs, a dose of Periwinkle is just what the doctor ordered. This time I found the largest lightning whelk I had ever seen! We have stayed in the Ibis and love the breezy screened-in porch and king-size bed, but the Sandpiper is our favorite. We feel like we have our own little piece of Ding Darling, watching the turtles, birds and the occasional alligator too. We took just under a million photos this time. Mark and Kathy are always vwery accommodating, friendly & helpful.They are never too busy to answer any questions for us. We love the laid-back feeling and our privacy. Sometimes we are not able to leave until Friday after work. We have arrived as late as 11:00 at night, but are never meant to feel we have to pay before walking through the door. Instead, we get 'You're here to relax. Have a wonderful time" ...and we do! Our cottages is immaculate every time and the furnishings are very comfortable. Everything we need is included without those extra fees some places charge for beach chairs,towels and bikes. They even include high speed internet access, so when we absolutely need to reach the rest of the world we can. It's so nice to be able to throw a few personal items in a suitcase and just go! The rates are what brought us to Periwinkle our first time. Now the rates let us treat ourselves to Doc Ford's and The Timbers more often! If you're looking for something other than a cookie-cutter condo & want to get away from the noisy crowds, this is it. We love our little home away from home at Periwinkle Cottages.

My wife and i have recently returned from a trip around floridas west coast.We planned our route and used trip advisor for help but nothing really prepared us for our dreadfull experience at periwinkle cottages.From the photo's you see of the cottages all seems ok
but on arrival it could not be more different.Firstly there was nobody there to welcome us to the cottages and i don't know about anyone else but i think its important to be made to feel welcome when your spending hard earned cash,and then we saw our room and i was gobsmacked we have done alot of travelling and stayed in alot of places but this was a tip. Smelly ,dusty the tv was broken and the backyard was a dump.We where booked in to stay for three nights and after a very uncomfortable first night we decided to complain. I was not expecting the responce we got. After complaining i was told that i had offended them and there family business and was also made to feel guilty for complaining and in return they where hardly bothered and it was my fault for staying there,so we packed our bags and left after one night.
We stayed in the bungalow at the rear of the property so i can't comment on what the other rooms are like.Thankfully it did not ruin our holiday we moved on and booked another hotel.I would strongly warn anyone to consider staying anywhere else but these cottages