south seas was a dissapointment
by A TripAdvisor Member
I took my family for a much anticipated vacation to South seas resort last month. From the moment we arrived at the resort what we thought would be relaxing and delightful became the opposite. We stayed at Harbourside in one of the motel rooms. It was worse than bad. It had not been updated and it looked like a bad dorm room. There was paint chipping all over the room and the furniture and bedding were the worst. There were no room service menus in the room and it felt like we were on our own the whole time. We never felt as though management was trying to make our stay more comfortable. If you dare to express your dissatisfaction to anyone who thinks they are somebody they will not acknowledge you. As far as the foreign staff they are not the problem. It's the young and inexperienced and untrained staff that has the problems. They feel as though they are the guests and at many times treated us as if they were not interested and engaged with allowing the guests to feel welcomed. There was no southern hospitality there. Also when going on vacation, you hope the accommodations will be as nice or nicer than your own home. The beach is beautiful but the beach bar is not staffed well and offers nothing great. The Sonesta in Key Biscayne Florida has the most delicious lunch beach bar. This was like the beach cafeteria food. The pool offerings are a little bit different. In our bathroom where the coffee makersits upon a piece of glass were three inches of mucky dust that looked like it had not been cleaned in quite some time. It was not cleaned my whole week there. It took forever to get through the gates at the entrance evry time you left the resort. Security would talk to cars forever holding up the line for customers that are already checked in. I do not want to wait for 15 minutes while one guy talks to each car. It seems as though it's not about the service but your lucky to staying here theme of South Seas resort.
Superb!
by A TripAdvisor Member
I have been going to Captiva now with my family either every year or every other year and I find it the most peaceful and relaxing place I have ever been to in the world. I stay in South Seas Plantation in South Seas resort. This has a beautiful view over the golf course and at the back of that you can see the sea. The restaurants are excellent, food being delicious and the'Bubble Room' being a must visit. Relaxation is truly at home here with a beach also just around the corner. Also for breakfast make sure you visit 'Captain Al's'on weekends where a great buffet is on offer. I can't wait to visit again!
Overrated and Disappointing!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Just returned from a week's vacation at South Seas Resort. My family and I stayed at the Plantation Beach Club. At best, we rate the resort "average," and will not return even if offered a place free. It was boring (the first time I ever said that about a vacation).
The room itself was okay; it was clean and updated. However, it was pretty small. The furniture provided was too big for the living space in the main room. BR #1 was nice and had a king-size bed. BR #2 was fine and offered 2 single beds.
One complaint was that, even though that there are only 2 stories, you have to walk 4 flight of stairs to get to the second floor. The ballisters on the railings were too far apart in some areas, and we not leave our children near them at all. Also, parking was very tight. It is almost too small for two minivans to fit side-by-side.
From everything I've read, reviews were quite mixed. It is my opinion that this resort is great for retirees or golfers. Some families like it as well, but to travel anywhere, you have to board a trolly. Sometimes the wait is 15-20 minutes... Entirely too long (especially with kids). The pool at PBC was extremely small. We spent most of our time at the main pool, which was nice, but overcrowded at times.
I guess if you want a very private resort, then this is as private as it gets. If it rains, there's nothing to do there. Why all the hype...? We've been asking ourselves this question over and over.
The views were stunning, but we we disappointed in the beaches. There was not a lot of "beach" space (i.e., sand) and the ocean gets deep rather quickly from shore. You must pay close attention to your young ones. There were more broken, small shells on the beach than there was sand. The kids could not enjoy the sand here like they could at other places. With all the discussion of shells, there were few of any substance. We went out every morning and were expecting large, nice shells... Nada!
The food at the resort was lousy, in my opinion. It is very expensive, and for the money you spend on meals, it is definitely not worth it. We often went to Sanibel where there is a lot of restaurants to choose. We spent a lot of time driving around.
In summary, if money is no object to you and you want an extremely remote location, then South Seas is for you. Otherwise, you will be as disappointed as I was. I definitely would not return. In my opinion, Marco is a much better place for families with children. I do not mind spending a lot of money on a family vacation. But for the money we spent at South Seas (and what we received), we felt like we threw our money away. We learned our lesson. Don't say that you weren't warned.
Needs a lot of work
by A TripAdvisor Member
The views on the island are breathtaking, just disappointed with the hotel and the staff. We were only there for a couple days. It took nearly 5 hours to get there- which already made us both a little edgey.
We checked into a mediocre room- Harborside Village. (main hotel rooms). The view was great- the room was surprisingly large however not clean. Someone else's hair dryer on the sink. Drinking glass marks on the tables and night stards. Bathroom was awful. Wallpaprer lifting off walls. Bottom of bath tub stained. Tile discolored. Bedding "seemed" ok. Carpet was a disgrace. We didn't complain knowing that we would spend most of our time at the beach or pool. Disappointing pool area. Could use a refresh. Property looks as if hasn't been updated in 25 years.
Went to pool bar- where waited 10 minutes to get her attention- no one else was there but she was talking to her coworkers, I ordered a Miami Vice- 1/2 Pina Colada & 1/2 Strawberry Daiguiri. She than rolled her eyes- and said "we call that a Pain in the Ass". I looked at her- because I thought I heard her wrong. She repeated herself and I looked at her with disgust. I took my $8+ tax and 20% Gratuity drink and stomped away. Already we were not starting the trip off well.
For dinner we decided to head to Porter's restaurant. The food was excellent, service was mediocre, pricing was on the higher side. The restaurant was very quaint and empty and we really enjoyed ourselves. We than made our way past the shops and over to Chadwicks for some after dinner drinks. We had a seat in the otherwise empty lounge & listened to a nice live band. The server was very talkative and friendly. We ended up getting engaged at his table moments later. Immediately the server came over with compliemtnary beverages and well wishes. We were very pleased with our overall first night at the resort.
We went to breakfast the next morning at Capt Al's- were not really given the option of anything but the buffet- which was ok. The view was conveniently under construction- so were heard the workers through the entire meal. We left there to head to the gift shop. Where my other half wanted to buy a hat. He picked one up clearly labeled $14- we went to the register where it rang up $18+ tax. When I questioned the pricing- the staff came over and said "Oh". He then asked us for the "cabin card" back and he would make an adjustment. He then presented me with a slip that to me appears as if I was charged an additional $2+. I asked him 2xs and both times he varified it was a credit not a charge.
Our next situation occured back in the room. After getting out of the shower. I stood infront of the vanity. I noticed the sink water rising. When I looked up the heavens just about opened up on me. There was a steady stream of water leaking out of the center of the ceiling. I openend the door to see if housekeeping's cart was still outside- I found the attendant- who rushed in and threw the dirty towels he collected all day on our bethroom floor to mop up the mess. More concerned with our personal belongings- we grabbed everything we had out of the area and moved to the bedroom. We were told if we come back in 30 minutes he would have everything fixed and cleaned. When we got back to the room- other than muddy footprints on the floor- eveything looked ok. I turned the shower on again this time to get ready for our sunset cruise. When I got out of the shower and started drying my hair- I noticed a tapping on my head. I looked up and the leak started all over this time out of the flourescent lighting.- knowing this was a major safety hazard I called the front desk to discuss our problem. She siad she would have someone out to fix it- I mentioned that had already occurred earlier this afternoon- and we would prefer to move rooms. (Didn't think that was an unrealistic request) She never once apologized but muttered out that she would have to check if she had any rooms available. I was furious. The entire parking lot was empty, as well as all the restaurants we dined at, the swimming pool and the beach. I mentioned this to her-and said maam we are very busy I will call you back. In 5 minutes she called back and said we had 10 minutes to pack our bags we were moving to another room and she was sending a bellhop to assit us- didn't even know there were bellhops at the proprty- no one ever assisted us with check in. Our second room- was worse. First room had 10 pilows on the bed- this one had two. the linens were brown, old, worn. It had the same coffee stain all over the counters. You can tell the room had not been used for some time- it was very stuffy and air was not on. When we went out to the balcony to get a glimpse of the harbor there was an overgrown tree as out new view. The tree was decorated with liquor bottles it had caught with its branches. You would think knowing that a guest already had been inconvenienced they would go above and beyond to improve their experience. Not here!
Frustrated but making the best of things- we headed out for the evening knowing that we would be heading to our next vacation destination in the moring, Clearwater Beach.
Check out in the morning was the worst I ever experienced. It took us nearly an hour to get our bill settled- due to our purchase of a hat at the gift shop. It seems that I was right- the gift shop clerk authorized a charge instead of a credit and we stood at the front desk listening to the front desk staff and the gift shop staff argue over the phone. The front desk staff would not credit the aount- until he can verify that we realy overpaid $2+ change. We finally got out of there- looked back adn laughed about our problems we experienced and knew they only made our proposal story more amusing! And if we could get through that weekend without a fight-we could do anything.
Wonderful Vacation
by A TripAdvisor Member
After reading the poor reviews here, we were ready to cancel our trip. I called the Resort and told them of our concerns. The rep I spoke with was very honest. She says there had been problems with staff, room conditions, and some restaurants, but they've been addressed and there have been improvements made. I trusted her and kept our reservatoins. We were so pleased with our accomodations (Land's End). The view was amazing, very clean and great access to everything. If you call the front desk they will send a trolley directly to your door if you're staying in Land's End.
The staff was great too! My son had a blast with all of the organized activities, and is now addicted to golf because of the fantastic golfing instruction he received at South Seas. We are already planning our return trip next summer! :)
Forum Posts
Accomodation in Sanibel Island
by bengos
I am looking for a lovely and cheap accomodation to stay in Sanibel Island from March 16 -> 20. Somethink like a B&B or a motel well located for beach pleasure. Any recommandations ?
Thanks in advance
Re: Accomodation in Sanibel Island
by donato1899
There is nothing cheap on Sanibel, especially in March. I have never heard of a B&B either. The best places to stay are condos , most are right on the beach. I like the Signal Inn, A 15-20 unit place.
The biggest is the Sundial a huge 400-500 unit complex with lots of pools. It is good for people with small children because it has lots of good activities for the kids.
There are hotels too. The chamber of commerce has a web site that lists most available accomodations.
Captive is an adjacent island with a more laid back atmosphere. My favorite there is the T'ween Waters Inn. The South seas Plantation is the Captiva equivelant of the Sundial. It is owned by the same corporation. Very nice but huge.Sanibel or Captiva you won't be sorry you went.
Re: Accomodation in Sanibel Island
by pilgrim55
If you are looking for cheap or even reasonably priced, you'd better stay on the mainland and then drive over to "The Island." Sanibel and Captiva are beautiful and worth the visit, but you have to have DEEP pockets to stay or eat there.
Re: Accomodation in Sanibel Island
by pilgrim55
Actually you can camp on Sanibel for about $48. a night I think. That might be an option. Certainly not a "lovely" option though.
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