More about Lani Kai Island Resort Hotel
Lani Kai Worst Place to Stay in Ft Myers
by A TripAdvisor Member
This was the worst place I've ever stayed in Ft Myers Beach (been going there for over 25 years). The Lani Kai caters to the "party" crowd and had a live rock band playing very loudly all afternoon (it was very loud even in our second floor room with all doors closed). The band moves down to one of their other club areas and plays very loud music til late at night, with lots of yelling and whistling after each song (making it impossible to sit out on the balcony and enjoy the moonlight over the ocean). Lani Kai should make in plain in their ads what kind of resort this is, so only those people who enjoy that kind of thing stays there. This is the first time I've ever been glad to be leaving Ft Myers Beach.
GREAT VIEWS OF THE BEACH
by LoriPori about LANI KAI'S GLIDER LOUNGE
After a lovely walk on the beach, our friend suggested to Hans and I, to have something to drink at the LANI KAI'S GLIDER LOUNGE. What a great idea that was. You go to the very top of the Lani Kai Island Resort and go out to the balcony where they have a long row of glider tables, where you can have a bite to eat or as we did, just have a drink and enjoy the views of the beach below. We sat there for about an hour. We all ordered soft drinks for $2.00 and refills were free. WooHoo!
Lani Kai is a full service Hotel. All rooms face the Gulf of Mexico with private balconies and large, spacious rooms.
Other features include:
Rooftop Restaurant
3 Beach Bars
Live entertainment
Heated Pool
3 Gift Shops
Great Afternoon at the Air Show
by AnnS
The Fort Myers Beach Air Show takes place in May every year. We always get to see the planes coming over the beach at the quiet end of the island, on their way to and from SW Florida International Airport, but last year we decided to go to the centre of the action.
We took the Island Trolley to the Lani Kai Hotel where the event was based. We didn't drive because the centre of town gets very crowded during the Air Show and even if you can find a parking space, they charge high prices.
Commentary for the Air Show was relayed from the roof of the Lani Kai to the beach below where crowds had gathered and the beach vendors were doing a roaring trade. You could rent a cabana or chairs but as it was so hot, we found a shaded spot in the beachside bar where we were able to sit down and still get a good view.
A range of aircraft displayed during the afternoon, including extremely thrilling (and very noisy) F-16 fighter planes but the highlight of the show was definitely the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. I had never seen it, apart from in pictures, and it is certainly a distinctive and terrifyingly impressive aircraft.
Americans certainly know how to enjoy themselves and the noise of cheering and whistling was deafening. We had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.
Not so enjoyable though, was the journey back to our apartment. When the show finished, the island became gridlocked and the trolleys were stuck in stationary traffic, some miles away. Neither could be get a taxi, for the same reason. We waited for an hour... then we went for a drink... but still gridlock... so we ended up walking the several miles back along the beach.
the slum of the earth
by A TripAdvisor Member
The Lani Kai is the slum of the earth! It is filthy and run down. The owners must be hill-rats to even think that this place is suitable for people to stay at. The television did not work, the air conditioner did not work, the fridge did not work, and to make matters worse, the toilet would not flush! The sheets were soiled and stained in our bed, and when we wanted more towels, guess what, the phone did not work!
Besides our room being utterly disgusting, the staff at this joint was unbearable! They were incompetent!
Do yourself a favor, even if the rooms are a little cheaper than the ones down the street, do not stay here! It is for the birds.
Only drunken loser dead-beats like this place!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
DO NOT belive what you see on the motel's website because this place is a dump! It looked nice & you would figure it should be nice for the price you pay to stay there. I wish I would have found this site sooner. We booked our specific room request 4 months before the stay and when we arrived, we were told the motel was intentionally overbooked and we could either accept the room they had for us or go find another hotel because they didn't care. When we decided to accept the only room they had, it was AMAZING!! The door had been kicked in and patched up many times, the bathroom was dirty and the room looked like it was last updated in the 80's. The temperate that day was in the 90's, but our air conditioner did not work and when I called the front desk, they informed me that maintenance was gone for the day and they had no other room to give us. We slept cautiously that night & woke up early the next day and checked out, even though we had reservations to stay 8 days. When we went hotel searching, EVERY hotel we went to guessed which motel we were talking about without us mentioning the Lani Kai. Stay away from this dump!!
The Night From Hell
by TripAdvisor Member Nancymarie
We spent one night at the Lani Kai in April of 2003. We spent the previous week at my in-laws' condo on a golf course and decided a couple nights at the beach would be fun for our three-year-old twins.
The on-line pictures were completely misleading. We pulled up to the hotel, and bikers were revving their engines, and drunken spring breakers were all over. Our first room was already occupied, thankfully the couple was clothed. Our second room had one bed and a pathetic sofa bed for our twins. We requested bedding three times for the sofa, and at 10:30 p.m. when the music was blaring and our twins were fast asleep were told we could be moved to a room with two beds. We were disturbed four times in the second room by someone pounding on the door. I finally opened the door to a drunken girl of about 18 who went running down the hall. We got no sleep. The room was filthy. There was a puddle of vomit outside the elevator for the entire next day. We decided one night was more than enough and headed out. Too bad my in-laws' condo had been closed up for the summer or we would have gone running back in the middle of the night!
Beirut On The Beach
by A TripAdvisor Member
My sincere apologies to Lebanon...They've begun to rejoin the civilized, peaceful world... this nightmare dump has not! Somehow this slum got 3-Stars on anotherWeb site, and, I believe I read the word "peaceful" on yet another. As with some of the commentaries preceeding this one... just wished I would have known about TripAdvisor.com prior to my "little adventure". I can confirm personally every review preceeding, except the current last one... maybe loud, pounding music from 2 PM to 2 AM is a positive for some. At any rate, my stomach started to churn as we pulled up to the splendor of the puke green streetside. It got worse. Only one elevator worked and it was scary.
Other guests told us they couldn't hear the TV in their rooms it was so loud at night. Being placed on the 5th floor north we were treated to vibration and pounding music which was just the 6th floor "deck" jukebox. Requested a room change to the south end -away from the noise-only to be informed that the only available room was on the 3th floor and it "was worse than that from 9PM to 2AM". After some discussion and my fiancee's brilliant phone work we were able to find a room on Sanibel Island. Every single hotel we talked to on the cell phone knew where we were due to the nature of our complaint. And last, the "Night Manager" who might be one of the most arrogant, condescending jerks it has been my misfortune to encounter... wait a minute... I just realized, he's "just doing his job"... I think it's just a part of Lani Kai's master plan to fleece the tourist/ vacationer so as to fund a sanctuary for miscreants. Oh yea, did I mention? I didn't like this place much.
Take your antibiotics if staying here!!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Without a doubt, the worst place we've ever stayed! Don't be fooled by the pictures on the website- they are deceiving. Upon arrival our first "warning sign" should have been the tatoo/massage parlor on the first floor - this should have been our first clue as to the clientle they cater to. Entering our room, we discovered that it was already occupied....by an army of ants! The room was filthy, musty and mildewed. I agree with the previous poster about being afraid to let me kids lay their heads down on the questionable bedding. With 5 people and only 2 bath towels, we requested extras and were given hand towels because they were out of bath towels - the answer was the same for the next 3 nights that we were there. We also asked for extra pillows and were given unrecognizable round lumps that didn't remotely resemble a pillow! Not that you're going to get much sleep anyway- the music from the outdoor nightclub plays until 4am and draws an undesirable, rowdy crowd. No use complaining to the front desk - they don't care. Don't swim in the pool unless you don't mind dodging hairballs and you're taking heavy doses of antibiotics! Also don't eat in their restaurant where the bartender doubles as your waitress, and possibly the cook, since we didn't see her again until she brought our food out more than an hour later. The beach leaves alot to be desired - no coolers or bringing down a bottle of water from your room. The elevators are hot and dirty and work on again-off again. The restrooms near the beach are filthy and unsanitary. After our doorknob fell off and a window fell out in a friends room, we decided it felt too much like a "Grizwald National Lampoon Vacation" - and we checked out of this slum early. I wish we'd known about the "trip advisor" website before staying in this dump - we would have saved ourselves aggravation and several hundred dollars! With the exception of one review here (and that person must have no standards) all of these reviews are ACCURATE. This place should have been condemned long ago. My advice is to go north to Sanibel or south to Naples/Marco - but whatever you do STAY AWAY FROM THE LANI KAI
Not fit for the Rat we saw!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
This is the worst hotel I have ever stayed in. (one night only and the last). It looks like everyone is in agreement that this place should close. Our room had major plumbing problems there were no working ice machines or pop machines. one of the two elevators were broken. the staff didn't care. Horrible ... stay at the Outrigger.... thats where we went after one night of this and it was the best. Clean affordable on the beach, heated pool.... read the reviews!
Had Nightmares better than this Hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
I have to say, this was the worst hotel I have ever stayed in.When I pulled up Hotels search this one had three stars which should have ment it was a nice place Ha. After waiting almost 5min. for the elevator to take us up to room witch was not numbered.We were looling foward to the view out the balcony,that we could only stand on the right side because of a drian pipe right above the over hang was dripping with mold growing all over the hand rail.The shower was painted over the mold and the ceiling were painted over the mold.We were prepaid so we stayed.
The staff was uncaring and did nothing to help us make our stay more comfortable.Mainly because they did not speak English. Don't waste your money here. 2/13/04
Photos
Lani Kai
In front of the Lani Kai
Hans & I on a Glider at Lani Kai
Fort Myers Beach
Forum Posts
Lani Kai Beachfront
by RedSoxDon
Has anyone stayed at the Lani Kai Beachfont hotel in Ft Meyers Beach?
How was it? It looks nice but I've heard it's dirty and very loud.
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