More about Sanibels Song Of The Sea
Song of the Sea- I'd like to play that Song again! Loved it!
by TripAdvisor Member klmsailorgirl
We really enjoyed our stay of 6 nights in Oct. 2006. Hotel is lovely, quaint, in a series of 3-4 neat pink buildings with green shutters and tile roofs, on beautiful grounds right on the beach, each with only 2 floors and a private screened-in balcony for each room. When you check in, you'll be greeted at the front desk and offered a bottle of wine- very nice!
Rooms were comfortable and nicely furnished. We enjoyed having a kitchenette in our room for afternoon snacks and cocktails (hotel does not have a bar, but it was not missed). Note: The kitchens in the rooms come stocked with basic dishware, pots and pans, bottle/wine opener, silverware, dish soap, towels, paper towels, toaster, blender, microwave, stove, fridge, etc. Nice!
The breakfast buffet (included in room price) was great- the waffles were yummy! The pool area was very pleasant and often we were the only ones using it. The beach is right there and the hotel provides beach chairs and umbrellas. We also loved using the free bikes every day and exploring Sanibel.
I adored Sanibel. Great places to eat on the island in ALL price ranges (Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grille was our favorite!) and the wildlife refuge is not to be missed. We felt no need to leave the island for the entire week and didn't want to leave the day we checked out! If you're looking for a little slice of old Florida-style heaven, check out Sanibel and Song of the Sea!
PS The hotel was a mix of couples of all ages and small families. We were never disturbed by anyone and everyone seemed to keep to themselves and was self-sufficient. If you're looking for nightlife/casinos, etc. Sanibel is NOT the place to go...This is a very upscale, naturally beautiful island with lots to do during the day, but no late-night scene. Enjoy! :-)
Very relaxing
by TripAdvisor Member Bama77
After a very stressful couple of months, we wanted to just get away to someplace quiet and relax. Sanibel and Song of the Sea filled the bill perfectly. We had a great stay of 6 nights.
The hotel is a number of two-storey buildings, each holding probably 20 rooms total. You access the second-floor rooms by ascending an exterior stairway and walking along a front balcony that runs the entire length of the building, just like most motels were built years ago. The rooms run from the front access to the back of the building. We had a Gulf view across the nicely landscaped courtyard.
If you're looking for a big resort with all the latest amenities, this is not for you. If you want to get away, though, it's absolutely perfect. It's a small place, not overrun with crowds. The room wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either, and was very tastefully appointed. Mexican saltillo tile floor, stone countertop in the bathroom, a comfortable king bed, a large armoire for the TV and your clothes, a pair of teak chairs and side table on the screened balcony, plantation shutters on the doors and windows, and interesting black and white photos of old Florida on the walls. There was also a safe in the roomy closet. Everything you needed.
The hotel website gives you a good idea of most of this, but I hadn't picked up on the fact that there was also a kitchenette in the room, which was nice. The refrigerator was full sized, and there was also an apartment sized stove, a microwave, blender, dishes, and utensils, so if you wanted to buy groceries and do your own cooking (we didn't), you could.
The staff was very friendly and we had no problems with anything being forgotten when our room was cleaned. The staff even cleaned up our dishes (that blender was just crying out for use!) We made use of the free bikes on site...what a nice amenity. The daily breakfast was similar to what most hotels provide...assorted cereals, pastry, waffles you could cook, coffee, tea, juices, fruit, and there were free newspapers. You could eat outside around a small decorative pool, inside (only 4 chairs, though) or take it up to your room on a tray. The grounds are well kept with lots of pretty flowering plants and trees that I largely didn't know. There's a nice swimming pool, an outdoor hot tub, a shuffleboard court, tables, and even a barbeque grill. There's direct access to the beach and I spent a lot of time just walking on it and picking up shells.
Could not have asked for anything more relaxing. I would happily stay there again.
Great find, but unfortunate timing
by TripAdvisor Member strick
We just got back last week from a 5 night stay at Song of the Sea. This place was a real find. We agree with everything posted on this site relevant to the resort. The place was near perfect, other than the soundproofing between the rooms. We were awakened our first night by someone taking a shower at 4:00 in the morning! You could hear toilets flush loudly, footsteps, and conversations. It certainly impeded our feeling of privacy. The only other potentially negative comment would be to insist upon a 2nd floor room if you are paying a premium for a gulf-view room. From the 1st floor you cannot see the gulf at all. We had to be moved to a 2nd floor the second night of our stay, which was a disruption to our attempt to relax on vacation. We had specifically requested a 2nd floor room when we made our reservation 6 months ago. Upon check-in we were told that there were no 2nd floor rooms available. Martha iat the front desk was wonderful there, though. The next day she figured out a way to get us to a 2nd floor. Martha is wonderful!
We loved riding the bikes on the island. These are provided free of charge to guests. The Island is very nice and quiet. We recommend the Island Cow for a reasonably priced meal. We enjoyed it 2 nights in a row because of their great selection and prices, and especially for their live music every night. We enjoyed Jeff Key sing and play his acoustic guitar both nights we went there. We also enjoyed riding our bikes to Gramma Dots for a nice lunch. It was busy, so we had to take a seat at the counter, but it was fine. The grouper basket was delicous. We enjoyed live jazz at Ellingtons, but expect very high prices there. You are paying for the atmosphere. We did not eat dinner there because of that, but chose to go there two times for after dinner drinks just to enjoy the music. Our second night going there we were disappointed, though, because just as we sat down and ordered our $10/each drinks, the band took a break! We waited quite a while after finishing our expensive drinks but ended up leaving before they came back on. We were not interested in spending another $20 on another round of drinks to wait for them.
The bad timing of our trip had to do with the red algae on the beaches. We could not have escaped it without a car. We rented a car for the week so we ended up driving to Captiva Island to walk the beaches there. This was certainly an inconvenience, since the appeal of the Song of the Sea is that it has direct access to a normally spectacular beach, and the drive to Captiva, with 20 mph speed limit, takes 40 minutes. There was only one day during our stay that we could stand being on the beach because of an offshore breeze. Otherwise the smell was horrible. We like to take long walks on the beach with our feet in the water, but the algie was everywhere we wanted to be.
Overall, Song of the Sea is a real find if you are looking for a relaxing quiet getaway like we were. If not for the algie we would probably say that this was one of our favorite vacations we have taken. We absolutely loved riding the bikes (provided at Song of the Sea for free) throughout Sanibel. You have to love a place like Sanibel for providing bike trails the way they do roads. As a pedestrian and/or biker, you feel very safe and even respected by the drivers. Where we live (Upstate, New York) we do not count on cars to stop at crosswalks for us!
To sum it up, if you plan on staying at Song of the Sea, chances are good that you will really enjoy your stay. If you are paying a premium for a gulf-view room, call directly and speak to Martha. If you talk to her about how important it is to get a 2nd floor room (there are only 2 floors), chances are she will make sure you will get it. Good luck to you and enjoy!
A very mediocre experience
by TripAdvisor Member Manhasset
Sanibel, FL is one of our favorite places to visit each year. We usually stay at the Sanibel Resort & Spa but decided to try something different. We booked 7 nights at The Song of the Sea which boasts that their rooms have been recently renovated. This was definitely not the case, this hotel is very old & is in need of renovations. The rooms are clean & the best part about our stay was the lovely housekeeper. She was an absolute delight. On the other hand, the female night manager was aloof , disinterested & rude when we checked in & once again during the week when we stopped in one evening to ask about a late check out (which was refused) it was obvious she was annoyed that we were interrupting her during her coin wrapping!. The morning manager who we saw on a couple of occasions for the continental breakfast was very sweet & accomodating. The continental breakfast was nothing less than an insult. Stale danishes on the 3 occasions we went hoping each day would get better, no where to sit inside since it was too cold in the mornings to sit outside & you had to wait on line for the toaster & waffle maker to make your own! All in all not the experience we thought it would be. Song of the Sea was a major disappointment
Peaceful Song of the Sea
by TripAdvisor Member hstrong
My husband and I just returned from a week at the Song of the Sea Resort, where we reserved a Beachfront Suite. The bedroom was smaller than I expected, but it had the MOST comfortable bed!! The resort is clean, quiet, and the employees were friendly and did their jobs well. The resort was so nice, that we skipped all the excursions we had planned, and spent most of our time relaxing on the beach or in our suite. They advertised a continental breakfast each morning, but we opted to skip breakfast, so I don't know what the spread was like.
The pool is clean, but not very big, so after 6 people are in there, it begins to feel a bit crowded.
We paid $299 per night for the suite, which we thought was a pretty good value. There was 1 king bed, and a queen sofa sleeper in the living room. If I were to stay there again, I would ask for a suite on the end of the building, as you get more of an ocean view.
Overall I would say if you are looking for a retreat without the spa, this is a good place to go. We chose this resort because of it's small size. Most days there were probably only 10 people on the stretch of beach in front of the resort, so it was almost like having your own private beach.
Sign in with Facebook
