Marriott Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa

“Too complicated check- in. A Fritomann review. ”

I knew I'd need a place to flop on Thursday night May 16, 2024, driving back from Marathon, FL., close to Sanibel. That's what I got. So on Wednesday I decided to look into staying at the Marriott. We had noticed the pink colored edifice from the causeway many times and I was glad they were open ... more

I knew I'd need a place to flop on Thursday night May 16, 2024, driving back from Marathon, FL., close to Sanibel. That's what I got. So on Wednesday I decided to look into staying at the Marriott. We had noticed the pink colored edifice from the causeway many times and I was glad they were open for business. Many places on Sanibel Island did not survive Hurricane Ian, almost 2 years ago. And now I had business in Sanibel scheduled for Friday morning. Upon arrival I dropped off my bags with the porter and he had me drive down to the parking garage first, to get my car out of the way. Then found the elevator to the lobby for check in. This is in the main building. I was informed by a very nice lady, Diane, that I would be staying in another building, down at the annex, called Captiva tower. So I grabbed my bags again, found my car so I could drive to another parking lot near the annex. It was frustrating. I got a room on the 4th floor with a balcony overlooking the Sanibel causeway. This location and view are what you're paying for. There is no food, no drinks in this building. You do get 2 bottles of water for your "resort fee" dollars. Also the Nespresso coffee setup was greatly appreciated. For food I had stopped en route at Publix and stocked up on bread and cold cuts, just in case. Also pop. They charge 20 dollars per day for a self parking dashboard card. I guess you need that or else, I don't know what. The room 1412 was pretty nice. It's carpeted and there needs to be a table in the bathroom or at least a portable chair you can slide into the bathroom to set your coffee down on. Or just use the floor. The Marriott fills up because they are practically the only place to stay nearby Sanibel and lots of people have lots of money to spend on leisure. As I mentioned earlier, Sanibel Island housing is mostly under "Hurricane Restoration " so almost everything is closed. The Marriott can keep on charging whatever they want until the Island resorts are back up and running.

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“Pleasant with problems”

Hotel checkin was quick, the valet attendants were very friendly and attentive. Arrived in time for our spa but when we came to check in they had scheduled us for the wrong day. And of course, no options as the spa was empty and they indicated several employees had called in sick. They offered u... more

Hotel checkin was quick, the valet attendants were very friendly and attentive. Arrived in time for our spa but when we came to check in they had scheduled us for the wrong day. And of course, no options as the spa was empty and they indicated several employees had called in sick. They offered us to use the spa services. This was fine so we attempted to use the steam room, sauna, and coed pool, but there were no chairs in the pool room so nowhere to plane your towels and unlike many spas there was no food/beverage service and the appearance was clean which is nice but it was not cozy more sterile with hard surfaces. So after the spa. We went in to the Tarpon room for lunch. Ordered lunch , the server was very nice but my order was incorrect and server assumed I would be okay with the wrong order from fish tacos to shrimp tacos, except I have a severe shellfish allergy. Explored Sanibel, the beaches were beautiful. Came back to enjoy a dinner cruise which was terrific. Food and service above expectations. Captains Bar, again another error from the staff on our food order. Again the server expected that I would be okay with it but I was not. My husband ate his meal while I waited for 20 minutes for my meal. We were not offered water and our glasses were empty and the server had been to our table twice and did not ask if we wanted another so we chose not to order more. They did comp my meal but we noticed they increased the price of my wine from $16.50 to $25. We paid our bill but felt the service needs additional training. Overall, we would come back. However, the hotel staff need better training on hospitality. We understood they were just back open since Fall of 2023, but good service is an easy fix by good training and management which this hotel lacks.

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