10th Anniv. trip to FL?

[Elilly]

DH and I are celebrating our 10th this year. While I'd love to go somewhere more exotic, w need to go someplace close because we only have 3 days. So, I was looking into th Sanibel, Captiva, Naples etc area of South FL. Any ideas for places to stay? We'll be traveling late Oct.

[resipsaloquitur]

I vote for Naples. Sanibel and Captiva are wonderful if you just want to relax but there isn't much to do there. Naples has great beaches, restaurants and shopping. If you are looking for a beach front hotel my favorite (although not cheap) is La Playa.

[Elilly]

We looked at La Playa and it is indeed wonderful but over our budget. Any other ideas in the Naples area?
Thanks!

[Melbel]

First, congratulations on your ten year anniversary. I have lived in Florida for most of my life and have stayed in many of the resorts, either for business or personal travel.

You may want to consider Marco Island, just southwest of Naples. It is beautiful. There is a nicer Marriott that I have stayed at a few times.

In Naples, there is a Ritz Carlton on the beach, but it is pricey.

If you are open to other locations, you may want to consider Palm Beach (The Breakers is absolutely fabulous, but is also pricey) or the Keys.

If you are able to travel sooner, you may be able to get one of the top tier resorts within your budget. The closer you get to "season", which normally runs from about November to April, the more you will pay.

www.tripadvisor.com is great for reviews
http://www.travelzoo.com/hotels/florida/ is great for travel deals (i.e. the 4 star Sanibel Marriott is $119 a night through Sept. 30, normally $350).

Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip!

[hlphillips2]

You could still do something somewhat exotic. What about Mexico (LOADS of deals out there now), Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Azores? All are very close to the east coast and midwest, and depending on your departure airport you can probably get a direct flight. You may even be able to find a very late flight to allow a full first day.

[BabyMine]

I grew up in Naples and my mom still lives there. If you're thinking of going there let me know and I might be able to help.

[mousemom]

We went to Naples last spring and really enjoyed it. We were there for a conference so we stayed at the Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club. It would normally be too pricy for us, but it was lovely. My parents also came down and joined us and they stayed at the Best Western Naples Inn & Suites, which they really liked and was much cheaper. (Although not on the beach.)

[clc053103]

We are Sanibel lovers and go every October! it's a wonderful place, much more laid back than Naples if that is your style. Great dining!!!

We love Casa Ybel resort. For a little less money and still really nice, Sanibel Inn one bedroom suites are really nice.

[resipsaloquitur]

There are plenty of more budget options for Naples but then you usually don't get to be on the beach. I think the cheapest beach accomodations are the Naples Beach Hotel and the Edgewater Hotel. I've stayed at neither but the NBH has a great brunch. Off the water you can try the Inn on 5th, which puts you near the downtown restaurants and the pier/marina or the Pelican Bay Inn near their new entertainment district Mercato. Mercato has great restaurants and a plush movie theatre. It's also only a mile or so to the beach.

While the other towns mentioned are nice, as I said before, there isn't much to do there so it really depends on what type of trip you are looking for.

[hollybloom24]

I love Sanibel! We've been a bunch of times. We always stay at the Sanibel Harbour Resort (which is technically in Fort Myers, on a canal right next to the bridge to Sanibel Island.) They have a beautiful property and great restaurants.