See Naples and Cry - when you are leaving, that is.
Jun 19th, 2014, 10:51 PM
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See Naples and Cry - when you are leaving, that is.
This Trip Report to Naples Florida has a focus on food, hotel, beaches, food, nature, side-trips, and food.
You might find it of interest and maybe give me some tips on how to shed the pounds I have gained.
Background: this trip coincided with both my birthday and me and Mrs Lyon’s anniversary. We both love Florida, and I like it especially for the various birds you can spot.
We flew with American Airlines for approx. $800 each round trip, from Manchester to Miami via JFK.
The Hotel Trianon where we stayed came highly recommended and we were not disappointed. It is in a very good location and although a half an hour walk to the beach is well placed for many of the fine dining restaurants on 5th Street South. It is about a half an hour walk away from the old part of Naples where the pier is located and more fine dining on 3rd Street South. Near the hotel is Tin City where Naples Bay starts, this is a waterway that goes out to the sea and has a few good restaurants around it. We booked a better room in the hotel as this came with a big balcony. The room and bed was large and the bathroom had both large shower, and a bath. Customer relations are excellent and we were made to feel very much at home. The room charge includes a very adequate continental breakfast. There are rather poor coffee making machines in the room, my only complaint, these are too complicated, too meagre, and deliver cold coffee. The hotel has a pool which occasionally gets crowded especially in late afternoon.
http://www.trianon.com/oldnaples.html
Our first meal (lunchtime as we awaited the room to be made ready) was at a lovely and fairly cheap Café overlooking the Bay at Tin City: “Pinchers Crab Shack” and we shared a tasty Grouper Sandwich with Salad and a couple of beers for $30. We also returned here for an evening meal where Mrs Lyon had one of the most tasty pasta dishes she had ever had.
http://www.pincherscrabshack.com/locations.php
Our first evening meal was at Bistro 821. This is on Fifth Street South. We joined at starters of calamari and gorgonzola and pear salad – this was incredible although there was too much calamari. Mrs Lyon had a divine dish – stir fry prawns – lots of prawns and very tasty. Mine was a disappointment– seafood risotto (poor despite the mounds of seafood) the rice was overcooked and I eventually left it. Mrs Lyon had also been served a portion of overcooked rice. For such a well recommended restaurant they need to learn how to cook rice, but I appreciate we may have been unlucky and this may have been a ‘one off’. The cost including wine came to $115.
http://www.bistro821.com/
For my birthday surprise we went to the Caffe Del Amore near a wonderful beach called Lowdermilk. The food was incredible, a leaving customer suggested that the soup was to die for and we went with her suggestion – it was wonderful. Mrs Lyon had one of the best lasagnes she had ever eaten – I had a taste and wish I had chosen the same thing. I decided on Crab and pasta in a lemon sauce which was very tasty although a bit on the oily side. The chocolate cake we shared was an amazing experience. The cost including wine came to $140.
http://www.caffedellamore.com/
Near 3rd Street South is a wonderful pub called Old Naples Pub who serve really tasty sandwiches with real chips washed down with a pint of Smithwicks (Irish beer) – highly recommended for lunch.
http://oldnaplespub.com/
We had a number of sidetrips including a disappointing trip to the Everglades, be careful which airboat ride you select. After a poor airboat ride (I had forgotten the book and its recommendation until we had set off) we found that Everglades Town National Park organise their own nature trips, I think this would have been better. We had a lovely trip up to Sanibel (about an hour), although the beach was not as I remembered it and not as nice as those at Naples. They do have a great nature trip at Sanibel: James J Dingling Nature Park and these do an excellent guided safari. There are lots and lots of other nature parks in the vicinity which are well worth a visit including Corkscrew Swamp and Ten Thousand Island’s refuge. Alligators are visible from the road between Naples and Miami. If you like nature you can not go wrong. All the time you can spot various egret, osprey, pelicans, and white ibis, and in the sea, dolphins are visible both at Cayton Dock and by Naples Pier. One of the best trips to see dolphins is the boat trip from Tin City.
http://www.purenaples.com/cruise/eco...ruise-options/
This was a highlight. Great value and a must do. It is a very sensitive trip which is well narrated. It ‘bigs’ up many of the owners of the luxury mansions in Naples and quite rightly mentions their many charitable projects. Somehow, this gets obscured by the fact that many of the buyers of these mansions immediately rip down the buildings and build their own. This can not sit well with the notion of conserving resources, and ironic that when we get back to our hotel there is a notice in my bathroom talking about saving resources by reusing towels.
The beaches are fantastic, getting in the sea at Naples is like getting in the bath. We liked Lowdemilk Beach, Naples Beach by the pier. Clam Pass Park Beach is beautiful and you get to it via a boardwalk or there is a free trolley bus to take you there and back. Lovers Key about 3o minutes from Naples has great nature side walks and a lovely beach (but only as good as those in Naples. Beaches can be expensive on parking – it took us a while to figure out how to use the meters but they do take credit cards. Places like Lovers Key charge $8 for your parking.
Back to food, our final meal was at a Thai restaurant where we had some lovely Thai soup followed by Thai curry, very cheap but far too big in portion.
http://www.sushithaitoo.com/Home/Welcome.html
Other places we ate at: Greek Gourmet – great service, and food okay and cheap. Mangrove Café – a place the Brits kept on plugging to us on account of its meal deal, two mains and a bottle of wine for $38. Riverwalk – great setting and good food.
Other top tip, if you are visiting the Everglades make sure you smother yourself in anti-mosquito repellent.
All in all, a fantastic trip and thanks to all the Fodorites (especially NeoPatrick, SusanMargaret and Scotia) for giving so freely their advice and helping us with a memorable trip.
Steve
You might find it of interest and maybe give me some tips on how to shed the pounds I have gained.
Background: this trip coincided with both my birthday and me and Mrs Lyon’s anniversary. We both love Florida, and I like it especially for the various birds you can spot.
We flew with American Airlines for approx. $800 each round trip, from Manchester to Miami via JFK.
The Hotel Trianon where we stayed came highly recommended and we were not disappointed. It is in a very good location and although a half an hour walk to the beach is well placed for many of the fine dining restaurants on 5th Street South. It is about a half an hour walk away from the old part of Naples where the pier is located and more fine dining on 3rd Street South. Near the hotel is Tin City where Naples Bay starts, this is a waterway that goes out to the sea and has a few good restaurants around it. We booked a better room in the hotel as this came with a big balcony. The room and bed was large and the bathroom had both large shower, and a bath. Customer relations are excellent and we were made to feel very much at home. The room charge includes a very adequate continental breakfast. There are rather poor coffee making machines in the room, my only complaint, these are too complicated, too meagre, and deliver cold coffee. The hotel has a pool which occasionally gets crowded especially in late afternoon.
http://www.trianon.com/oldnaples.html
Our first meal (lunchtime as we awaited the room to be made ready) was at a lovely and fairly cheap Café overlooking the Bay at Tin City: “Pinchers Crab Shack” and we shared a tasty Grouper Sandwich with Salad and a couple of beers for $30. We also returned here for an evening meal where Mrs Lyon had one of the most tasty pasta dishes she had ever had.
http://www.pincherscrabshack.com/locations.php
Our first evening meal was at Bistro 821. This is on Fifth Street South. We joined at starters of calamari and gorgonzola and pear salad – this was incredible although there was too much calamari. Mrs Lyon had a divine dish – stir fry prawns – lots of prawns and very tasty. Mine was a disappointment– seafood risotto (poor despite the mounds of seafood) the rice was overcooked and I eventually left it. Mrs Lyon had also been served a portion of overcooked rice. For such a well recommended restaurant they need to learn how to cook rice, but I appreciate we may have been unlucky and this may have been a ‘one off’. The cost including wine came to $115.
http://www.bistro821.com/
For my birthday surprise we went to the Caffe Del Amore near a wonderful beach called Lowdermilk. The food was incredible, a leaving customer suggested that the soup was to die for and we went with her suggestion – it was wonderful. Mrs Lyon had one of the best lasagnes she had ever eaten – I had a taste and wish I had chosen the same thing. I decided on Crab and pasta in a lemon sauce which was very tasty although a bit on the oily side. The chocolate cake we shared was an amazing experience. The cost including wine came to $140.
http://www.caffedellamore.com/
Near 3rd Street South is a wonderful pub called Old Naples Pub who serve really tasty sandwiches with real chips washed down with a pint of Smithwicks (Irish beer) – highly recommended for lunch.
http://oldnaplespub.com/
We had a number of sidetrips including a disappointing trip to the Everglades, be careful which airboat ride you select. After a poor airboat ride (I had forgotten the book and its recommendation until we had set off) we found that Everglades Town National Park organise their own nature trips, I think this would have been better. We had a lovely trip up to Sanibel (about an hour), although the beach was not as I remembered it and not as nice as those at Naples. They do have a great nature trip at Sanibel: James J Dingling Nature Park and these do an excellent guided safari. There are lots and lots of other nature parks in the vicinity which are well worth a visit including Corkscrew Swamp and Ten Thousand Island’s refuge. Alligators are visible from the road between Naples and Miami. If you like nature you can not go wrong. All the time you can spot various egret, osprey, pelicans, and white ibis, and in the sea, dolphins are visible both at Cayton Dock and by Naples Pier. One of the best trips to see dolphins is the boat trip from Tin City.
http://www.purenaples.com/cruise/eco...ruise-options/
This was a highlight. Great value and a must do. It is a very sensitive trip which is well narrated. It ‘bigs’ up many of the owners of the luxury mansions in Naples and quite rightly mentions their many charitable projects. Somehow, this gets obscured by the fact that many of the buyers of these mansions immediately rip down the buildings and build their own. This can not sit well with the notion of conserving resources, and ironic that when we get back to our hotel there is a notice in my bathroom talking about saving resources by reusing towels.
The beaches are fantastic, getting in the sea at Naples is like getting in the bath. We liked Lowdemilk Beach, Naples Beach by the pier. Clam Pass Park Beach is beautiful and you get to it via a boardwalk or there is a free trolley bus to take you there and back. Lovers Key about 3o minutes from Naples has great nature side walks and a lovely beach (but only as good as those in Naples. Beaches can be expensive on parking – it took us a while to figure out how to use the meters but they do take credit cards. Places like Lovers Key charge $8 for your parking.
Back to food, our final meal was at a Thai restaurant where we had some lovely Thai soup followed by Thai curry, very cheap but far too big in portion.
http://www.sushithaitoo.com/Home/Welcome.html
Other places we ate at: Greek Gourmet – great service, and food okay and cheap. Mangrove Café – a place the Brits kept on plugging to us on account of its meal deal, two mains and a bottle of wine for $38. Riverwalk – great setting and good food.
Other top tip, if you are visiting the Everglades make sure you smother yourself in anti-mosquito repellent.
All in all, a fantastic trip and thanks to all the Fodorites (especially NeoPatrick, SusanMargaret and Scotia) for giving so freely their advice and helping us with a memorable trip.
Steve
Jun 20th, 2014, 04:13 AM
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Sounds like overall a good time. Did Doug wait on you at Bistro 821? Sorry about the risotto. I've never heard of eating it there, but I remember you had mentioned it when asking about that restaurant.
I'm headed down this weekend for 17 days. My home is just two blocks south of The Trianon, so you were definitely in "my neighborhood".
We'll be eating at Bistro 821 before Gypsy at The Naples Players on July 3 -- but I won't be ordering risotto! It's funny. I'm not much of a rice eater and always have them substitute something else for the rice. But I loved your comment "there was way too much calamari" -- how is that possible? LOL
I'm headed down this weekend for 17 days. My home is just two blocks south of The Trianon, so you were definitely in "my neighborhood".
We'll be eating at Bistro 821 before Gypsy at The Naples Players on July 3 -- but I won't be ordering risotto! It's funny. I'm not much of a rice eater and always have them substitute something else for the rice. But I loved your comment "there was way too much calamari" -- how is that possible? LOL
Jun 20th, 2014, 06:54 AM
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Thanks for feedback emalloy.
Hi Neopatrick, I requested Doug on the reservation and they remembered my request as they told me that he had just gone off duty - we got John who was extremely helpful but a bit non plussed by my eventual complaint about the rice ... I wasnt going to send it back (I only do this if it is cold or undercooked)but I needed to say something. But let me not detract from some of the other lovely food served there (truly excellent)and as you say dont ask for rice. Is rice a European/ Caribbean thing, we eat tons of the stuff? Had I had the calamari as main (without rice) and a smaller starter then it would be a different report. It is indeed a lovely place. Thanks again for your help in making it a fantastic trip.
Hi Neopatrick, I requested Doug on the reservation and they remembered my request as they told me that he had just gone off duty - we got John who was extremely helpful but a bit non plussed by my eventual complaint about the rice ... I wasnt going to send it back (I only do this if it is cold or undercooked)but I needed to say something. But let me not detract from some of the other lovely food served there (truly excellent)and as you say dont ask for rice. Is rice a European/ Caribbean thing, we eat tons of the stuff? Had I had the calamari as main (without rice) and a smaller starter then it would be a different report. It is indeed a lovely place. Thanks again for your help in making it a fantastic trip.
Jun 20th, 2014, 11:47 AM
#5
Nice report stevelyon. Naples is one of my all time favorite citIes. We'll make the drive from St Pete just for the day for shopping, (tho spending the night is even more of a treat of course.) I just had to say that I too had to smile at "too much calamari". Too much is just about perfect in my book, for calamari anyway, and a rarity.!
Neo, we should work out a FL GTG, either St Pete or Naples, one of these winters when we are both there.
Neo, we should work out a FL GTG, either St Pete or Naples, one of these winters when we are both there.
Jun 26th, 2014, 07:02 PM
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Nice report, Stevelyon. We've been going to Naples on and off for about twenty years. Enjoyed some time this past winter. We, too, like the Trianon, and the restaurants on 5th Ave. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Jun 27th, 2014, 08:44 AM
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Very nice report. I'm going to Venice, where my sister has a house, in October and we're thinking of a day trip to Naples. We've both been before but it's always fun to go back.
OO, I'm interested in where you go shopping. Any stores in particular that you love?
OO, I'm interested in where you go shopping. Any stores in particular that you love?
Jun 28th, 2014, 06:52 AM
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Have been in Naples since Sunday, mainly tending to some "details" and issues with my house. But this week I've managed to have two of the best meals I've had in Naples in ages. The first was at Osteria Tulia on Fifth Avenue. Had an amazing roasted loin of pork wrapped in speck, sliced (slightly pink in the middle and very juicy and flavorful) on a bed of creamy polenta with lots of wild mushrooms and greens. It was heaven. And while I'm not much of a dessert eater their tirimisu was splendid! Also had an excellent caesar salad, with a couple of anchovies (they asked) that were delicious, not those "packed in salt" variety.
Then I joined friends at The Bay House, just off 41 on the Imperial River. I had a pan roasted grouper with creamy corn, and a "shrimp" fritatta. But the real highlight was a special salad that night of sliced beets, crisp fresh green beans, goat cheese, and a scallion fritter. We were at the window and a major thunderstorm was broiling outside in the distance. It's a splendid setting, and the service was superb. Hadn't been there in a long time, and I must say it seems a complete turn around for the better.
Then I joined friends at The Bay House, just off 41 on the Imperial River. I had a pan roasted grouper with creamy corn, and a "shrimp" fritatta. But the real highlight was a special salad that night of sliced beets, crisp fresh green beans, goat cheese, and a scallion fritter. We were at the window and a major thunderstorm was broiling outside in the distance. It's a splendid setting, and the service was superb. Hadn't been there in a long time, and I must say it seems a complete turn around for the better.
Jul 2nd, 2014, 07:05 AM
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I haven't heard of either, but they sound fabulous ... maybe next time .... What's creamy corn - corn in cream? Imperial River ...? Is this somewhere else I have missed? I do need to return.
Jul 4th, 2014, 02:12 PM
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Oops. Imperial River is up at Bonita. The Bay House is on the Cocohatchee River. It's right by the Pewter Mug and that tour boat place across from it.
I said creamy corn as my description because I'm not sure what it was, but way better than just "creamed corn" -- perhaps a lot of cheese for one thing?
I said creamy corn as my description because I'm not sure what it was, but way better than just "creamed corn" -- perhaps a lot of cheese for one thing?
