1st time visit- pros,cons.

Pros: It's near Naples.
Cons: It's white trailer trash.

Very little to do there in terms of decent restaurants & nightlife. Condo owners are incredibly rude -- perhaps some are white trailer trash, but my impression was that most were bitter/mean/ugly yankees (many from outer boroughs of New York City). It is close to Fort Myers, Naples, and Sanibel, so that's good.

It has a ritz carlton nearby and a Roys
restaurant.. what else does one need?

was there a couple years ago and there were motorcycle gangs on beach. Area was dirty and run-down. Go to Vanderbilt Beach or Sanibel ,Todd!

Todd: There is a dog track in Bonita Springs.

It should slide off into the ocaon.Go to Sanibel Island!!

Todd, why are you considering going there?? Do you have a free condo or something? If not, I would agree with the others and go somewhere else. If you do and it is a nice place, it really isn't too far from Naples and Sanibel. I personally don't care for Fort Myers but the Edison Home tour is interesting.

We ate at a really good Mexican Restaurant, can't remember the name. It's like fast food, you order at the counter, they call ya when it's ready. It was really fresh and authentic. Just off 41 I think on Bonita Springs Blvd on the north side. We were exploring from Naples. I agree with the previous posters, I would not stay in that town.

been there frequently for youth sports and have seen it gradually develop. I understand that the old Bonita Springs is mostly a migrant community (that's what I've been told) but if you go east of 75 there are new areas with new hotels, strip malls and family style restaurants...what are you going for? where are you staying?

I would agree with the post above that you should go somewhere else. It is basically migrant workers from mexico/central america, white trailer dwelling folks, and to the extreme east some midwestern retirees that wanted to move to Naples or Sanibel but didnt have enough $. It is in the middle of nowhere. Just trees and swamps.

I live in Bonita Springs - having just moved here 9 months ago from Naples.

Certain things posted by others are true. It was a migrant community when I moved here 14 years ago (at least it seemed that way). And yes, there are still many Hispanics who live here.

There is also alot of money in Bonita. There are two major developments - Bonita Bay, and The Brooks - both of which have more homes over a million dollars than under.

There is more community spirit in little Bonita than in all of Naples combined.

Would I bring my family here on vacation? Probably not. We do have fabulous restaurants, as good and as many as Naples. Actually, I think the selection of restaurants we have is far superior to Naples because not only do we have very expensive ones (Roy's being one), we also have some less expensive and funky ones too. Not everyone who lives in Naples has money, believe it or not............lots of them have moved to Bonita!

I don't think the beach is as nice as Naples or Marco, but none of them compare to the beaches in South Carolina anyway. Aesthetically Bonita doesn't appear as beautiful as Naples, but I can assure you the people are considerably nicer because they are more down to earth - even the wealthy ones! We are proud of our community, and I personally wouldn't move back to Naples if you paid me! I'm not bashing Naples; I work in Naples and most of my friends live in Naples. I just like the community spirit we have in Bonita.

Bonita is not a tourist destination; it is a little family town.

Just my two cents on this. We went down in January to stay at the new hotel my husband's company opened in Bonita Springs. It had been ages since I'd been, and the development all along 41 is amazing. We ate at an Italian restaurant as good or better than anything we have in Tampa. The hotel is beautiful. Because it isn't on the Gulf, but on the bay, they have a water taxi that in 10 minutes has you at their little island for beaching it and it's a beautiful ride out. Hyatt has timeshares slated to be built--no something they put into blue collar communities. This is an up and coming area, is my guess.

My parents used to spend every winter in Bonita Beach--and to me their section of the beach is as nice as any in Naples. The old motels/condos are being torn down (including SanSan, theirs) and some darned nice homes going up. It is not exactly the slum most of you make it out to be.

Right on, Olive Oyl! You said it much better than me, and in less words! Good on ya!

Perhaps that's true to a degree, but it's still basically White Trash as far as I'm concerned!!

We will be staying at the new Hyatt there in two days so when I get back I will let you know what I think. I assume that the hotel will keep the white trash away from us, except for the ones that work there. The hotel looks very nice and plush. Looking forward to the visit.