Sanibel Island lodging recommendations
 

Would love to hear from folks who have stayed on or live in Sanibel Island. I need some lodging recommendations. Too many to choose from on the internet.

Only staying for 2 nights - want to be right on the beach (Gulf). Would like something small, intimate, very clean, and where a single female traveling alone will feel welcome. Prefer quiet, quaint old Floridian style.

Any/all recommendations welcome.

Mitchell's Sandcastles by the Sea. Or Tropical Winds. Been both places traveling by myself.
Or the Blue Dolphin. Or even 'Tween Waters Inn on Captiva, but that's pricier and across the street from gulf.
They are about as quaint, old Floridian as you're gonna find on Sanibel- it's pretty condo-ized.

Tween Waters Inn in Captiva would be my choice.

You need the Sanibel Inn. It is small, tidy, clean, and Old Florida. Nothing is too close on either side pressing into your view. You can get a small motel-style room in a building or you can rent a cottage. The inn is a complex of small buildings arranged in a sort of semi-circle around an open, swept sandy common area with a pool and some shaded nooks. They have outdoor benches and even a ping-pong table under the trees. In the center of the semi-circle of buildings is the dining room and office, with a library and a place to watch television.

The rooms are nothing fancy and the view is slant-wise to the beach. Low-glam, modest place, but with gentility.

One evening I sat on the beach until very very late just watching the stars change positions. Something was moving across the beach, just a shadow in the darkness. Soon I realized it must be a sea turtle, just heading back to the shore. She had come and made a nest in the dunes just a few feet from my lounge chair and laid her eggs while I sat watching the stars.

Song of the Sea, Sanibel. They have a website. Small, quaint, on the ocean, and beautiful pool. Very good breakfast on lanai each morning. Homemade breads, pastries, cereals, fresh fruits, yogurt, and juices, (no meat). There were other females (traveling alone) staying there.

Song of the Sea gets my vote too. We stayed there years ago & loved the location. It is a bit pricier now but still seems as lovely. The view from our room was great. We had a screened porch & watched a thunderstorm over Ft Myers. Sort of like our own private fireworks because the weather was fine where we were.