Hi All - I was interested to find this thread as we are going to South Seas in March and are staying in the Beach Villas - booked through the hotel. I was a little concerned by Roger's comments as I booked the room based on the pictures on the South Seas website - the rooms look they have recently been updated. In comparison, some of the Beach Villas offered through the Royal Shell Property Rental appear more dated.

I called South Seas today to specifically ask if we will be staying in a hotel owned room or a by-owner owned room. The lady I spoke with was not particularly nice, but she did tell me that any room booked through the hotel will be a hotel owned room. She said if you want an owner owned room, you would need to go through a third party website. So, not really sure what to think after reading some of these posts.

What I do know is that if you do want to take advantage of the South Seas new H2WOO pool and other ammenities, it is actually cheaper to book through South Seas. Otherwise, you would need to purchase a daily pass that is $75 per person (every single day you want to use it).

Any other thoughts as to the confusion of getting a hotel owned room versus a by-owner owned room? I don't want to be caught suprised in March!

Thanks!

geans_marie:

To my knowledge all condos in what South Seas refers to as the "Beach Villas" are privately owned. These units are comprised of 3 legally separate condo owner associations, each with its own board of Directors:

2000 and 2100 buildings = Gulf Beach Villas
2200, 2300, and 2400 buildings = Sunset Beach Villas
2500 and 2600 buildings = Beach Villas III

The Resort has several rental program options available to owners which govern owner usage and rental income sharing arrangements. The Resort becomes the property manager and sole rental agent for owners who participate in these programs (often refered to as "in-program" owners.) It is these units that the Resort is referring to when it uses the phrase "Resort owned" This does not mean all of the units are decorated alike. For example, our building, the 2100 building at the Gulf Beach Villas, sustained significant roof damage from Hurricane Charley. Our condo was gutted to the interior concrete walls and rebuilt, including new ceramic tile for all floor surfaces, new base boards, crown molding, kitchen/bath cabinets and countertops, upscale appliances, and all new furniture.

While many owners (both in-program and out-of-program owners, (like us)also completed major renovations at this time, others did not. Some upgraded to granite or Silestone countertops. (We put in Corian, primarily for ease of maintenance reasons.) I personally know of one owner in our building who replaced his countertops with a laminate and decided to replace living room and bedroom carpets rather than incur the expense of tile. Nothing wrong with that, but in my view, it provides a little different vacation experience. His condo is a "Resort-owned" unit.

Just a quick comment re: Hotwheels Jan 14, 2009 posting:

Although Captiva is only a 10-20 minute car ride from Sanibel depending on location, traffic on Sanibel's main road, Periwinkle Way, gets congested in season (mid Feb.- mid Apr.).

Also, Sanibel is a much larger island; once you are away from the beach, Sanibel loses some of its Island feel. In contrast, Captiva is a sliver of land where the Gulf of Mexico and/or the waters of Pine Island Sound on the bay side are never far from sight.

Most importantly, parking on Captiva is extremely limited. In season, only a lucky few visitors who drive up to Captiva find a place to park. Most drive around a bit before simply heading back to Sanibel.

Since we are only 5-6 minute walk by either beach or road to the restaurants in the "village", we rarely get back in the car until it's time to leave the Island.

I went down to the condo for a few days in December before Christmas to do a little touch up painting, etc. and also found time for lunch and/or a little libation at the Mucky Duck, and Key Lime Bistro. To my disappoint, Russ, the manager of Key Lime Bistro, explained that R C Otters, my favorite place for a glass of raspberry tea (ok, a cold beer) and an afternoon of live music, was closed for the week to do a little pre-season maintenance of their own. Sure enough, across the street a couple of periwinkle-color paint brushes were busily putting a new shine on the porch. I even found time to enjoy the 80F sunshine on the beach. (It sure beat the -10F back in Wisconsin.)

For those of you who've never been to Captiva, you'll find it hard to believe that we suffered a direct hit by 145 mph Hurricane Charley in 2004. For those of us who enjoy the Island's unspoiled beaches, natural beauty, casual lifestyle, and quiet anonymity, there's no place like Captiva.


We're going down again for a week in March. Maybe I'll post a message from the lanai. Any specific requests.

Thanks Jewel_of_Captiva - I appreciate your response!

geans_marie:
We're going to be at the condo in March also. (March 14-21)When in March are you visiting? If you're there the 3rd week of March, please stop by and say hi. Our condo is 2112 Gulf Beach villas in the 2100 building. (As you look back at the condos from the beach, we are the 2nd building on the left next to the Beach Cottages.

You can also view photos of our place at www.captivasouthseas.com
Hope to see you in March,
Roger