visited in February 2012. Great place that has everything you need for a family vacation. The rooms vere clean and pretty. We had a view of the water and saw dolphins every day! The beach is just beautiful with lots of shells and the hotel (of course) provides with umbrellas, loungers and towels. Our 16 months old loved to play with sand and they even had sand toys that we could just borrow to pay with. Pools vere nice and clean, we just wished the restaurant was open not only for lunch. The restaurant near marina was fabulous. There is a trolley that runs from one end of the resort to other end and gests are free to use it. They have programs for kids and they also have a playroom with toys ( we didn't really use it because we were outside all the time, but I guess in the rainy day, you could use it). I am from Europe, but living in the US and I have been all over Europe and visited Africa. I must say that I do want to come back to this resort and to Captiva. We had a great experience there. Everyone was so helpful and nice and the place is clean.

Really enjoyed our stay at South Seas on the whole. A few glitches but we would return. We stayed at Lands End section, very pretty, well-kept and secluded feeling. We'd booked a suite on the North-East side but there was very noisy construction involving a couple of back hoes going on 30 yards away which the front desk neglected to tell us about. We have a toddler who naps during the day so there was no way this was going to fly. The front desk first tried to assure us that it was ONLY going on from '8-5pm', but when we insisted on another room they put us into an even prettier suite, better furnishings and more interesting view. Jay, the bellman, was incredibly helpful and quickly moved all our luggage. The rooms were not perfect, but I'm particular about quality control - we had problems with plumbing (quickly resolved) the windows were not clean (quickly resolved), and there were no screens on our bedroom windows (quickly resolved). They were updating the Lands End villas to Direct TV while we were there and I'm glad for their sake that they were because the reception we had was really fuzzy. But the unit was VERY clean and the couch was cute and comfy.

Everton was our waiter several times, very friendly, quick and helpful. As other reviews commented, this is not the place to go if you are looking for a gourmet meal unless you are prepared to cook it yourself. At best the food is filling and good portions. But the beach and pools were pristine with lots of great amenities for kids - free use of buckets and shovels at the beach with helpful staff everywhere keeping things tidy and clean. One pool manager even offered to bring us a pack-n-play so that the baby could hang out with us while we lounged - that was a first! And we loved that several of the pools have extremely shallow entries so that little ones could hang out. Puppet shows, craft activities, fishing for kids etc etc. They try really hard where kids are concerned.

There were live animals to pet, and the most amazing natural experience I've ever encountered in a resort - in one day we saw dolphins right from the grounds, a bald eagle flew over our heads, spotted manatees during lunch, dozens of butterflies in the many many flowering plants, and numerous gorgeous white and blue herons everywhere. I rented a bike with a seat for my little one and we had a lot of fun riding around the resort. I felt very safe.

Restaurants off resort - the Bubble room is great for kids and kids-at-heart, best food of our stay. The Cantina is atmospheric and pretty good mexican food, the closest feeling to being in the Virgin Islands. The Island Cow was very noisy, so-so comfort food and the staff looked like they were worked a little too ragged but they did seat us pretty quickly on a crowded day.

If you like birdwatching, definitely do the drive-through tour of the Ding Darling Reserve - we spotted hundreds of beautiful birds and at least one alligator - big thrill for us Mainers!

Second time we have visited. First time 2 years ago when 6 of us (grandkids and their parent and us) stayed in Land's End section. Great place with plenty of room. North end has best access to big pool, beach, and marina. Plenty of possibilities for activities from the property including kayak, water sports, and boating excursions.

Just returned from 2nd trip. This time just the two of us (kids in school). Stayed in Marina Villas. Not in class of Land's End but very nice and in same area for access to facilities.

We rented golf cart on the property and used for out whole stay. Enjoyed the places to eat just off the property in Captiva - in golf cart range

Stayed here for a 3 night "girls weekend". The resort is perfect - I could barely tell I was in southwest Florida because it was so peaceful and uncrowded. We stayed in a tennis villa, which was nicely decorated, very clean and updated. The twin beds and king bed in the loft were fabulous with down pillows, regular pillows, throw pillows, and duvet instead of the icky bedspreads. Even the sofa bed wasn't bad with a thicker mattress than usual. Rooms were just as pictured on the website with updated furnishings and granite counter tops in the bathrooms and kitchen. Our 3rd floor room was a 2 story with the master bedroom in an open loft. It was very spacious for 4 adults. The lanai was huge with a courtyard view. If you must have an ocean view, then you'll have to pay for it by renting a beachfront condo. We didn't feel it was necessary, as it is a short walk to the beach.

We had no problems with the shuttles, which ran every 15 minutes. It is an easy 1.5 mile walk down the beach to the northern part of the resort, and then you can take the shuttle back to the southern portion, where the tennis villas are located.

All of the staff we encountered were polite and eager to please. Housekeeping was excellent, and arrived each morning around 10:00am as we were on our way to the beach.

You do pay a $15 per adult per day resort fee as other reviewers noted. It is disclosed in the fine print on the reservation site. We felt it was worth the cost, as we were able to swipe our cards to use the main pools with H20 slides, ride the shuttles, rent bikes and charge to our room, and charge drinks to our room. The resort restaurants do close early as others have noted. This makes for a peaceful and relaxing vacation. If you want bars and partying till the wee hours, Fort Myers Beach is probably more your style. It is a short walk from southern part of resort to the downtown area of Captiva, which consists of a block or two of restaurants and quirky shops. Mucky duck and Bubble room are Captiva Island icons that everyone goes to.

The beach is wonderful, very quiet and uncrowded. This is not Siesta Key or Fort Myers Beach, which we considered a good thing. Each morning a beach porter was waiting to set up lounge chairs, towels, and umbrellas on the beach. There is no need to worry about getting there early to stake your claim - there are plenty of chairs. If you don't care for the beach, there are the 3 main pools in the northern section of resort, plus a ton of small condo pools (no towels at the small ones though).

Expensive, but worth it. We'll be back again next year.
The experience was just as expected