A Blissful Stay at Side-by-Side

Melissa G. ()
Review submitted: April 26, 2013   Date of arrival: March 23, 2013

Never having rented a vacation home before, we felt like we had hit the jackpot when we arrived at Side-by-Side.
Very private and surrounded by lush foliage, the home itself is warm and welcoming and perfectly designed for our group of 6: My husband and I, our son and his wife, and our daughter, son-in-law and their two little ones.
Photos of Side-by-Side don’t do it justice. Two spacious and comfortable living areas are separated by glass sliding doors, allowing the early rising children to play noisily while others slept in. There is just the right amount of colorful and thoughtful décor, making one feel like they are in their own home and we found all the amenities we could want (including two flat screen TVs and Wifi).
All three bedrooms were extremely comfortable, and the Master Suite not only had a walk-in closet but also its own private deck.

The kitchen in Side-by-Side is outfitted with ample cookware and its layout is perfect for several cooks to move about at the same time. We enjoyed shopping for groceries at the large Bailey’s general store and alternated dining in with dining out at the local hotspots: Doc Fords (our favorite!), Mucky Duck, Lazy Flamingo, Cheeburger-Cheeburger.

Our family loved both the heated pool, and the beach, which is only footsteps away. Beach towels and beach lounge chairs are provided...plus an outdoor shower for rinsing off!
We rarely saw more than dozen people at any one time on the beach. Some were shell seekers, while others sunned, surfed on boards or with sails. We even spied a frolicking dolphin!

We found Side-by-Side to be very conveniently located. It is only a short drive to the end of Captiva for brunch or to rent bikes or assorted water sport items. Kids can even get pulled on "banana boat" rides. Some in our group had a blast renting wave-runners.
Seeing the throngs of vacationers crowded onto one small beach, at the end of Captiva, made us particularly grateful for the private location we had chosen...especially as we enjoyed the magnificent sunsets.

Make sure to explore the Ding Darling Preserve while you are there, and kids will love the spectacular Castle Mini Golf in nearby Fort Myers.

Our stay at Side-by-Side could not have been more blissful. On our next visit we hope to bring along more family members and rent the additional cottage.

Thanks, Ella, for making our stay so enjoyable and easy!

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Great location, lovely house!

INrenters (Bristol, IN, USA)
Review submitted: May 9, 2012   Date of arrival: March 31, 2012

Our family stayed here the first week of April. Great location! Close to downtown Captiva and downtown Sanibel. It's also close to Captiva jetty where the good shelling is. Totally uncrowded beach. We basically had it to ourselves all week. Lovely sunsets, lots of wildlife. We loved having the pool to retreat to as well. We had 6 of us: 3 kids, us, an my mom. Lots of space for everyone. My mom had her own room and my oldest slept on the pull-out sofa, 2 little ones in the second room next to the master. The master suite is just lovely! The house is large, with two living areas and a nice large, well stocked kitchen. Lovely porch and nice poolside area. Great vacation all around. Highly recommend!

Recommended for: families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway

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Helpful votes: 1 / 1

Great house, great location!

INrenters (Bristol, IN, USA)
Review submitted: May 9, 2012   Date of arrival: March 31, 2012

Our family stayed here the first week of April. Great location! Close to downtown Captiva and downtown Sanibel. It's also close to Captiva jetty where the good shelling is. Totally uncrowded beach. We basically had it to ourselves all week. Lovely sunsets, lots of wildlife. We loved having the pool to retreat to as well. We had 6 of us: 3 kids, us, an my mom. Lots of space for everyone. My mom had her own room and my oldest slept on the pull-out sofa, 2 little ones in the second room next to the master. The master suite is just lovely! The house is large, with two living areas and a nice large, well stocked kitchen. Lovely porch and nice poolside area. Great vacation all around. Highly recommend!

Recommended for: families with young children

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Helpful votes: 0 / 0

Wonderful location for family vacation

Catherine B. ()
Review submitted: May 4, 2012   Date of arrival: March 3, 2012

My family stayed at 'Side by Side' in March 2012. The weather was perfect and the location couldn't be beat. The house is very spacious, we had plenty of room for my family, my sister's family, and our parents, with kids ranging from 18 months to age 10. There was plenty to do for everyone. It was perfect having the house right on the beach, which made it very easy to come back to the house for lunch, naps, or when one group wanted to be at the pool while others wanted to stay at the beach. We really did see quite a bit of wildlife as well, including many herons and an eagle! The sunsets were of course incredible. We would highly recommend this location to anyone looking for a beach vacation with all the comforts of home and plenty of space to spread out...

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First timers that will be back

Rich B. ()
Review submitted: August 14, 2011   Date of arrival: July 31, 2011

We loved the house and location. Pleanty of room for the six of us. The kids loved the pool and gulf. Shelling was great. A quarter mile walk to the public beach area gets you to more shells than you can believe. Went to Cabbage Key and hung our dollar bill in the restaurant. We saw some dolphins coming back and got some great action pictures.

Recommended for: age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway

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just perfect

leo (miami)
Review submitted: July 20, 2011   Date of arrival: July 9, 2011

this was our first time with a vacation rental, it was a great experience, the house, the location, everything was just right for us. the property is in great shape, well maintained, clean, you will feel like home. you have a great view from every place in the house, there is plenty of space for everyone. we are already making plans to come back next year.

Recommended for: families with young children, families with teenagers, sight seeing

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just perfect

leo (miami)
Review submitted: July 20, 2011   Date of arrival: July 9, 2011

this was our first time with a vacation rental, it was a great experience, the house, the location, everything was just right for us. the property is in great shape, well maintained, clean, you will feel like home. you have a great view from every place in the house, there is plenty of space for everyone. we are already making plans to come back next year.

Recommended for: families with young children, families with teenagers, sight seeing

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Helpful votes: 1 / 1

Feels like you're on the beach even inside

Kristi (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA)
Review submitted: April 25, 2011   Date of arrival: July 24, 2010

This will be our 5th year vacationing at Side-by-Side. We have young children. This property makes vacationing with little ones a breeze. It is directly on the beach. The pool is a great enticement to get the kids back to the house for naps. And the unique thing about this property is the balconies. During naptime you can sit there and feel like you're on the beach and not miss out. Same with sunsets. If the baby is in bed, you can still enjoy a tremendous sunset from the balcony. Even indoors in the AC, the floor to ceiling windows provide a beautiful beach view. We rent both the main and guest houses. We have thought about expanding to more than 4 bedrooms, but I have found no other property for this price with the beautiful balconies directly on the beach with a pool.

Recommended for: age 55+, families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, romantic getaway

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Helpful votes: 1 / 1

home away from home

pkk (Overland Park, KS)
Review submitted: March 23, 2011   Date of arrival: June 5, 2010

Side by Side is the perfect place for a relaxing family vacation. Our family loves it so much that we have vacatoined there every year for the past 15 years. Each year we discuss whether we would like to go somewhere else and the answer is always a resounding NO!

Our family vacations at Side by Side have always been multi-generational. A great way for grandkids and grandparents to spend time together. There is something to do for everyone; walks on the beach, lazy afternoons spent reading and happy hour by the pool. All capped off by gorgeous sunsets, just steps from the house. The house is designed so that there is plenty of space for everyone.

Captiva and Sanibel offer plenty of activities (biking around the islands, golf and jetskiing to name a few) and restaurants if you are so inclined.

If you want the perfect island escape, then my family highly recommends Side by Side.

Recommended for: families with young children, families with teenagers, girls getaway, sight seeing

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Helpful votes: 4 / 4