Two new resorts, in Charlotte and Lee counties, make the grade

Grab a drink poolside at the Margaritaville Resort Fort Myers Beach. COURTESY PHOTO

It feels as though they’ve descended to rescue the spirit and economy of the hurricane impacted Charlotte and Lee counties. One arrived with the charm of a celebrated minstrel, the other through the initiative of an airline. Fortunately, both have vast resources, which proved essential as the opening of Margaritaville Resort Fort Myers Beach and Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor encountered obstacles like superhumans. Well, super resorts, in any case.

Just how super are our new local super-resorts? Although they are similar in scope and opening timeframes, Margaritaville, which opened Dec. 7, and Sunseeker, which opened Dec. 15, differ vastly in their appeal, amenities, and look. Here, after spending a couple of nights at each, we grade them on certain elements that make for great vacation destinations under the Southwest Florida sun.

Accommodations

• Margaritaville: Grade A

I felt like I was stepping right into a Buffett song when I crossed the threshold to our room overlooking the Terrace and a slice of gulf. The pillows urged changes in attitude, and everything was designed for ease and comfort. All that was missing was that lost shaker of salt. Book a Son of a Sailor two-bedroom suite for full-on Gulf views on the beach side of the road. The resort holds 254 rooms; 224 are in the main resort and 30 are on the beach.

Charlotte County’s Sunseeker Resort offers waterviews, refreshing pools and great dinining options. SUNSEEKER RESORT CHARLOTTE HARBOR / COURTESY PHOTO

• Sunseeker: Grade A+

As strange as it may sound, one of my favorite things at Sunseeker is its hydration stations. Instead of all those plastic bottles, it provides glass bottles refillable at stations on every floor and throughout the resort.

All its 785 units have full-length views of the harbor, river or pool. Premium rooms give you a balcony, and one- to three-bedroom Sunsuites are just like home — if you happen to live in a fabulous designer space with balconies suspended between blue sky and blue water.

Choose to “waste away” beachside or join the party poolside at the Margaritaville Resort Fort Myers Beach. MARGARITAVILLE FORT MYERS BEACH / COURTESY PHOTO

Architecture and design

• Margaritaville: Grade A

In the most tropical and colorful way, the resort lobby greets you with the Jimmy Buffett theme — lyrics decorating walls, an oversized flipflop (with a pop-top at its heel, natch), rattan, potted plants and lots of airy space to chill.

The resort lines both sides of Estero Boulevard with a pedestrian bridge crossing the busy street from the second floor. On the beachside, you’ll find the guests-only (and day-pass holders’) Fins Up! Beach Club pool and restaurants, public restaurants, beachfront suites and beach rentals. Most of the accommodations are across the road, where a green courtyard, home to License to Chill Bar & Grill and family games, forms a community hub.

Architecture has a low skyline profile with a Key West flair, and that vibe permeates the entire 7-acre property.

• Sunseeker: Grade A

With eight floors in the main resort building, the sprawling 22-acre linear resort creates an ultra-modern, sleek and decidedly distinct hotel look. From the water, its unique skyline and architectural nuances profoundly impresses. In addition to the resort tower, it comprises two accommodation towers.

Inside, it just gets more impressive. The lobby is a beauty with something of a Vegas flair. It holds the prettiest food hall I’ve ever seen, and the creative lighting throughout rivals the long bank of harbor facing windows.

Each restaurant claims its own designer look, and the rooms make style and comfort work beautifully together.

Dining

• Margaritaville: Grade B+ If you’re a fan of the Fort Myers Beach party scene, you’ll love Margaritaville. If you enjoy an elevated dining experience, you’ll love Margaritaville. In other words, Margaritaville dining caters to everyone from finger foodies to fine diners but predominantly excels at beach eats.

JWB Grill provides the “elevated” experience no matter how you look: It perches on the second floor overlooking beach action from above while serving such haute global offerings as wagyu lomo saltado and coconut curry shrimp. Directly below it, La De Dah Beach Bar & Grill is the epitome of toes-in-the-sand beach dining, outdoor seating and a sports-TV inside. There’s often a waitlist to get in for sandwiches, seafood and steak.

License to Chill Bar & Grill, being off the beach, is more serene. It offers the same casual dining style but also serves breakfast, which we found to be our favorite meal at Margaritaville. (There’s also the yummy Coconut Telegraph Coffee Shop.) Inside Fins Up! Beach Club, 5 O’clock Somewhere Bar & Grill is open only to resort and club guests, so it’s easier to grab a table to enjoy al fresco munchies and drinks around the bar.

• Sunseeker: Grade A

From its 11-venue food hall (genius idea!) to three reservations-required, refined venues, Sunseeker offers 22 options for food and drink. We tried Kinderhook Raw Bar & Crab Co. and Sweet Shine Patisserie & Dessert Bar at the Harbor Yard Food Hall, which pretty well covers all the culinary fast-food bases.

As expected, we were more highly impressed with Sunseeker’s sit-down service restaurants. Half Cracked Tiki Shack seafood restaurant gave us an authentic taste of Florida on the waterfront, but Blue Lime Modern Coastal Mexican blew our minds. Clean, crisp and genuinely original describes the décor and food alike.

The kitchen composes each dish to represent its Baja roots and next-level status flavorfully. Take the achiote ponzu, avocado mousse, mango, jalapeño crema, cotija and pickled watermelon radish that complement and garnish the ahi tostado appetizer. From cocktails to dessert, the food, service and entire experience wowed.

Other reservations-required restaurants balance the scale at Maury’s decadent yet modern steakhouse and Stretto Coastal Italian, another reinvention of tradition to reflect Sunseeker’s contemporary shoreline character. A state-of-the-art sports bar, an elevated poolside option and the inimitable Level Blue complete Sunseeker’s well-designed food and drink program. Although not all the restaurants are equally knock-out, they get high marks for variety and ambiance.

Natural water views

• Margaritaville: Grade A+

It tops Sunseeker in one word, and that word, obviously, is “beach.” Overlooking Fort Myers Beach’s gorgeous sands and view of the Gulf of Mexico with Sanibel Island off in the background is exactly what people come to FMB for. Walking that beach takes you the length of 7-mile Estero Island, from Bowditch Point to the north, south to Big Carlos Pass. It’s truly the ultimate location, location, location.

• Sunseeker: Grade A

Despite its lack of sand beach, Sunseeker somehow manages to make up for it with water features (more about that later) and truly breathtaking views of Charlotte Harbor at the mouth of the Peace River, where it sits. The resort lines a half-mile of shoreline where pelicans swoop and mullet jump. From the eighth-floor, adults-only rooftop, you get a panoramic of bridges crossing the river to Punta Gorda, long stretches of sea blues and postcard sunsets.

Party time

• Margaritaville: Grade A+

A resort with a tequila cocktail in its name: Need I say more? Most of its bars are open to the public, who freely wander in from the beach and party headquarters in Times Square next door. That makes it a buzzy place where visitors can mingle with locals without having to leave the premises or barhopping up the beach to FMB’s legendary scene.

Piped-in Buffett music plays everywhere on the premises, and live musicians greet the sunset nightly. Join the crowd at beachy Lah De Dah or hit a quieter, family-oriented vibe at License to Chill Bar & Grill, where you’ll find live music and firepits come evening.

• Sunseeker: Grade A

From local craft brews at Copper Cask Backyard Beer Garden to one of the region’s most developed wine lists at Maury’s, Sunseeker’s 11 “watering holes” challenged us to hit every bar during our two-day stay. Luckily, we couldn’t make it, but we loved our stops at the Reflections Pool + Bar (such a friendly bartender!), Blue Lime’s crafted cocktails, and especially rooftop libations at Level Blue for sunset. Although not as lively and perhaps more sophisticated than Margaritaville’s sipping scene, Sunseeker rates for its views and ability to quench a thirst every 20 steps or so. Maury’s, Stretto, Half Cracked and Blue Lime host live music on select evenings from Thursday through Sunday.

Pools and water sports

• Margaritaville: Grade ASwimming pool concepts at both Margaritaville and Sunseeker introduced me to a new trend of pay-to-swim. At Margaritaville, the only swimming pool lies behind the gates, but resort guests enjoy free admission to the freeform pool and its eating and drinking establishments. This is a bonus when the other restaurants are filled with walk-ins at lunchtime and happy hour. Non-guests pay $40 to $75 for a day pass, depending on resort occupancy numbers.

A bit steep, but just having free use of pool chairs pays off, as rental on a set of two chairs and an umbrella on the beach runs $56 a day.

• Sunseeker: Grade A

Sunseeker boasts two amazing pool complexes. At ground level, Reflections appeals to families with lots of lounging areas. Private cabanas are available for rent.

Its pay-to-swim option is quite simply dazzling, overlooking Charlotte Harbor from the eighth floor. Adults-only Level Blue’s infinity pools run along the glassed-in rooftop’s edge, creating a tempting oasis. It will cost you $25 per person per day to swim, which includes the use of a lounge chair — even for hotel guests paying resort fees. Otherwise, you’re restricted to seating in the bar area, which fills quickly around sunset. But that’s not such a bad deal at that, given its sheer breathtaking drama. Other watersports opportunities are available from local providers off-campus. ¦

The post Two new resorts, in Charlotte and Lee counties, make the grade first appeared on Charlotte County Florida Weekly .