Candlewood Suites Fort Myers-Sanibel Gateway

We stayed for the weekend and it was great! The staff was super helpful with suggestions, directions, and overall very welcoming! I definitely would stay again!

Auf dem Weg gen Norden suchten wir eine Unterkunft möglichst in der Nähe von Sanibel. Als Tipp des Tages wurde uns dann dieses Hotel vorgeschlagen und so buchten wir hier zwei Nächte.
Erster Eindruck war Spitze (für den Preis). Sehr freundliches Personal und große, saubere Zimmer mit free WIFI, mehr braucht man ja erstmal nicht.
Auch die Betten sind sehr bequem und die Zimmer ruhig und gut klimatisiert.
Auf jeden Fall empfehlenswert!

Thank you Dan for taking the time to read and reply to my review. It means a lot that you have shown an interest. I apologize, I hadn’t been able to properly update my review before it was posted. Yes, our second stay was a bit better. We had no billing issues, and the cigarette smell was no longer in our room (I don’t know if that was because we were on a different floor or what. I know that we weren’t the only guest who was complaining about it). I know that you had an issue with a bunch of your employees which was resolved, and that is completely understandable. Like I said the hotel has potential to be really great. There were a lot of good points. The location is wonderful, rates are usually pretty affordable, amenities are great. Staff was nice and friendly. It’s just the housekeeping. The housekeeping is really killing you guys. Even on our second stay we found it lacking. Food left on the floors, mold in the shower, a/​c filters clogged with dust. You can tell that housekeeping doesn’t ever thoroughly clean the room.

Let me first say that the staff were very nice and helpful! I liked the idea how they offer free movie rental too. Maybe I am just spoiled, but this place, for the price, was not worth it. We decided to not stay 2 nights here and cancelled our second night. The room smelled, and it just felt dirty to me. As my husband said, the bedding felt like burlap. The only other positive thing is that this place is great if you are headed to Ft. Myers or Sanibel Island for a visit, only a few miles away.

The rooms were clean, however my issue was with the owners. I am a travel nurse, and staying here for 3 months. They advertise that they are a pet friendly hotel. They took my $ 150 pet deposit, however, harassed me whenever my dog barked, which was not often, usually only if someone knocked on the door. I had several other guests tell me they had the same problem. You can’t be pet friendly and expect a dog to never bark. Also, someone came in my room one day when I wasn’t here. I know it wasn’t housekeeping because my room hadn’t been cleaned yet. But I smelled men’s cologne when I came inside. If you plan to stay in Fort Myers more than a few days, I strongly recommend you stay somewhere else. The owners here are mean and nasty. NOT PET FRIENDLY

I have nothing but good words for Candlewood and it’s employees. Where to begin…
I was here on a travel assignment that was supposed to last 3 months. I had a great rate because of the long stay. An accident forced my trip down from 3 months to 3 weeks. No penalty fees were assessed for premature checkout. They gave us a free cot for the room when my husband came down from OH to care for me because my injuries kept him from being in the bed with me.
The room had a great layout, big kitchen, nice counter space in the kitchen, roomy bathroom, plenty of outlets, and a decent sized closet. Full fridge, dishwasher, plenty of pillows, big tub, nice size tv, decent recliner, nice desk space, and a DVD player.
Other perks: fast free wifi, free laundry, swimming pool (it’s location puts it most always in the shade), a grill, a dog park (with doggie bags), free DVD rental, and it’s only 4 miles from Ft. Myers beach.
Should I ever return to the Ft. Myers area, I will chose to stay at Candlewood.

I gave this a review on tripadvisor but I deleted it because I couldn’t update it.
I wrote and still stand by that it was a good stay. They upgraded my room for the same cost because of my member profile request about being on the same floor.
They seemed to have a bit of an ant problem.
My issue is that later I checked my credit card statement and I had a $ 2.65 charge on it. They have a room with snacks that uses the honor system. I got coffee each morning but was told that’s complimentary. Also, they were out of tea bags so the receptionist got me some.
I called and asked about this small charge and was told a mgr would call me back but that she doesn’t come in until 11 at night. No one ever called me back.
I emailed the chain who forwarded my email to the location and no one credited me or called me back. All over $ 2.65. No explanation of the charges, no response from the hotel.
I won’t book here again because that is a lot of hassle for my expense report.

I was really impressed with Candlewood Suites. From the moment I checked in to when I checked out, it was excellent service.
They get another plus for being pet friendly. Not just little Chihuahua friendly but German Shepherd friendly. That’s rare to find places that will take big dogs.
For our week stay, it was was an awesome place to stay. Great to have a kitchen to cook breakfast. The location is so close to everything. For me, 15 minutes to both Twins and Red Sox training facilities could not be beat. Plus only 10 minutes to Sanibel and a short drive to Fort Myers Beach.
The only downside were that the dryers took forever to dry (took 3 hours to dry shorts and a tshirt) and the other people staying here were a little, um… weird. Not like «I’m going to get fed to the alligator in back» weird, just kinda the «freak van dropped off at the entrance» weird.
The WiFi connection was so slow and kept logging out. The was kinda annoying. There’s also limited room in the cabinets to store groceries.
The staff was friendly though the one lady at the desk always was eyeing my dog like he was going to do something. He’s better behaved than most of the kids there.
Definitely a good deal if you want a place to crash for a week or longer. I know where I’ll be staying next year when spring training rolls around.

We had just left a very unpleasant 4-​day stay on the keys so we were hoping that our next hotel, the Candlewood Suites, will help us forget the misery of our last accomodations. The short story is that they completely bowled us over.
Upon entering the room (on the 1^st floor near the front desk) we breathed deep sighs of relief when we saw how immaculately clean the room was. The layout was a bit unusual. The doorway entered onto a kitchen with full-​sized fridge, full-​sized sink (with garbage disposal), full-​sized microwave oven, 2-​burner electric stove, and full-​sized dishwasher. All appliances looked good as new. The kitchen floor (and bathroom floor) were ceramic tile and very clean. At the end of the kitchen counter, forming kind of the short part of an «L,» was a work table that had room for two chairs (facing each other) which was perfect for placing my laptop and charging gear. The Ethernet cable was here as well, although the hotel also provided wifi.
Wifi connected quickly and was the fastest we’ve had on the trip. I did have to re-​enter the password about once a day but aside from that, it was seamless. The TV also worked fine with the HDMI from my laptop, so I was able to watch movies streamed from the laptop (at another hotel on this trip, the TV’s HDMI port wouldn’t recognize a signal from my laptop).
Speaking of movies, the room had a DVD player and at the front desk they offered a selection of DVD that you could borrow for free. There were about 500 or so movies available.
Another welcome freebie was the free use of the clothes washers and dryers.
They have a small outdoor pool but we didn’t use it, so I don’t know if it was warm or not.
The bedroom area of our room was carpeted but it was very clean (I’m the kind of person who brings a pair of flip-​flops for wearing in hotel rooms and I didn’t feel the need to use them here). Pillows weren’t too bad, either. Not too tall or puffy so I was able to sleep without getting a kink in my neck.
There’s not much to do around the neighbourhood… a car is pretty much a requisite. But that was fine with us. The main thing is that the room was very clean and had an abundance of features.

I didn’t stay over night, but I was in to get information for relatives who are thinking about renting a room for a few weeks.
Pros:
— Friendly staff
— Rooms are spacious, clean*
— Depending on what size room you get, there’s service for 2 or 4 in plates, cups, utensils.
— Free laundry (6 washers, 5 dryers)
— Cable /​TV /​DVD service
— Wifi
— Gym
— Pool
— Pet friendly
— Big fridge
— Coffee maker (drip… not that fancy single cup brewer) and bag coffee
— Ironing Board
Cons:
— * Room was clean, but there was a stale cigarette smell in the air. I think they have rooms for smokers, and the one we saw was one of them. I could be wrong. But the hallway smelled clean and fresh.
Middle ground:
— The front desk staff couldn’t give an exact estimate on cost, as «it changes daily». But the cheapest you can expect to pay is around $ 70, where the most expensive is around $ 130. BUT that also depends on when you’re going — off season or during season.
«It’s like a time share but a hotel» my mother said. «You can’t go wrong!».

While the room itself is average, getting to it is a different story. Despite having been assured that I could access a room at 1 pm, (prior to their normal 3 pm check-​in time), I was denied access to a room and advised that check-​in time was 3 pm. I told Linda that my husband had called and had obtained a commitment for an early check-​in, she denied any knowledge of having had the conversation and instead suggested that maybe a housekeeper had answered the phone.
I subsequently left and had my husband call the front desk to speak with the person who had committed to an early check-​in. He called and spoke with Linda, who «remembered» the conversation and told him a room would be ready in 5 minutes??? Of course by this time I was half an hour down the road scrambling for another hotel. I had a lot of computer and technical equipment in the car that could not sustain the 95 degree weather. At no time was I provided with a seat— there is no lobby nor was I offered a place to put my laptop, iPad, I Pod, and cell phone while I waited for a check-​in I was promised.
I did end up coming back and gaining access to a room at 2pm. Would I stay here again???
I don’t know yet. Surviving the check-​in was a challenge.
The room– there were stains on the wall, toe nail clippings on the floor and hair in the bed sheets. I thought I was waiting for them to «clean» the room.
You have to reconnect to the wifi constantly as I was unable to get or maintain a connection.

+ Good room layout. HDTV w/​DVD player.
— Caved in beds. Gym broken treadmill, dirty mirrors. Reconnecting to WiFi hourly gets old.

We would highly recommend this location for its well equipped rooms, cleanliness, helpful staff, free movie rentals, free laundry facilities and mini gym. We loved having a great little kitchen to prepare and eat our meals. The wifi was iffy and kept cutting out. Overall a very pleasant experience!

I stayed here for 3 weeks. I felt safe comfortable and well taken care.
There were a few mishaps. One they gave a key card to another guest to my room… but was fix on the spot.
They do have low flow toilet so I had a few minor problems. Though resolved quickly.
Batteries died for the remote on TV replaced quickly.
AHHH. Cell phone service for ALL carriers inside the Hotel is spotty. I had to stand next to a window to use mine.
But wifi and computer service in rooms was excellent.
Otherwise friendly and knowledgeable staff.
No problem on the billing .
Pictures are what you see is what you get
Place is well maintained. Inside and out.
One other note. The pond behind the Hotel. They have pets. One is named Happy and the other is Half Tail.
One is happy cuz he ate the other gator tail. LOL
The local alligators 6 – 7 feet long. Plus a snapping turtle about30 inches
big.
NOTE: High season is October 15-​April 15. Tourist season.

A great find! This hotel is centrally located. The beaches are only minutes away. It’s close to shopping and restaurants. They don’t have daily maid service but the kind staff can replace your towels and sheets at any time. The free wi-​fi and laundry room makes up for it. The work out room is small, but will do for a light workout. Highly recommended for the condition, location and price. A great picture op with the alligator in the back pond area. Don’t get too close though.

What a great place to stay!
We were visiting my parents who live in the neighborhood near the hotel. Since they were having lots of house guest, we decided to get a hotel near their place.
We were traveling with our two children, so the full size fridge, microwave and icemaker came in really handy. There was plenty of space in the room and the location was fantastic (a short drive to parent’s house and to the the beach). A couple of really nice surprises were the free laundry for guests and free gym, plus free movies from the front desk.
The service was very friendly and helpful.
The one drawback was the wifi, which was difficult to connect to (even for someone in the tech industry) and very unstable. It may have just been our room; I didn’t try it in the lobby (although they had accessible computers in the lobby «living room»). On this trip it didn’t hurt us too much since we used the wifi at my parents, but if I were traveling for business, this might have caused a downgrade to 4 stars.

Decent location if you have a vehicle. Not too far of a drive from the beach or from Hammond Stadium (Go Twins!). Accomodating front desk staff. Nice little kitchenette in the rooms, but a bit bright at night with appliance lights. Between fridge and AC it can be noisy, but location itself is relatively quiet. They have done some thinking about conserving energy, which I appreciate. Free washer/​dryer use, decent athletic room, outdoor pool. Little snackshop accessible by room key and on honor system. Clean room.
I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again for a few days. It is a very good value. If you are looking for a pampered stay, look elsewhere.