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Mornings With Gina Birch

Sanibel Island Beach Resort Reopens Today

Author Gina Birch

It’s a major development in hurricane recovery on Southwest Florida’s barrier islands. The Sanibel Island Beach Resort reopens today, welcoming overnight guests for the first time since Hurricane Ian hit a year ago. It’s among the first resorts on Sanibel and Captiva to fully open. However,  there is still some construction and tidying up on site. Not all amenities have been restored. That includes the resort’s Sandollar Restaurant or the pool bar. However, food trucks will be on site to fill in the gap.  The beach is open and island officials say it looks great.

Some ten feet of storm surge wrecked every part of the resort from the pool to the restaurant to the guest rooms. Before Hurricane Ian, Sanibel and Captiva Islands had about 3000 rooms for visitors. This beach resort on Middle Gulf Drive has about 100 rooms available and they are all fresh and new. It’s not even close to filling the hotel gap but it is an important step to welcome visitors and tourists once again. Island officials say more businesses are on track to open in the coming months.

As a matter of fact, the owners of two popular restaurants on the island announced last week they are combing forces for new establishments. The Island Cow and The Mad Hatter  are taking over space that was once occupied by the Lighthouse Café on Periwinkle Drive and opening Wickie’s Lighthouse Restaurant and The Magic Bus Ice Cream & Caffeine. That story is here.

The Sanibel Island Beach Resort reopens today and reservation lines are ready to accept your calls. You can also book rooms on their website. A ribbon cutting and reopeing celebration is planned for Friday. Congratulations.

25 Restaurants Are Now Open On Sanibel And Captiva Islands

It’s hard to believe Hurricane Ian hit almost a year and a half ago and while we still have a long way to go, more than 25 restaurants are now open on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

I’ve been spending a lot time on our local beaches. I love that here in Southwest Florida, even when there’s nothing to do, there’s something to do. And that something for me, is always heading to the beach. I usually head to Sanibel to either Bowman’s Beach or Tarpon Bay Beach. I love Gulfside City Park too, but rarely do I make it out early enough to get a parking spot. It’s been SO nice seeing all the people out enjoying the beaches, it’s been busy nearly every weekend.

There’s also a lot of businesses reopening too. Between lodging, restaurants, shopping, and things to do like kayaking and fishing charters. I will say that driving around out there just breaks your heart. It’s not so much that there’s debris everywhere, it just looks very bare and to see huge homes and condo complexes just crumbling, is so sad. Slowly but surely though, things are reopening and the island is welcoming visitors back out to the islands to stay, play and dine. You can find a full list of open businesses here

25 Restaurants Now Open on Sanibel & Captiva Islands:

Gina Birch brings the sunshine to Sunny 106.3 every weekday morning from 6-10. She has worked in radio, television and print in Southwest Florida for nearly 30 years. During that time, she has become an advocate for numerous charities including those that support animals, children, women and wellness. In addition, she has written for numerous local, regional and national publications about food, wine and travel. Those are her longtime passions...along with shoes.

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Author Gina Birch
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