Naples Grande Beach Resort, Is It Worth It? -

Hello everyone, in this article you will be reading my long overdue review of The Naples Grande Beach Resort where we stayed while visiting Naples, Florida. Located on Seagate drive in Naples, The Naples Grande Beach Resort is located at the heart of the city, and is a short drive to shopping, dining, and attractions. It has a total of 474 rooms; 395 regular rooms, 29 suites, and 50 Garden Villas which are located next to the main building called the tower.

Naples Grande Beach Resort

Amenities

The hotel is gorgeous and does offer quite a bit of amenities. We booked a gulf view room which had two queens beds, a mini fridge, ice bucket, iron and ironing board, coffee maker, safe and a few bottles of complimentary water. The bathroom had a shower, a tub and double sinks. From our seventh floor balcony, we had a great view of the gulf of Mexico, with some obstruction, but nonetheless still a beautiful view. We were even able to glance parts of Fort Myer’s Beach from the balcony, and it was also a great place to see the sunset.

There are two pools located to the west of the tower building, the Mangrove Pool which is the largest of the two has a waterslide and is used by both children and adults. Then, there is The Palm Terrace Pool, which is more private and smaller in size and is for adults only. One side of it is lined with luxurious cabanas (I say luxurious because they are equipped with flat screen TVs, lounge chairs, mini fridges, and comes with a personal concierge, a fruit platter and more), while the other side is lined with pool chairs and a hot tub.

I was not able to get an exact price for the cabana rentals but one of the staffs advised that the price varies depending on factors such as the length of time you would like to rent one for.

View From Our Balcony

There is also a third pool, the Hibiscus Hideway which as its name suggest is hidden to the east of the tower amongst the villas. The pools were great and there is a poolside bar just next to the Mangrove and Palm Terrace Pools and just for your information the poolside bar does not take credit cards.

Other amenities includes a spa, a gym, a wellness studio, restaurants and it’s very close to the beach. While the hotel promotes that it has a golf and tennis club I did not see the golf course or tennis court while staying there.

Cabanas by The Palm Terrace Pool

The beach is about a 15-20 minute walk on the boardwalk which goes through Clam Pass Park to the beach or you can choose to take the quicker trolley ride. The beach is lovely and I enjoyed the way the white sand glistened in the sun. Beach umbrellas are available for rent at a cost of $18. The chairs are free to use but the beach attendants comes and pick them up around 5 p.m.

There are towels available both at the beach and at the pools so you don’t have to worry about taking your own or taking one from the room.

The hotel also offers water sports activities such as kayaking. The kayaks are stored under the porch of the Rhode’s End restaurant, but were not available to rent during our visit.

Restaurants

The Naples Grande has a few restaurants on site, there is The Catch of the Pelican a fine dining restaurant that serves up seafood and steak dinners, Rhode’s End the Mediterranean themed restaurant, Mantra the late night bar and lounge, Aura where breakfast is served each morning, Spressi Marketplace that offers grab and go foods, and The Sunset Veranda where you can enjoy a cocktail while watching the sunset.

Though they have different names most of the restaurants are all a part of one big central area, except for the Catch of the Pelican and Rhode’s End. Well what do I mean by one central area? It’s like one restaurant divided into different parts. First we have the Spressi market place, next to it is the Aura, and just in front of that is the Mantra. Just outside the doors is the Sunset Veranda which is basically and outdoor dining area. During my visit I was a bit confused with the setup and asked one of the staff where was the Sunset Veranda, she pointed outside and I kept walking around looking for it and couldn’t find where this restaurant was, then after going back she explained that it was all the same thing and it was just the seating area outside, so I decided to sit by the bar and order a meal.

The food choice maybe debatable, but from my perspective there was not a lot of choices. The menu consist mostly of quick-service type foods such as sandwiches, wings, fries, and sushi. Rhode’s End restaurant offers items such as burgers, sandwiches, gyros and salads, and $18 for a sandwich 😮 oh my. The good thing about Rhode’s End is, it’s by the beach and while eating you can get a lovely view of the Gulf, maybe even spot a dolphin or two 😊.

The Catch of the Pelican restaurant which I think I may have preferred based on the menu was closed during our stay . I must say that I did enjoy my breakfast at Aura, it was tasty and filling, unlike the sandwich I had the night before at the Mantra, that tasted like the coleslaw was spoiled.

Breakfast at Aura

Overview

When we first checked into our room, on one of the beds the sheet had a brown mark on it which we think was a sign of it being dirty, we called the front desk and we were able to get someone to come and change the sheets. Also while browsing around on the website during our booking it showed that they offered complimentary dining as part of the Florida residence pricing, but when we called the receptions desk the first morning there to ask if we had the complimentary breakfast, without even looking it up the person that picked up advise that there is no complimentary breakfast, almost like a brush off. I left it at that since I wasn’t the one who booked the hotel.

Overall, I admit that I did enjoy the time there, it is a great place to unwind and relax, but I would not recommend it for travelers on a budget. Although I appreciated the amenities the hotel offers, I do believe it to be overpriced. We were able to get a low rate when we booked, maybe because businesses were just opening up again, but looking around now at the prices the cheapest I have seen is $298 on one booking site, while other sites like Expedia and the hotel’s website are showing prices starting at $409 per night. There is nothing really included in the price except for the room. There is an additional fee for parking currently $18 per night for self parking and $28 for valet parking, plus a nightly resort fee of $37.

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