By The Sea

Wonderful stay in a very special place. Thank you! We would love to come back again.

Anonymous - Posted: 3/23/2026

Albert, Lisa, and Alan are awesome to work with! Customer service is their top priority. The property is a cute house with a private pool and hot tub a short walk from the beach. Beach towels, chairs, and a wagon were provided. Screened in porches protected us from the no-see-ums. We made full use of the outdoor grill by the pool, as well as the kitchen. Living room seating was comfortable, as were the beds. We had a wonderful stay.

Anonymous from Clinton - Posted: 1/9/2026

We enjoyed our stay at By the Sea - The house was comfortable, air-conditioned, and decorated with charming character. There were several nice outdoor spaces - screened in porches and a nice poolside area. The pool itself was heated and lovely, and the hot tub was great!

Anonymous from Amesbury - Posted: 5/5/2025

House is close to the beach, dining, & activities. In a quiet neighborhood.
House could use some TLC.
Not a good House for small children - too much breakable stuff to touch.
Management Co. Was very responsive and professional.

Anonymous from Pocono Lake - Posted: 4/2/2022

Nice place and would stay there again.The heating system was loud and plumbing needs work.

Anonymous from Westerville - Posted: 2/21/2022

This is hands down our favorite stay from years of visiting sanibel and captiva. The home is thoughtfully appointed and decorated. Super comfortable beds and great hang out space outdoors. We loved it. American realty was great and very responsive. We will book with them again soon.

Anonymous from Piedmont - Posted: 10/9/2023

We had a fabulous vacation at By The Sea, starting with the quick and attentive help from Arthur at American Realty. The home is cozy and comfortable, I could stay there indefinitely. There is easy access to the beach, village, Tween and all the fun throughout the entire island.

Anonymous from Wooster - Posted: 2/19/2025

In Captiva Jan 19-26, '21, our first.. Did not book thru VRBO. Had a great time. House as nice as in photos. Older, in decent shape, only a couple of minor maintenance issues. $180 cleaning fee on par with other places. Total came to $522/D. Expect 2 weeks to get dam dep back. Clean, cute, cosy decor which we all really enjoyed. Appreciated the fact that owner is thoughtful about guests (unlike many other VRBO-type rentals), there were adequate amenities, plenty of towels, extra sheets, blankets (it was chilly at night). Room to park multiple vehicles. Had an outdoor shower to get the salt off (too chilly to get in the water on this trip). New outdoor grill. Only 2 blocks from beach and small village center with a few nice, casual restaurants and coffee shops. Maintenance company seems responsive -coffee pot leaked, we had a new one later that day. Sunset dinner at the Mucky Duck on ocean is popular for great view. If you want to sit outdoors at sunset make a reservation, even during the week. Most activities are on Sanibel. 1/2 day fishing (Capt Colin Carpenter, highly recommend,.) Was slow but we caught enough for dinner. He worked hard moving us around. Dolphins with baby followed boat was delightful distraction from fish only biting so-so, great photo op! Unlike Keys, only place on Sanibel-Captiva that will prepare catch is Lazy Flamingo. Casual jeans place, did a great job, not too pricey. Spent time in Ding Darling National Wildlife refuge. Should have been on bikes rather than in car. Spend a few hours kayaking Tarpon Bay and mangroves (used Tarpon Bay Explores. A little pricey but they made it easy, plus we learned that kayaks can only be brought into Federal lands by private citizens, not outfitters, and since they are next to preserve it was easy to rent from them and paddle in.) Spent several hours hiking Bailey's Tract, spotting alligators, birds, turtles. Should have biked more. Explored Pine Island - not worth the trip.

Anonymous from La Crosse - Posted: 1/29/2021

We loved our stay at By The Sea. You can walk to all the main attractions and most restaurants. It's about a thirty second walk to the beach. We went for my boyfriend's 40th birthday and the house was perfect for just the two of us. It was clean and homey. We really wanted somewhere quiet and laid back and we got it. We would stay here again!

Anonymous from Lexington - Posted: 6/14/2021

Great location , spotless , lovely decor and great weather to boot , early February.

Anonymous from milford - Posted: 2/7/2022

We were very pleased with By the Sea location and affordability. It has nice outdoor seating areas and a nice pool. My only concern is that it is listed as 3 bedrooms. This is misleading as one room is for sleeping only. There is no closet, dresser or anyway to walk around the room. Luckily, we had 2 small children who slept in the room. It truly should be listed as 2 bedrooms, can sleep 6.

Anonymous from Waverly - Posted: 7/14/2025

Great location and comfortable sitting areas. Plumbing and air and heating system and stairs needs improvements

Anonymous from Westerville - Posted: 3/1/2022

What started out poorly, turned out well thanks to American Realty!

We arrived for out 2 week stay and notice the entire underside of the house was blocked off due to pool construction. We had lots of paddle boards and beach gear with us, so what were we supposed to do? A little notice would have been nice. Anyway, after talking with American Realty, they made sure we were taken care of. They made sure no construction would take place for the next 2 weeks and allowed us to use what we could for storage on the underside of the house! Very professional and courteous people.

There was also some minor master bath sink issues they took care of asap!

Anonymous from purcellville - Posted: 8/18/2022

Was very disappointed in the overall quality of this home. The stairs leading up to the front door need to be replaced. The master bath needs to be demoed. Being a little older, it was dangerously difficult to step into the bathtub. My husband could not fit under the shower head without needing to bend over. There were bug poison traps sitting on top of the kitchen counters. (Not comfortable with putting our food on the counters near those)
The “3rd” bedroom cannot be considered a bedroom with no closet and you couldn’t even move around the so called bed.
The pool was not cleaned when we got there. Pool guy came on Tuesday and put some chemicals in the pool and said we could not use the pool for 24 hours. Very frustrating to pay for something you can not use. Especially for the grandkids.
The washer and dryer area was not at all maintained. You couldn’t even open the washer lid all the way.
The carpet in the master bedroom was old and dirty and needed to be replaced.

Anonymous from Columbia City - Posted: 4/5/2026