How Sweet It Is...Private Island Beach Life

My wife and I love going here to get away and relax. We took Pirates Water Taxi to the island, where we were picked up at the dock and taken to the house. I think it took longer to load the cart than it did to drive there. This is the first time we rented this place. It is very comfortable and it feels lived in, like a beach house should. Everything worked fine & we had zero issues. Love the large outdoor shower! Everything we needed was there & the beach chairs were great! Its about a one minute walk and your on the beach. We were there during a holiday when it was busy and it felt as if we had the beach to ourselves. When you see the most people is during sunset, & its always breathtaking! Late at night you can go out on the beach and with a red light, or a full moon you can watch the sea turtles come in and lay eggs. This is a special place because there are no cars, no roads leading to it. The people are friendly and respectful. It is all private property and private beach. Thank you to the owner for sharing their wonderful piece of heaven! We loved it!!

Excellent

Property is nice & cute. Easy short walk to the beach. Loved the sunset views from the back decks. Unfortunately the mosquitos and no-see-ums are atrocious & can’t enjoy the porch or deck. This is about 1/2 way on the island and the sand is lower, so it stays damp. Needs a new shower head. Vacuum doesn’t pick up the sand. Could use some mats at the doors and curtains in the LR.

I want to start this review by saying our stay was a good time, the rental home is actually good and has the potential to be great. However, the people who rent (Tarpon Rental) this place need to do a better job. If you are bringing pets they will hit you with a hidden fee the day of that is $168 and was not disclosed until you go get the keys. I did not mind the fee as much as I did the whole not telling us and keeping it a surprise until we got there. The check in process was not very friendly. Again, the house has SO much potential and is in a great location and the people on the island are super friendly and willing to help. The house could use some care and a good thorough cleaning as it was not in the best conditions and last thing I want to do during a vacation is clean up, which should not be the case if they charge such a high cleaning fee. We are glad that we brought our own linens, towels, blankets because the ones either have sand on them or are not clean so make sure you pack those up but travel light because it is a bit of a walk to bring everything into the house. Overall, we still made the best out of our trip, it was super relaxing and the sunsets are absolutely breathtaking here.

I love the place. Very nice. If you love everyday beach this is the place. House just needs alittle updating. But loved it...

Better get a GOLF CART or someone to drag your stuff to the house from the DOCK ! Office ladies are fine, but the load/unload was BRUTAL ! Cottage is easy 1/4 mile walk from dock with fishcart that holds 2 bags + - Promised a ride from office + delivery of stuff to cottage, got none - Slider wheels on GLASS DOOR terrible ( main entrance ) A/C vents filthy, def. a beach shack in need of some owner's $$ - Dryer on last legs, appliances original from the 1970's - Note: This cute cottage is USED too much - Great place & location / but a family of 4 easily shows it's weakness ~ I DO recommend this place, but if you're looking for perfect and easy, try another - Needs a strong Dad / Mom willing to work to make it work for a family - Golf cart is a MUST ! Sadly, owner has GC locked up downstairs, too bad its not for the paying customer ~ In summary: Enjoyable but exhausted from our vacation -

The location of this How Sweet It Is is just a short boardwalk to the amazing beach of Little Gasparilla. We did have two non-related events that caused power outages of 16+ hours. This property could use an upgrade on basics like flashlights and candles, along with a deep cleaning. The floors never felt entirely clean and the dishwasher is iffy. Also, don’t plan on using the second fridge…or opening it, for that matter. The sheets and upholstery all need a good shakeout/cleaning as well. One final note, the second bedroom window leaks during driving rain and water pools on the floor. Not trying to discourage because the location is great and the people you meet are so friendly and helpful. This is a good property waiting to be great with a little TLC. The garbage service is as promised, and with the cost of water taxis, it might be good to have that second refrigerator clean and working to store extra groceries. LGI is magical and memories are there to be made. Our check-in was slightly delayed through no fault of Audra, so we were grateful to have her wait for us with keys.

Cute beach house, great location on quiet section of beach. Kitchen supplies could use updating but otherwise well stocked. Comfortable beds too!

We loved our stay and will probably be back. The house had everything we needed, and the island is beautiful. If you’re coming around Christmas, we noticed that the crowds came immediately after the 25th. Just FYI if you want a less crowded experience. The only small inconveniences we came across were being given the wrong set of keys at check-in. No big deal. We just had to wait a little bit for the correct set to be brought. Also we were asked on a couple occasions to contact the people on the island who could take us and our luggage to and from the dock, but were never provided their numbers. When we asked to have their numbers, we were told to call the office. Customer service there was a little lacking. On our last day, we asked about a ride back to the dock with all our luggage and were told “we only get you to the house, not back”, so we opted to take several trips walking our luggage to the dock. Again, that was a customer service issue, but not a huge deal. Just something to take note of. One note on the house: During our stay the inside shower was not operating properly. Luckily the outdoor shower is amazing and much more comfortable.

Little Gasparilla Island is a wonderful vacation getaway! There are no roads on the island, no cars, no stores or restaurants. It's wonderfully quiet and private. The beach is soft white sand, and the ocean is safe and perfect for swimming in the warm, clear green waves. The beach is a quick two minute walk, there are houses directly in front of this property, which was kind of misleading based on how it is presented. The ocean view that you do have is from the back porch that gets full sun all day long and is too hot to enjoy. This is easily remedied by simply going down to the beach to enjoy the stellar views. Previous reviews have stated that the property is dated, and although the decor is charming, as a homeowner, dated means the bathroom is dingy and badly requires updating, and the beds are horribly uncomfortable. The kitchen is stocked with most of what you need to fix your meals, and there is also onsite laundry. The rental check in was very easy and right next to a grocery store. We bought our supplies and went straight to the dock for the water taxi, all very easy and convenient. We very much loved our time on LGI and appreciated our stay at this property, any negative review is more of a heads up than it is meant to deter renters. We loved our vacation on LGI and only wish we spent more time there. (Family of four, with an 18 and 14 yo.)