We had a great time on Marco Island and would love to go back. Here's some of our favorites:
-The view from the condo was wonderful. It never got old. We especially loved a glass of wine on the deck with the moonlight dancing simultaneously off the lagoon and the gulf. The bedroom setup was perfect with our family of five and everyone got good sleep throughout the week. The condo had everything we needed.
-Although some complained about the distance to get to the beach, this did not bother our family. The owner has a sand wagon which is great for taking all of our belongings. There was also a cooler and five beach chairs for us to use. The actual beach was AWESOME! Once you reach the ocean, you can turn left and join many others in the "hotel zone". If you turn right you can be as secluded as you want to be, depending on how far you want to walk. There is a nature preserve here and it's really beautiful where the lagoon meets the ocean. Also, it's great shelling and we were able to take several treasures home.
-Restaurants in the area are wonderful too. Our favorite was Quinn's on the Beach which is about a mile from the condo.
-Marco Island is also very close to the Everglades. In Everglade City we booked an airboat tour through Mangrove tunnels and I would highly recommend.
The unfortunates:
-When we first arrived on a Saturday, the pool was closed. Unfortunately it didn't get fixed until Wednesday which was a huge bummer. Although there are other pools on the complex, we were not allowed to use any of them (per management). Mark did provide us financial compensation for this which was appreciated, even though it was out of his hands.
-Once the pool was open, we were quite surprised by the pool monitor. We'd read other reviews discussing the fact that they have someone policing the pool area at all times, but were still surprised to see how diligent they were at implementing the rules. First of all, no eating in the pool area. My kids tried sneaking some candy in the back corner - they were spotted immediately and told to leave in order to eat. Next, absolutely no jumping into the pool. I felt badly for any kid who jumped in and was immediately yelled at. I felt especially bad for a dad who had two little kids under 3 and they couldn't even jump to him from the side. I did not reflect these negatives in my stars as Mark himself has no way to change these policies. However, I wanted other travelers to be aware.