Posted on May 23, 2018
By Nancy J Semon, Harbor Syle
Cabbage Key, Recreation, Reviews, Tarpon Lodge
Whether you’re looking for a one night getaway or a week long retreat from reality, Tarpon Lodge and Cabbage Key make for the perfect vacation location, and they’re just minutes away.
Posted on February 14, 2018
By Mark Ellwood, Condé Nast Traveler
Cabbage Key, Cayo Costa
This month is Spring Training season, when MLB teams, quite literally, warm up, with the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues of Arizona and Florida. The best base for the latter contest this year is Fort Myers, where the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins each take up temporary residence for a few weeks. The Twins will play at Hammond Stadium, while the newer JetBlue Park is a home away from home for the Sox—it even has a counterpart in left field to Fenway’s notorious Green Monster. Games run here through March 25: a standout, of course, will be the face-off between the Yankees and the Sox on March 3. If you don’t want to spend every day at the ball game, the barrier sand spits here are ideal for island hopping, whether you head for the car-free Cabbage Key or the Cayo Costa state park, with its nine miles of untouched beaches.
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Posted on August 27, 2016
By Janet K. Keeler, VISIT FLORIDA
Cabbage Key Inn Reviews, In The Neighborhood, Recreation, Tarpon Lodge & Restaurant Reviews
Lounging on the dock of the Cabbage Patch Cottage on Cabbage Key is what a Florida getaway is all about. Luxury yachts and weathered flats boats cruise by, osprey perch on rustic pylons, and breezes riff off of the water. Mullet jump, box turtles get amorous, and the houses of exclusive Useppa Island across the water conjure Lottery win dreams.
Ah, time to breathe deeply.
Various lunch and dinner offerings served at the Cabbage Key Inn and Restaurant include bottom clockwise: A cheeseburger, Key Lime Pie, Fresh Gulf You Peel Shrimp, and center, a Cabbage Creeper, the inn’s version of the Pina Colada drink.
In the evening, I walk a dusty lane to the Cabbage Key Island Inn Restaurant & Bar. Cuban laurels laced with twinkle lights mark the place where I sip a Cabbage Creeper cocktail, a pina colada with a coffee liqueur float. I order a plank of smoked salmon with housemade dill sauce. And then a pile of cold, peel-and-eat shrimp billed as an appetizer but plenty filling for a meal. I vow to have a cheeseburger in paradise before I start the journey home.
Posted on August 20, 2016
By Gillian Kendall, National Geographic
Cabbage Key Inn Reviews, Cayo Costa, Fishing & Boating, Fort Myers, Nature & Wildlife, Pine Island, Sanibel, Tarpon Lodge & Restaurant Reviews
For a beach lover, the beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel are a dream destination.
A man walks at sunset down Bowman’s Beach on Sanibel Island, Florida. PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL GOZANSKY, ALAMY
Trouble in paradise: I’m at the tollbooth on the causeway that crosses to Sanibel Island from Fort Myers, Florida. There’s a six-dollar charge, and they don’t take credit cards. After fumbling through pockets, purse, and beach bag, I come up with only four crumpled one-dollar bills. But the tan booth attendant offers an authentic smile. “If you don’t have it, it’s OK,” she says, waving me through. “Someone ahead of you just paid it forward.”
Receiving a favor from a stranger is an unexpected welcome to the islands west of Fort Myers. But it’s just one of many things that make the area unusual.
Posted on July 22, 2016
By Lisa Fleming, Naples Herald
Cabbage Key Inn Reviews
Q. Did Jimmy Buffett really write his song, Cheeseburger in Paradise, based on time spent on Cabbage Key? What can you tell me about the island? Laurie Andrews, Naples, NY
A. To find out firsthand, I spent the day on Cabbage Key. The 100-acre island is in Pine Island Sound in Lee County, not far from Captiva and Sanibel. There are no paved roads, and is accessible only by boat or plane!
Rob Wells III and his younger brother Ken oversee the restaurant on Cabbage Key as well as the family owned Tarpon Lodge and Restaurant on Pine Island.
Posted on May 29, 2016
By Bryan Hendricks, Arkansas Sportsman
Cabbage Key Inn Reviews
Cabbage Key is a short ride across Pine Island Sound on the Island Girl, or you can drive your own boat. It’s an interesting place for many reasons, not the least of which are all the $1 bills tacked to the walls. There’s about $70,000 worth, Cabbage Key manager Ken Wells said.
Commercial fishermen started the $1 tradition many years ago, Wells said. Money flowed when fishing was good, but fishermen understood that fortunes could sour the next week. They wrote their names on $1 bills and tacked them to the wall so they could afford drinks when money was scarce.
Over the years, visitors added to the $1 tableau.
Cabbage Key is also known — falsely, Wells said — for inspiring Jimmy Buffett’s classic, “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” They do serve a mean cheeseburger at Cabbage Key, but Wells said the song predates Buffett’s visit to the restaurant.
The real story, Wells said, is that Buffett dedicated the song to some Cabbage Key employees that attended one of his shows.
That’s no fun. We like the myth better.
The Cabbage Key Inn is a mid-range property offering six quaint rooms and eight cottages on a beautiful, secluded island that is reachable only by boat. The 100-acre island is filled with nature trails and lush flora and fauna, plus an on-site marina. Rooms feature original wood floors and private antique-style bathrooms, and some have fireplaces (though no TVs). Cottages feature fully equipped modern kitchens, separate living rooms and multiple bedrooms, as well as exceptional water views; some have private docks and screened-in porches. Cabbage Key Inn Restaurant and Bar serves tasty American classics and is popular with guests as well as locals and boaters.
Posted on June 15, 2011
By Travel & Leisure Magazine
Posted on June 15, 2011
By The Palm Beach Post
Our staff is standing by to help you book your stay and answer any questions you may have about your relaxing island getaway. (239) 283-2278
