Blue Dolphin Sanibel

11/28/2025

Grateful for the simple moments—sunlight, shoreline, and the promise of what’s to come.

Wishing you a warmth and ease this holiday weekend from Blue Dolphin. 🕊️🌊

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11/21/2025

The Blue Dolphin has always been part of Sanibel’s story. 🌊

Rooted in decades of welcoming travelers to our shores, we’re beginning a new chapter, thoughtfully refreshed yet true to the soul of this island.

What’s next? A renewed Blue Dolphin experience inspired by nature, timeless simplicity, and the rhythm of the sea.

Estimated to open in 2027, the Blue Dolphin will honor its Sanibel roots while embracing a renewed spirit of comfort and connection. ✨

This is only the beginning, and we can’t wait to share more with you.

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07/15/2025

Blue Dolphin Rebuild – 7.15.25 UPDATE: Work continues on the Blue Dolphin rebuild. It has, admittedly, been a slower process than we anticipated – but we are making progress. The team is currently navigating through comments that the city has for our plans. We will update again as soon as we have more concrete dates in hand.

One transition note we did want to share with you: Our former General Manager Charlene has taken a position running another property — so, moving forward, business inquiries should not be made directly to her.

However, you can still contact our team directly with any questions at [email protected] or 239-472-1600.

Thank you!

Blue Dolphin Rebuild - 7.15.25 UPDATE: Work continues on the Blue Dolphin rebuild. It has, admittedly, been a slower process than we anticipated - but we are making progress. The team is currently navigating through comments that the city has for our plans. We will update again as soon as we have mo...

05/19/2024

Lots of new sand on the beach at the Blue Dolphin as a result of the recent Sanibel Beach Renourishment Project.

We are still working daily (and tirelessly) on the Blue Dolphin rebuild - and hope to have some significant updates we can share with you soon. Thank you so much for your patience!

Stay tuned!

02/18/2024

Our team at the Blue Dolphin on Sanibel Island just wanted to quickly check in with everyone to let you know we’re still diligently working on our post-Hurricane rebuild -- PLUS to share some video we took on our shell-strewn stretch of beach just a few days ago!

Click below to see more...

Our team at the Blue Dolphin on Sanibel Island just wanted to quickly check in with everyone to let you know we're still diligently working on our post-Hurricane rebuild. We are making significant progress behind the scenes and hope to have more to share with all of you very soon. Here (below) is so...

12/24/2023

Dear Friends, Family, and Guests,

On this beautiful Christmas Eve, we want to take a moment to extend our warmest wishes to each of you. Your presence and support have been the heart of the Blue Dolphin, and we genuinely appreciate the joy you bring to our establishment.

As we eagerly anticipate the promise of a new year, we look forward to great progress and creating memorable moments. Your enthusiasm and encouragement have truly fueled our journey, and we couldn't be more thankful.

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful holiday season and a New Year filled with prosperity and happiness. Here's to a fantastic 2024! 🥂

With heartfelt gratitude,
The Blue Dolphin Sanibel Team

11/21/2023

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, all of us on The Blue Dolphin team are thrilled to give you, our friends and valued guests, an exclusive peek into the incredible strides we've been making since Hurricane Ian left its mark on our beloved Sanibel Island.

We know how many of you treasure the vivid and enduring memories you hold of time spent at the Blue Dolphin. We are honored that the responsibility of ushering this iconic (circa 1958) property through its post Hurricane Ian evolution has fallen to us. Navigating this transition is a passion, towards which we are mindfully allocating our best efforts and a significant depth of resources. Your support fuels our determination

CLICK BELOW TO LEARN MORE AND SEE OUR CURRENT RENDERINGS OF WHAT THE NEWLY-REBUILT BLUE DOLPHIN WILL LOOK LIKE…

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, all of us on the Blue Dolphin team are thrilled to give you, our friends and valued guests, an exclusive peek into the incredible rebuild strides we've been making since Hurricane Ian left its mark on our beloved Sanibel Island. We know how many of you trea...

09/29/2023

On this one year remembrance of the landfall of the big storm, we thought you'd all appreciate seeing this Sanibel Art Colony digital exhibition of art inspired by the impact of Hurricane Ian on Southwest Florida.

"From the chaos of Hurricane Ian, and through the continuing recovery process, many stories of resilience, unity, and unwavering hope have emerged."

Click below to see the art...

27 September 2023 — 27 November 2023 ART INSPIRED BY THE IMPACT OF HURRICANE IAN ON SOUTHWEST FLORIDA There's Calm In Your Eye A DIGITAL EXHIBITION BY SANIBEL ART COLONY SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE ART 27 September 2023 — 27

09/28/2023

9.28.23 UPDATE and VIDEO: One Year Since the Landfall of Hurricane Ian:

It was one year ago today that Hurricane Ian changed the normal course of events across Southwest Florida, on Sanibel Island, and at the Blue Dolphin.

We've shared much of the story of those days since the storm with you, but this is the first time we're sharing a video of what the days leading up to the storm looked like PLUS our first trip back to Sanibel after Hurricane Ian to see with our own eyes what had happened to the Blue Dolphin.

This is video from before the Sanibel Causeway was repaired. It was immediately after the National Guard and Sanibel City Officials finished their initial rescue operations and allowed residents and business owners to travel back to the island by boat.

We will mention up front, for all of you who cherish our Blue Dolphin property and hold deeply meaningful memories of time spent at our landmark lodging destination that this is going to be a tough video for you to watch. It's tough for us, even today.

THE GOOD NEWS: We did end the video with some of the photo memories many of our guests have been sharing with us over the past year. If you have any memories you'd like to share with us, or old ads/pamphlets/postcards/etc, we'd absolutely LOVE to see them. Reach out to [email protected].

We still find it necessary to say, even through all that we endured, we count ourselves fortunate. Many in our communities lost a lot. Some lost even more. Homes. Jobs. Loved ones. Our thoughts are with all of them.

Our entire team at the Blue Dolphin, cheered on by all of you -- the most amazing and loyal guests we could have ever hoped to have by our side – goes to passionate work every day, pushing the Blue Dolphin rebuild process forward in the many of thousands of various ways necessary to bring this property back to vibrant life. And, though it is often slower than we like, we are making progress commensurate with all of the other similarly impacted businesses on Sanibel Island. For that, we are proud.

Many of you have already met Charlene M. Taubert, the GM of the Blue Dolphin who took over management of the property in May of 2022, shortly after the property changed hands. Charlene is a seasoned hospitality professional, with over 20 years experience in running well-regarded properties in cherished destination communities, and her timeless and unobtrusive approach to accommodations and guest relations will serve as the perfect backdrop for beach memories, creative retreats, special moments, and well-deserved romantic getaways by the Gulf of Mexico as soon as we are able to rebuild and reopen.

We firmly have our eyes set on a very bright future, while continuing to honor the past. We look forward to opening a whole new chapter for the Blue Dolphin.

Thank you for all of your messages of hope and encouragement. They mean more than you'll ever know.

For any among you who didn't see our last recent update, you can read more about our progress here: bluedolphinsanibel.com/8-31-23-update-blue-dolphin-rebuilding-journey

CLICK THROUGH TO SEE A VIDEO FROM LAST YEAR, AFTER HURRICANE IAN HIT SANIBEL ISLAND. THIS IS HOW OUR REBUILD JOURNEY BEGAN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYRQWmU2ZEU9/28/23

One year ago, Hurricane Ian peaked as a Category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 160 mph early on September 28, 2022 while progressing towards the west c...

09/18/2023

Indeed! We are hard at work every day taking the steps to bring the next chapter of the Blue Dolphin back to its stunning location on Sanibel Island!

Beautiful photo, Christopher "Kitt" Toomey! Thanks for sharing!

“Every monochrome picture has a silver lining…”
Billowing cumulonimbus clouds backdrop the Sanibel beachfront where the Blue Dolphin Cottages stood for 64 years. Hurricane Ian swept the cottages away, but the beauty of the spot remains (from what I’ve heard, plans are underway for a new version of the iconic Blue Dolphin to rise again).

08/31/2023

8.31.23 UPDATE: Blue Dolphin Rebuilding Journey

Thanks to all of you who have recently reached out to tell us you've been thinking about The Blue Dolphin!

Some of you have asked how we fared as Hurricane Idalia brushed by Sanibel. We're happy to report that we are all well and the impact to our island community was minimal.

Many others have checked in with us to ask how the Blue Dolphin rebuild is coming along:

We're happy to inform everyone that we'll have additional updates on our rebuild journey to share with you soon. Progress is being made every day against the process of completely rebuilding a circa 1958 property (located in what has since been zoned a residential neighborhood) to new (and very different) building codes and design/resilience standards.

As everyone going through similar circumstances on Sanibel is experiencing, the multiple rounds civil engineering / surveying / architecture / permitting / bidding all run on their own independent timelines. We're doing the only things we can do to push through it. Answer every email and phone call. Attend every meeting. Respond to every question. Hire every professional we need to help us. Push for every answer. Make every necessary decision. Continue to put one foot in front of the other every single day.

We are very close to being able to share some detailed renderings of what the newly-rebuilt Blue Dolphin will look like - and we definitely will, just as soon as we have received all final approvals.

We have been asked if the rebuilt Blue Dolphin will look the same as it did in the past. The truth is, rebuilding ground-level beach cottages is not something that is possible given Sanibel's updated building codes. We have had to change the form factor, as everyone will see when we are able to share an approved set of renderings.

What we can currently share is that Blue Dolphin guests will be able to expect a relaxing tropical hideaway, with an emphasis on amazing beachfront views. Our timeless and unobtrusive approach to hospitality will serve as the perfect backdrop for beach memories, creative retreats, special moments, and well-deserved romantic getaways by the Gulf of Mexico.

We are also excited to share the upcoming construction process with you in very visual ways - with lots of photos and videos!

Things are looking very positive for the future of the Blue Dolphin and we're happy to have you with us as we continue along this journey! We can't wait to welcome you back to our secluded hideaway on a pristine stretch of Sanibel coastline!

And in the meantime - we thought all of our extended Blue Dolphin family might also be interested in the pink flamingos that found their way to Sanibel Causeway yesterday morning, so we're also including a video on our website (from our good friends at Sanibel Barometer) about this unexpected (and completely delightful) wildlife occurrence on Sanibel! Click through below to view it!

(Featured photo by Jennifer Sparks, courtesy Barometer Media)

Thanks to all of you who have recently reached out to tell us you've been thinking about The Blue Dolphin! Some of you have asked how we fared as Hurricane Idalia brushed by Sanibel. We're happy to report that we are all well and the impact to our island community was minimal. Many others have check...

07/13/2023

7.13.23 UPDATE: Blue Dolphin Sanibel Rebuilding Journey

As we continue to navigate the many plans, meetings, decisions, and paperwork of our rebuilding journey, we just wanted to check in with a quick update.

We are happy to announce that, even though we still have lots of work ahead of us to get the Blue Dolphin rebuilt, we were still able to welcome back some of our most important VIP guests to this magical property: THE SEA TURTLES!

Below, we've included some video of the sea turtle nest on the beach at The Blue Dolphin that our friends at SCCF are diligently watching over!

SCCF has also informed us that this has been a record breaking year for the sea turtles on Sanibel and Captiva! Presently 1,078 sea turtle nests have been laid and 4,244 hatchlings have emerged. Sanibel has had 789 loggerhead nests and 15 green sea turtle nests, while Captiva has had 267 loggerhead nests and 1 green sea turtle nest.

Two new records have been set: Total loggerhead nests on Sanibel, and total loggerhead nests on Captiva.

QUESTION: Have any of you had the incredible opportunity to witness the beauty and grace of a sea turtle in person? 🐢

Leave a comment below to share your stories, encounters, and memorable moments with these majestic creatures. 🌟💙🌊

And stay tuned for more Blue Dolphin Rebuilding Journey updates!