The Port of the Islands Resort is located in a beautiful area of the Everglades, and we had a great time exploring the Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge and going out in Captain Storm's boat to see manatees and alligators (Manatee Sightseeing and Wildlife Adventures). The main building is a beautiful example of old Florida architecture, but the inside needs updating. We tried to spend as little time as possible in our room. While it was quite clean, everything in the room needed to be updated, replaced, or repaired. It smelled musty, and had almost no natural light; the lanai outside the doors block most of the light. Bathroom tiles were broken. Bed skirts were shabby and too long, dragging on the floor. Towels were mismatched. When we arranged this rental, we had no idea that it was a unit in a row of shabby motel-like rooms. (The photo looks great - very misleading photography.) The pool was lovely, but the pool deck furniture was moldy.
Our check-in time was 3:00, but we had to wait an hour for the cleaning to be finished. The front desk worker was friendly and helpful, but it seems that the resort is very understaffed.