Everglades City Hotels, Motels and Lodging Options: 7 Places to Stay in Florida’s Last Frontier
Everglades City offers 7 main lodging options, including historic lodges, budget motels, waterfront cabins, and suite-style hotels. The town sits at the edge of Everglades National Park in Collier County, Florida. Everglades City is considered the capital city of the Everglades, surrounded by 4 major parks and preserves, including Everglades National Park, Big Cypress Preserve, and Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve. It serves as a base for outdoor activities such as airboat tours, kayaking, fishing charters, and wildlife excursions. For context, see our previous guide on Captain’s Table Lodge and Villas Everglades City – 6 Key Facts and Room Options for Every Traveler.
What Types of Lodging Are Available in Everglades City?
Everglades City lodging falls into 4 main categories: historic lodges, suite hotels, budget motels, and waterfront cabins. Everglades City offers a range of accommodations, from cozy motels to comfortable hotel suites, with convenient access to Everglades adventures and scenic views. Room rates start from approximately $75 per night and reach over $300 per night for waterfront villa-style accommodations. The best areas to stay in Everglades City include Chokoloskee, Plantation Island, and Copeland. Chokoloskee is ideal for fishing enthusiasts, while Plantation Island offers outdoor activities and scenic views.
What Is the Best Historic Hotel in Everglades City?
The Rod and Gun Club is the most historically significant lodging property in Everglades City, operating since the 1880s. It sits on the Barron River at 200 West Broadway and functions as a lodge, restaurant, and marina. The property retains original Victorian-era furniture, pecky cypress woodwork, and over 80-year-old taxidermy. In 1972, it was purchased by the Bowen family, who still own it today. They built 5 cottages with 4 units each for guests.
What Amenities Does the Rod and Gun Club Offer?
The facilities include a large heated and screened pool, tennis and shuffleboard courts, charter fishing boats and local guides, and extensive marina facilities. The cottages provide direct river access. Guests can bring their catch to the on-site restaurant to have it prepared. Room rates start from approximately $100 per night.
What Is the Highest-Rated Hotel in Everglades City?
The Everglades Adventures Hotel Suites by Ivey House holds a guest rating of 9.2 and is the highest-rated accommodation in Everglades City. It is located at 107 Camellia Street East, within a 5-minute drive of Everglades National Park and 0.9 miles from the Museum of the Everglades.
What Does the Everglades Adventures Hotel Suites by Ivey House Include?
The hotel offers 20 accommodations with coffee and tea makers, hair dryers, separate sitting areas, and desks. Kitchenettes include full-sized refrigerators, freezers, microwaves, and dishwashers. King and queen suites feature modern furnishings and decor. Airboat tours with live alligator shows, seasonal kayak tours departing directly from the hotel, and fishing charter bookings are available on-site. The high season at this property runs through March.
What Is the Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel?
The Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel is an eco-friendly property with 18 air-conditioned rooms located at 605 Buckner Avenue North, Everglades City. It is located a 15-minute walk from the Museum of the Everglades and provides canoe and kayak rentals and hosts Everglades tours. An outdoor pool and tropical waterfall are located on the grounds.
What Amenities Are at the Ivey House?
The fully screened-in hotel, including the pool, provides respite from insects. It is a practical base for Everglades excursions with clean, air-conditioned rooms that are well isolated from mosquitoes. Additional amenities include a gift shop, library, patio, picnic area, tennis courts, complimentary newspapers, concierge desk, laundry facilities, and tour assistance. Room rates start from approximately $99 per night, with peak pricing on Sundays.
What Are the Budget Lodging Options in Everglades City?
Everglades City has 2 primary budget lodging properties: the Captain’s Table Hotel and the Everglades City Motel. Both offer free Wi-Fi, free parking, and access to Everglades activity bookings.
What Does the Captain’s Table Hotel Offer?
The Captain’s Table Hotel by Everglades Adventures is a 3-star lakeside hotel located at 202 Broadway Avenue East, Everglades City. It is located one block from Lake Placid and provides access to poolside relaxation, boating, fishing, and Everglades adventure activities.
Room types include standard rooms with 2 full beds, queen rooms with 2 queen beds, economy rooms with 1 full bed and 1 twin bed, upgraded rooms with balconies and kitchenettes, and family suites with full kitchens. The hotel also features an outdoor pool, charcoal barbecue pits, a boat ramp, and free Wi-Fi in the lodge. The property is a 4-minute walk from the Museum of the Everglades and 0.8 miles from the Gulf Coast entrance of Everglades National Park. Room rates start from approximately $75 per night.
What Is the Everglades City Motel?
The Everglades City Motel – Everglades Adventures Inn is a budget motel located at 309 Collier Avenue, Everglades City, Florida. The motel offers free on-site parking and free Wi-Fi and is located near Everglades National Park. It is managed by Everglades Adventures, the same operator that runs the Ivey House properties and the Captain’s Table Hotel. Nightly rates start from approximately $99.
What Waterfront Cabin Lodging Is Available Near Everglades City?
River Wilderness Waterfront Cabins and Villas is the primary waterfront cabin lodging option in Everglades City. Located in Everglades City, River Wilderness Waterfront Cabins offers an outdoor pool and self-catering accommodations with free Wi-Fi. The property holds a 4.5 guest rating, the highest score among Everglades City hotels on Google. Waterfront villas accommodate up to 6 guests, with nightly rates starting from approximately $96 and reaching over $340 during peak season.
Is There a Resort Near Everglades City?
The Port of the Islands Everglades Adventure Resort is located 10 miles from Everglades City and is the nearest resort-style property to the area. The resort offers onsite kayaking, facilities for hiking and biking nearby, and a fish cleaning table, making it an excellent choice for fishing enthusiasts. It caters to both leisure and business travelers.
What Is the Price Range for Hotels in Everglades City?
The following table summarizes the 7 main lodging options in and around Everglades City by type, location, and starting price:
|
Property |
Type |
Starting Rate |
Guest Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rod and Gun Club |
Historic lodge and marina |
$100/night |
4.2/5 |
|
Everglades Adventures Hotel Suites by Ivey House |
Suite hotel |
$92/night |
9.2/10 |
|
Ivey House Everglades Adventures Hotel |
Eco hotel |
$99/night |
8.1/10 |
|
Captain’s Table Hotel |
Budget hotel |
$75/night |
3-star |
|
Everglades City Motel |
Budget motel |
$99/night |
4.1/5 |
|
River Wilderness Waterfront Cabins |
Waterfront cabins |
$96/night |
4.5/5 |
|
Port of the Islands Resort |
Resort |
$54/night |
3.9/5 |
When Is the Best Time to Book Hotels in Everglades City?
The best time to book hotels in Everglades City is between December and March. January to March are the peak months to visit Everglades City, with sunny weather and no rainfall. Everglades City experiences its lowest average temperature in January at 65.7 degrees Fahrenheit, while August is the hottest month at an average of 84 degrees Fahrenheit. Budget travelers find the lowest rates between June and August, as mosquito activity increases and visitor numbers decrease.
The 4 factors that determine room pricing in Everglades City include:
- Season – December to April commands the highest rates
- Day of the week – weekends cost more than weekdays across all properties
- Proximity to the water – waterfront cabins price above inland motels
- Property type – historic lodges and suite hotels price above budget motels
What Should Visitors Know Before Booking Lodging in Everglades City?
Everglades City is a small town with a permanent population of approximately 400 residents. Accommodation options are limited in number compared to larger Florida cities such as Naples and Miami. Miami International Airport is 69 miles from Everglades City, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is 78 miles away. Visitors traveling between December and April benefit from booking accommodations at least 4 to 6 weeks in advance to secure preferred properties during peak season.
Donald Reeves writes about Everglades City the way the place deserves to be written about: without the brochure language, without the manufactured wonder, and without pretending that a town of 400 people sitting at the edge of a swamp is something it is not.
He has spent considerable time in Collier County’s oldest settlement, arriving during stone crab season when the waterfront smells of brine and work, and returning in the off-season when the tourists are gone and the town goes quiet in the particular way that only genuinely remote places can. He has paddled the mangrove tunnels of the Ten Thousand Islands, eaten at places with no hours posted on the door, and spoken at length with fishing guides who navigate these waters by memory rather than chart.
His writing on Everglades City FL covers everything from tidal fishing conditions and kayak trails to lodging, local history, and the complex past that most Florida travel content carefully avoids.
He writes to give readers the honest version.