Newsletters

October 2008 - Save our Sign

 

The Outrigger Beach Resort

Help Save Our Sign!
Contact Us
6200 Estero Blvd
Fort Myers Beach,
Florida 33931
800-655-8997
Dear Friends,
Outrigger Sign 
We need your help!  In order to save our beloved Outrigger sign we need to hear from the people who look for it when they drive into Fort Myers Beach!  Richard Murphy, our managing director, is putting together a presentation for the Town of Fort Myers Beach.  Would you help us by sending an email stating what seeing our sign means to you, a photo with you and your family in front of our sign or just a simple encouragement to save a piece of our 40 year history?

Check for rates here!22nd American Sandsculpting Competition

Karen Fralich - A kitten without her mittens 
The Event of the Year on Fort Myers Beach
November 5 - 9, 2009
There will be over 30 artists creating magnificent sculptures on our beach. You don't want to miss this incredible event.  Rooms are available!

 
Save 40%
Remember we are having a celebrate our 40th birthday party this December 1 - 24, 2008.  We are calling for all sidewalk superintendants to help us oversee the renewal of our parking areas.  Blacktop will be gone and beautiful brick pavers will appear.  In addition our beloved deck will be expanded at the same time.  Don't miss the fun and excitement this December.

July 2008

 

The Outrigger Beach Resort
Resort Beach Front
Palm Tree
Fall Activities and Events
 
July 31 - Sep 20, 2008               Disney's High School Musical                Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre 
 
Aug 14 - Oct 13, 2008 
Clyde Butch Retrospect                         SW FL Museum of History
 
Sep 25 - Nov 15, 2008
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas     Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
 
Oct 11 - 12, 2008
Pirate Festival                                       Fort Myers Beach
 
Oct 17 - 19 & 24 - 26, 2008       Oktoberfest                                           German-American Club - Cape Coral
 
Oct 18 - 19, 2008
Jazz on the Green
Estero Community Park
 
Oct 19 - 26, 2008
Ding Darling Days                                 Sanibel Island
 
Oct 25 - Nov 2, 2008
Calusa Blueway Paddling Festival          Lee County & Matlacha
 
Nov 5 - 9, 2008                         American Sandsculpting Championship   Outrigger!
 
Nov 13 - 16, 2008
Fort Myers Boatshow                            Ft Myers Pier
 
Nov 20 - Dec 27, 2008
Irving Berlin's White Christmas              Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre

Celebrate our Anniversary!
December 1 to 25, 2008
Call 1 800 648 2283
to request your 40%
discounted rate.
Happy 40th Anniversary to us!
  Who would have thought that when the Outrigger Beach Resort opened their door forty years ago, the same owners would be, the same owners!  It is a rare bird on Fort Myers Beach to have a single entity owning a resort property, much less have the same gentlemen along with their children, guiding us into the future. We have been very lucky indeed.
 
            Early this summer I had an opportunity to talk with a family who has been coming for 40 years.  Roger Ash with his brother in law, Russ Moses sat down with me and talked about the early days.
 
Roger came with his family, which included Mom, Dad, and two sisters, while originally from Connecticut they moved to the sunshine state in 1965.  The Ash family would visit the Outrigger Beach Resort after school would end.  A true Florida family!  Some of Roger's early memories include falling through the Plexiglas pool fence and running from the maintenance man, I guess at that time, sitting on top of the fence and doing gymnastics wasn't in the rule book!  Another childhood prank that Roger and his summer buddies would do was to catch the starfish out of the Gulf of Mexico and throw them on top of the office building.  Now, while that still is against all the rules, we just had some 10-year-old boys doing the same thing this past month.  Can you imagine children will be children whether it was 1968 or 2008!
 
Roger and his sisters were the calm ones of his family.  It seems that his parents were the pranksters.  They specialized decorating the cars of honeymooners and filling shoes sitting outside of rooms with seaweed and beer bottles.  I just wonder how seaweed feels on leather!  Roger has grown up and has brought his family to the Outrigger every year at least once a year.  His wife Robbin, along with his children Khrystyne, Nicole, and Jonathon have enjoyed the changes in the Outrigger, especially the tiki's on the deck and the elevator.  Roger's brother in law; Russ, was introduced to the Outrigger by his wife Patricia.  Russ and Patricia where faithful club members as well until Patricia passed away.  Russ was a lucky man and found a new bride who would share his love of the Outrigger.  He even brought her here for their honeymoon!  Laura, the blushing bride, and Russ said thank you for the welcome bottle of champagne although Russ mentioned the timing was not quite right when it was delivered to their room!  We are just so pleased to have the Ash and Moses family among our Club members.
 
Does anyone else remember the early days of the Outrigger?  The days before the Rancho del Mar was razed for the Beachfront building, the days before the sundeck and the tiki bar?  We are looking for pictures of the Outrigger sign that shows the gas torches lit and we are offering a complimentary two-night stay for anyone who can provide a photo of the sign with the gas torches. 
 
            To celebrate our anniversary we are having lots of fun celebrating.  We have fabulous rates for 40th birthday parties, 40th anniversary vow renewals, and family reunions with 40 rooms.  Its all about being 40.  We might have a few wrinkles; we do have a lot of character!  We would love to post any early memories as well as photos up on our web site so please send them to me at dos@outriggerfmb.com or to the property attention:  Jeanne.  We hope that you will share this special year with us along with the many years ahead.
 
Sidewalk Superintendents Needed!
We are looking for you!  The Outrigger Beach Resort is thrilled to announce that starting December 1st, 2008 we will be changing out our parking lot from the tired old blacktop to foot friendly pavers.
 
We can only imagine how many of our guests will truly appreciate not burning their bare feet as they hop across the parking lot to their room.  The housekeeping staff is looking forward to not having to clean that yucky blacktop off the carpets every week!  Nick Miller from the paver crew is thrilled to 'get er done' and the rest of us, well we are happy that we can provide you some entertainment during your stay.
 
            The best part of the project?  40% off room rates from December 1 to December 25, 2008.  While there might be some noise during this changeover, we are pretty darn sure that you are not going to hear it while you are on the cushioned cabanas at the waterfront. 
 
Can you think of a better reason to spend a few days on the beach than 77° and a 40% discount?   Don't worry about sending us your resume, just your love of the Outrigger will put you on the sidewalk superintendent list.
 
 
Click Here! To learn more about the Outrigger Beach Resort!
Easter Bunnies, Egg Hunts, Jelly Beans and Sunny Breaks!
March 2008
Jelly Beans and Sandy Easter Basket 
The sun is shining, the sand is warm, and Spring is finally here!  Enjoy a little bit of our famous sunshine next month and inquire about our Sunny Break Special.  All you need to do is contact one of our resort specialists and ask for your Sunny Break discount.  This special is valid from April 16 - 29, 2008.  A perfect time to be on Fort Myers Beach, the weather is great and the lines are gone.  Call us at 1 800 658 9989 today to lock in your Sunny Break discount.
Thank you to Michel and Charlotte Lepire for our Sandy Easter Basket.  Michel is last year's winner of the American Sandsculpting Championship.  Mark your calendar, this year's event starts on November 5th!  See you on the sand.

Snowing in your neck of the woods?

Are the fall colors coming out in your backyard?  Are the nights getting just a bit nippy and you have put on the extra blanket at night?  Have you given up your swimsuit because of the water temperatures at the lake?  Do the stores only have wool clothing?

 

It is time to make your reservation for the sunshine and the warm sandy beach!  We are waiting for you and your swimsuit!

 

Call us today at 800 749 3131 for our fall specials or visit us at www.outriggerfmb.com and make your reservations on line.

3 Year + Club Luncheon

 

            Each year, the Owners of the Outrigger Beach Resort host one heck of a party for the Employee Y3P Club.   Dianne Major, our beloved General Manager, spends weeks planning this special party – making sure that every minute is a surprise and delight for her staff.  The fiesta started with sombrero’s and ended with our favorite part of the day – dessert. We were met by a Mariachi band that serenaded us into our Trolley and all the way to Cantina Laredo at the Bell Tower Mall.  The Y3P Club has 30 members - 45% of the Outrigger staff.  Does your favorite staff member belong to the Club?

 

 

August 2007

An easy way to travel?

 

All of us understand the current challenges to travel within and outside of the United States.  Gone are the days of first class service regardless of your seat location.  If you are lucky enough to travel, you should be lucky enough right?  However getting to Fort Myers has never been easier with the numerous non stop flights from locations such as Chicago, New York, Boston, Denver and yes, even Dusseldorf, Germany.  But what happens when you arrive in to our brand new state of the art airport terminal?  How does one get to the Outrigger Beach Resort?  You have reached the sun-drenched stay and it is definitely time for your first Mango Daiquiri.  Your toes are ready to dangle in that incredibly soft white sand.  Lets get there quickly!

 

You have choices on your transportation to the Outrigger Beach Resort.

 

            Rental Car – with the new terminal at RSW/Fort Myers the rental car offices are just outside the terminal.  No longer do you have to lug your suitcases into the rental car bus and stand in yet another line.  In fact the car rental agencies are doing their best to eliminate lines.  Pre-book your car rental right here on the Outrigger web site.  Just click on reservations and look for the car rental link.  The rental car counters are located on the ground level just outside the baggage claim.

 

            Taxis and Airport Shuttles – The taxi service from the airport has gone up in price to just about $50 one-way for three people.  A bit pricey, but the convenience is undeniable.  And to be honest, why do you need a car, when the Fort Myers Beach Trollee will take you anywhere on the beach you want to go.  Just go out the terminal doors and visit with the transportation agents to have them find you the best service to the beach.

 

            Lee Tran Bus Service – For years I have heard about the service from the airport to the beach on our local bus service.  I thought why would I want to do that?  But, I kept hearing about our more enterprising guests, that it was simple and cheap!  Under $2 per person?  Wow – under $2.00, I had to try it.  As an experiment I joined our local newspaper tourism columnist, Laura Ruane, for a day at the beach.  We met at RSW/Fort Myers airport at around 11:00 (we have a lot of arriving flights at that time) to start the journey.  The Lee Tran bus picks up at the airport right out in front of the LTU/Air Tran doorway at baggage level.  Our bus was to leave at 10:50 and at 10:52 I was getting nervous, but there it was.  We promptly paid our $1.00 and settled into our seats.  This isn’t a luxury motor coach by any means; it is a purely functional way of transporting people and luggage.  The route we followed was Route 50 where we stopped at Bell Tower, Winkler and Summerlin Roads, Health Park Hospital and finally to Summerlin Square.  We arrived at Summerlin Square at 11:50.  Just an hour after departing the airport.  We then boarded the Lee Tran Beach Trollee Express to the beach.  We were joined with many beach goers loaded with beach bags and water toys.  At that point,  I was wishing that we were at the tiki bar, but patience is not one of my strongest virtues!    Now you must understand this was Easter week.  What was I thinking…trying this experiment at the peak tourism period for Fort Myers Beach?  But how much fun did we have, people watching during our ride.  The Summerlin Square trollee promptly dropped us off in front of the 7-11 store just off Times Square where we waited about 10 minutes for a beach trollee.  A perfect amount of time to grab a cold bottle of water.  The beach trollee came by; we moved our luggage in, grabbed a seat and enjoyed the beautiful views of Fort Myers Beach as our trollee mustered south towards our final destination. 

 

The time flew by as we traveled down Estero Boulevard, and then we arrived at the Outrigger Beach Resort.  The Lee Tran bus wasn’t as convenient as a taxi, it took us 2 hours to the minute from the airport to the Outrigger, but it only cost us $2.00 and 2 hours and 10 minutes later we had a Mango Daiquiri and a Cheeseburger in front of us.

 

We figured with the savings, our guests would have an extra $50 to spend on something fun, like a dolphin tour, a cushioned cabana or a beautiful dinner at Charley’s.  Visit Leetran.com to get the current bus schedule and enjoy that dinner at Charley’s Boathouse Grill.  If you give it a try, post your experience on our blog, we would love to hear about it!

Artistry in the Sand - November 7 - 11, 2007

 

For our guests that enjoy this incredible event each year we ask – What will the artists create this year?  For those guests who haven’t had the opportunity to see the magnificent artwork in the sand – this is the year!  The chamber of commerce staff assures us that it is going to be the best event ever.   Make your reservations early, rooms are booking fast.