The Gator Den0

The location is totally accessible (within 3-10min drive) to various options for manatee tours, snorkeling, fishing, kayaking, paddle boarding, etc. For it being a smaller motel, the rooms appear to have been recently updated, nicely furnished and VERY clean. All rooms are ground floor with a reserved free parking space right in front of each room door. Motel office staff was cordial, and the restaurant on premises has excellent calamari and awesome pineapple cider! I would definitely recommend The Gator Den for your stay in Florida’s Adventure Coast.

Only two small complaints: the street signage needs to be updated to say The Gator Den (it still reads’s Angler’s Resort Motel/Blue Gator and we past it the first time). We booked our room knowing it had two full beds which were comfortable (nice pillows too!) but the box spring was really noisy on both beds … enough to sometimes wake us up when we turned in bed. Didn’t prevent us from having a good night’s sleep though.

We wanted to visit "old Florida" and this was a great location for that purpose. Many people use this hotel for boating and fishing trips but that wasn't our purpose. The property sits right up to the road so no fancy entrance onto the property. The rooms are very clean and comfortable and newly remodeled. Very nice. And the Tiki restaurant just steps away has wonderful steamed fresh gulf shrimp! Yum!! Rainbow Springs state park is just a few miles north and very beautiful, even has a waterfall and are for swimming.

We arrived late so the management called and asked if we were still coming. When we told him we'd be late, he said that they would leave the key for us and to call if there were any issues. (Issues are handled by the restaurant after hours.) Ice was plentiful, room was clean (recently remodeled), and they placed a cone in your parking spot so that others don't take it. Great place to stay!

Only issue we had was a small issue with the microwave which was fixed quickly.

Walking distance to the restaurant on each side. Boat ramp right across the road. Super Service clean comfortable bed

Loved that the floors were tile, but they were still dirty. We had to wear our shoes in the room to keep from having black bottom feet. And the construction was an inconvenience but that's not something you could help

The room was very clean and the air conditioner worked wonderfully. The coffee machine was easy to use and had real creamer. Beyond that, they provided dove soap alongside their own brand of hotel essentials. The parking spot was just outside the room, and within easy walking distance of their restaurant and boats.

great little motel, owner was awesome, redecorated rooms with no odors, located on main drag at the river. Fun to not use chain hotels or older cheap motels. Neighbors in other rooms were friendly and chatted. The Blue Gator tavern is popular and parking is reserved for your room. Great food but don’t be in a hurry. Has lots of little rental boats if you want to cruise the Rainbow River. Also is on main n/s road thru Dunnellon so several shops and eateries are walking distance. Very good visit and would recommend or stay here again.

An outside seat in front of room would be great. Since older rooms, they did not have an abundance of power outlets.

They did a great job on refreshing these rooms! This is one of those "don't judge a book by it's cover" places. From the outside, we thought Oh no but it was great! You can park right in front of your room. Beds were comfy, bathroom towels were great. The Blue Gator Restaurant was fantastic!

Shower pressure left a little to be desired and wifi wasn't the greatest. We also didn't care for the pillows - way too fluffy for us.

We liked the food at the restaurant next door. Plus the free ice. And the remodeling of the rooms. Our bed smelt very clean. Close to the springs which we love going to.

The construction on the roads was noisy when we were trying to sleep in. And the bed was a bit hard, not use to that. Also the shower in our room didn't get good hot water temperatures.

The location was great and we liked the adjacent restaurant. We were able to check in a bit early, which we appreciated so we don't have to drive around with our luggage. The staff was great. Our room was very clean.

Our room had a super strong chlorine odor. Most likely from the cleaning product they use. The furnishings seemed a bit random.

Great location! Kudos to housekeeping, the room was so clean-thank you!

The outdoor lights streamed in through the curtains. They were more decorative than functional, adding blinds would make huge difference in privacy and light control. Also, an outdoor public space with seating for hotel guests would be wonderful!