Family stayed at the RI about two weeks ago for 5 days. The property itself is nice, direct beach access, ocean views, close to the airport but there is not much close by (the hotel has a food truck and a 2nd floor bar/restaurant). The nearest real grocery store is about 1 mile away. (a Walmart), 1/4 mile to a McDonalds and a waffle house but not much else around outside of hotels restaurants. (There might have been a small cafe across the street but it was not open when we went by) Bus route has been moved from Ocean BLVD to SR 17and ran once a hour. So we felt a little isolated without a car. If you are driving in or plan to rent a car it should be fine. Uber/Lyft was very much a hit or miss with a fair amount of 25+ minute waits since we needed to use XL (4 people). Later in our stay we moved up to North MB and stayed at the Hilton Resort. There was a lot more around there than the RI. I haven't stayed at the GD so I can't speak to that. We wouldn't be against staying at RI again if we had a vehicle.