Review of Suntide II Unit 301 October 2025
We have stayed at…read morethis condo before and always enjoyed it. It is a beautiful, well-appointed condo with great views. In fact, we have stayed at Suntide II many times in different condos, and always enjoyed our stay. We always come in the off season as the pricing and weather is nicer. We always rent the largest condo available as we have 13 in our family and 9 or 10 of us usually stay at Suntide II.
But this time, there were several issues which really disappointed us. These involved poor communication, lack of accessibility, and a ridiculous parking policy.
LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY: I am mobility impaired. I use a cane or a walker. My disability was worsened since we last stayed, about 2 years ago. I realized on this trip; there are only 2 disabled parking spots for the entire building. And they were almost always in use. Which severely limited my ability to drive myself as I was not able to traverse the steep driveway on foot. In addition, the entrance to the pool area is inaccessible as well. The steps are too steep and there is no other entrance. Therefore, I was unable to accompany my grandchildren to the pool, or my husband to the hot tub, or just use the loungers to read. The beach is also not accessible from this complex, but is from the public beach access points nearby.
A RIDICULOUS PARKING POLICY: They always say 1 vehicle per condo, but every time I have come, they have given us 2 parking passes, as the parking lot is never full when we are there. This year we brought 6 adults and 4 children in 3 vehicles. One family with an older child parked on the street. My vehicle was parked as near the entrance as we could find. And my daughter who had a baby and another young child parked off to the side in the parking lot but not near the entrance. I stopped by the onsite office several times to get another parking permit, as I have done in the past, but there was never anyone there.
They towed my daughter's car in the middle of the night on the 3rd night without notice. Yes, there were towing signs, which have always been there and never enforced during any of my previous stays. However, the parking lot was over half empty when they towed her car. Towing a car with a baby seat in the night (ensures they get at least one night storage fee) from a half full lot is a money grabbing scheme which severely impacts my desire to ever stay here again. It cost $275 to retrieve the car.
As a result of getting towed, my granddaughter missed being a flower girl at a wedding they were to attend in McAllen, because the towing yard would not open up in time for them to arrive on time.
POOR COMMUNICATION & LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY: This is a VRBO listing, but the contract for rental is with Padre Island Rentals. They sent lots of emails including more than one with check in instructions. The first one I received regarding check in said to go to their office to check in, before going to the condo. I thought that was strange as other rental companies gave us a code to the door for self-check-in. But I followed instructions.
That's when I found out that Padre Island Rentals office is not accessible. There are many steps to enter the door. I did manage to find a ramp at the end of the building. It was narrow with no rails, and nothing to prevent you from falling off the side of the ramp. After I got inside, I told them I was there to check in, I was told quite rudely that I was not supposed to come there, to just use the code. I replied there was no door code in the email, and it would have been nice to know that before trying to access their building. Again, rudely they said I didn't need to be there, to find the email with the code. It turns out, there was a subsequent email which had been sent with conflicting check-in info, but I had not read it yet.
Also, when I called PI rentals the day after my daughter's car was towed, to explain what happened and ask if they would issue a parking pass for her, they rudely said "one pass per unit no exceptions" and slammed down the phone.
DISAPPOINTMENT: We come to the island almost every year for a week with a large group of friends and family. We rent condos or houses at several locations and all meet up on the beach, at the clubs and restaurants. We go fishing and buy fancy coffees, jewelry and clothing. My family lived in Port Isabel for many years. Coming to South Padre has always felt like coming home to me. But it doesn't feel so welcoming now. We are all going to Port Aransas next year. I don't know if I'll ever be back. But if I do come to South Padre, we will not stay at Suntide II and we will not rent through Padre Island Rentals.