So I decided to book a room here back in January, 2022 in anticipation of this year's Mardi Gras. I paid a $40 deposit, which was fine and the gentleman who helped me even showed me the room I'd be staying in.
This past weekend (2/25-27/22) I checked in and was charged the remaining balance; I'll come back to that in a minute. I'm giving my room key and head to the room. Upon entering the room, I notice the room is clean and has plenty of lighting. I go to unpack my stuff and inspect the room more closely. First problem, I notice that the towels have stains on them, which is crazy. Then I check out the coffee and condiments, the sweetener packets are hard as rocks, and the individual creamers when opened look like they have been sitting there awhile. Additionally, when inspect the bathroom it's mostly clean but there are long strands of someone's hair on the shower wall, GROSS!
The bed was somewhat comfortable and the room did come with a mini fridge (empty and clean), and a microwave. The TV seemed to function properly but had these lines on the screen, making me think thst perhaps the screen was failing. I failed, btw to mention any of these problems to the guy that checked me out on Sunday, so that's on me; but if he is worth anything he checks out these reviews and will see the areas he needs to improve upon.
Also, the room didn't have a phone, which in today's world might seem ok I guess, but what do you do for the occasional guest that might not have a cell phone? They do exist, so ya. The room did have a chair to sit in, even though it was the cheapest fold-out chair I've ever seen.
So now we get to the check out process, which was super easy. But, I had reviewed my bank account the night before and realized I had been overcharged for the room. A little back story... so when I had reserved the room back in January, the gentleman that had helped me quoted me 2 rates, $109 for the "old rooms", (his words, not mine...), and $119 for the "newly renovated rooms". I picked the older room, and it should be noted that all the rooms and had been renovated but there was a new section and an old section. Anyway I pointed out to the owner that he had charged me for the new room rate and not the old one. After a little back and forth, he did refund the difference.
Bottom line, there aren't that many options for visitors who can't afford to rent a beach house or don't have an RV to stay at in Crystal Beach. Perhaps this will change soon, I sure hope so. This place was mediocre at BEST; and what's scary is that the other hotel in the area is apparently a glorified roach motel, so disappointing. Maybe the guy who owns and runs this place can stop being such a cheapskate send use some of his inflated room rate money and buy some CLEAN towels, buy some decent chairs for the rooms, get some FRESH coffee packets and condiments, and hire some qualified cleaning staff. For my money, I'll just either rent an RV in the area next time, or stay at a good hotel in Galveston and take the ferry over each day. read more