USA RV Resorts Marina Bay — Attraction in Seabrook

My family of three relocated from San Antonio to Houston this summer when I separated from the Air Force after 12 years of active-duty service. My wife grew up in the Houston bay area, and we were both excited to start new careers and raise our 1 year-old daughter near her extended family. My wife is a high school teacher and I'm a member of the Texas Air National Guard. Since our new-construction home would not be completed before the start of the school year, we were happy to find a furnished, 2-bedroom cabin at Marina Bay RV Resort and planned on living there until our new home was completed. Then Hurricane Harvey hit. We packed our suitcases and evacuated the coast on Friday, August 25th. Over the next few days, we watched the natural disaster unfold on the Weather Channel and through our hotel window in The Woodlands, TX. I called Marina Bay on Wednesday, August 30th to find out if the property had sustained damage and if the surrounding roads had re-opened. The property was damage-free, the manager told me, but its pricing structure had changed.

Instead of the $1445 monthly rate that we had been paying, the cabin would now cost $165 per night. So, effective immediately, the average nightly rate more-than-tripled from $51.61/night ($1445 every 28 days) to $165/night ($4950/month). No advance notice. No grace period. No exceptions. And at $5000/month, we were priced-out of the cabin that we had occupied since early July.

Completion of our new home has been delayed indefinitely due to the storm. We were fortunate enough to find other accommodations in a timely manner, and our family of three packed-up and moved (again) when the storm clouds cleared. But I don't know how other Marina Bay occupants fared, considering the housing shortages resulting from the storm.

The price hike was legal, the Marina Bay manager explained, as rental property is not subject to the Consumer Protection Act. Regardless of its legality, tripling rental rates before the flood waters had receded stands in stark contrast to the generosity and compassion displayed by so many business owners and fellow citizens in the aftermath of the storm.

While evacuated, I volunteered for a mobile dialysis team, which worked around-the-clock to coordinate transportation for stranded nurses and patients in order to facilitate life-saving treatment to over one thousand dialysis patients. I witnessed acts of kindness, selflessness, and a sense of community--that we're all in this together. On the other hand, Marina Bay ownership saw a business opportunity and moved quickly to boost profits without any regard for how many families its increased rents...

Few months stay with camper while working. It would've been five stars except for lot size and high price (too many tacked on fees and raised rent).

PROS: +Atmosphere: Beachtown feel with small pastel cottages and friendliness. Very clean and well maintained! Palms are sporadically placed with flowering shrubs and lawn is thick and green. Street lights are frequent but not an overly lit park at night. Security cameras present. +Location: Nice area away from city riff-raff. Close to freeway, stores, restaurants, marina, and boardwalk. +Lots: concrete pads (ours was not 100% level left to right), deep enough to park mostly on the lot. 3 outlets on pole 50/30/110. No overhead trees. +Amenities: Laundromat, showers, lounge, gym, pavillion bbq areas, dog walking path, pools. +Adult only streets. Quieter. Mostly working crowd so very little noise problems other than stray cat yowling.

CONS: -Price: Although comparable for area and amenities, it's high with added electricity bill, water raised rent. -Lot size: Individual lots are narrow with slideouts. If you drive a dually, plan to park in the street. We were able to fully extend both awnings which made our footprint from one edge of the pad to the other with one slide extended over the lawn. -Privacy: Tight between lots. Could be a problem if you're seeking peace and quiet. Claustrophobic feeling with amount of tiny lots packed into a small area with little room to park. -Delivery Fees: Charges per package delivered with fees varying upon size of package. $3 and up. Ridiculous! Mailbox rental is available which I believe included a couple free package deliveries. -Guest Fees: Visitors charged per day. -Tight turns with vehicles parked in the street. Plan accordingly. -No propane or tire air available on site. Odd for a resort. -Laundromat does not have soap products stocked in vending machine (empty). No laundry service at this...

My completely honest review: We called at the last minute and were able to reserve a cabin the same day. Drove in on Thursday and we are staying until Sunday (we are currently still here!)

The whole park is very well kept up. It's really a beautiful facility. It's very full, but a lot quieter than I expected it to be. We truly have enjoyed taking walks in the evenings and seeing families outside playing, grilling, laughing and having a good time.

There are 3 pools, 2 of which are very small (one is adults only).The larger one sits right beside the bay and is absolutely beautiful and super clean. We've been 3 times with our 3 year old granddaughter already and each time, we were the only ones there. It has a beautiful rock waterfall, chairs, tables and is fenced in.

We attempted to fish in the little bay, but only managed to catch some small crabs. They are very plentiful. You can also sit and watch small fish jump out of the water repeatedly. There are several little benches surrounding the bay and a small pier to stand on. The scenery is really nice.

The cabin we are in (140) is in a great spot for us. We are secluded and there is a large concrete area our grandkids can play on. The porch is small, but perfect for morning coffee and contemplation ;) The cabin itself is a decent size and the beds are comfy. Our only complaints are the tv seems to have a bad cable connection and sometimes there is a lot of static. There were very minor issues with some tiny little ants, but they are taking care of it. We also had a disruption in water for a couple of hours tonight, but it's all fixed now.

Honestly, my only suggestions for improvement is to provide cleaning stuff. I don't mind keeping the cabin clean at all, but there's not even a broom.

Overall, it's very nice and affordable and we will stay again...