Padre Escapes — Hotel in Corpus Christi

Not sure if all Padre Escapes properties are ran as poor as El Constante, but I f so you might want to find somewhere else to rent. The location is great, and right on the beach however the way the place is ran is very unprofessional. Lots of miscommunication and supposed glitches. As well as unit we stayed in needed some upkeep. The vents are rusty and dirty as well as all light fixtures. There are missing and broken blinds in every room. Do not believe their claim on sanitization either. Take cleaning supplies and clean and sanitize for yourself. The cleaning was not the worst of it though. We had problems from the start. Looking back I wish I would have just asked for a full refund when they called me with their nonsense the day before our check in date. Just didn’t want to let the family down and since this place waited until a day before check in to call me I had no time to find somewhere else to stay such short notice. I called directly to book our vacation the end of July. Advised them we had 4 adults and 3 kids ( 1 is a baby and would be sleeping in a pack and play) I was advised the baby wouldn’t count for total count and so a 2 bedroom condo would fit our group. We were booked for El Constante room 208. Aug 1, I received the email of the rental agreement and sent it back signed with all names of those in our group including the baby. On Aug 6 (one day before check in) I get a call from Mariah informing me we were over occupancy for that room, and she would have to move us to another condo that didn’t have beach view, or charge us for another room. They claimed it was an oversight and that condo 208 only accommodates 4 people. Every other 2 bedroom condo there supposedly accommodates 6 guests but this one only 4?? I did not agree to that. Why should I? I reserved and paid for beach view. Why would they call me a day before check in? Why should I pay for an extra room for their mistake. They had all this information from the start. They say it was an oversight. I myself am wondering if this is a regular thing. If it happens to someone else I suggest you demand they make it right. Do not go to another room with less amenities but pay the same higher price for less accommodations. So anyway they said they would make it work for our visit since I wasn’t willing to budge and they refused a refund. They also stated they would not provide extra towels or linens. Extra? Heck they don’t even provide enough. So glad I took my own towels and linens. They leave 2 towels in each bathroom with a shower, and just two hand towels in downstairs 1/2 bath. So guess that’s for their supposed 4 person occupancy. But they do not give you new ones so you would literally have to use the same towel every day for however many days you stay. Like I said glad I brought my own towels. My family and I went and had a good time just because of the location not because this place is ran so great. We did have many other issues with our stay. This apparently is a pet friendly condo or the owners have a pet. Remember I said cleaning not so great. Their was some type of pet food on the floor in one of the closets as well as dog hair under the couch. I wondered why I was sneezing and when I swept the dirty floors I soon realized why. It’s fine if they want to let pets stay, however cleaning should be better especially for those of us with allergies and asthma that will be staying there after someone with a pet. Then last but not least please at check out make sure to prop the door open or leave someone in the condo to let you back in. Halfway between getting our luggage out of condo we were locked out and had to wait over 20 minutes to get back in. They changed the code and locked us out. They say there is a glitch in the system. What glitch? We never messaged saying we were checking out, so why would the code just change before the 11am check out time. That was very inconvenient. I still haven’t listed every complaint or issue we encountered. My family will definitely find another location to rent from in the future for our yearly...

Issues from the start. My biggest complaint is the lack of follow through and communication. I understand there are situations beyond your control, but the one thing you can control is your response to the situation. We booked 4 days/3 nights. First night we are there, we noticed a water leak in the ceiling in the bathroom and a separate issue of the AC unit not cooling. Called in to report both issues. They sent maintenance out who let us know they do not manage the above unit, so all they could do was try to get in touch with the owner since the leak was coming from the second floor. They said I would be contacted by management tomorrow. That same night an AC repair man come by to check on the AC unit. He said the compressor wasn't functioning properly, and the unit was not communicating to the thermostat. He removed the thermostat from the wall, and let me know that parts needed to be ordered for the AC unit. He said he couldn't do anything further that night (9:30/10PM) but that someone from the office would contact me tomorrow to give me an update. The next day by 2PM I had not received any calls at all. I reached back out to find out what the status was on both of the issues. Management let me know that there was nothing more that could be done about the AC, and asked if I wanted a window unit to be sent up to compensate. It would have been nice if this had been offered the first night!! They sent maintenance back out, and they installed a window unit. While maintenance was there I asked what the progress was on the leak in the bathroom. They told me there hadn't been any, since they couldn't reach the owner. They went ahead and disconnected the vent in the bathroom, but they did nothing to try to address the water dripping down. The maintenance guy, said he was heading back to the office and will have someone call me with an update to the water leak and what can be done. I didn't get any calls. By the third day, I had to call again, this time I talked to a supervisor, who let me know they were still unable to reach the owner of the unit where the leak was coming from. Keep in mind, this is the THIRD day of an active water leak (leak was directly above the toilet, and the maintenance man confirmed the floor plans are the same, so the leak was coming from the toilet on the floor above us). The supervisor said they would get us moved to another unit for our last night. Forty minutes later she called back to say there were no other units, so they could offer us a refund on one night stay. This doesn't start to make up for an awful 4 days. We will never stay here again.

**One more annoyance: The pool by our building has a nice splash pad for the little kids. The second day we were there we went out there and noticed none of the water was working on the splash pad sprinklers. There were other families at the pool, and they said it hadn't been working for over an hour since they had been out there. I looked around the pool area, for a button or something else that might need to be push but didn't find anything within the fenced area around the pool. I called the office and Fabian answered, I let him know the situation, and he said "Oh yea, I see they aren't working. I'll send maintenance over to have a look". We were out there for over two hours and no one ever came by. We didn't see them on for the rest of the day. The next morning, the sprinklers were working. I made a comment, and an older guest who was at the pool, said they were on a timer, and all we had to do to get them working was turn the timer. The timer is located on the building outside of the fenced pool area, covered, with no sign or other symbol to mark it as the timer for the splash pad. My annoyance is, why didn't the office suggest or point out a timer. Even a simple sign would be a solution, so that families could enjoy...

I have been going to this place since I was very very young. 30 years now. I’ve long held it as one of the best places to visit with a family and encouraged others to do the same. But this recent visit broke my heart. I was so excited to take my wife and three young kids along with our beloved family dog to the cherished place of my youth. And let me say first that our hours on the beach with our pup were as delightful and picturesque as I could imagine. But getting in and out of our unit became a Hitchcock style nightmare due to the native birds that have dominated the area. Even on my first walk from the car to the front office to check in, these birds were diving in straight to my head. I found it unusual and improbable at first. Then it became the norm every time we came and went. I eventually could not come and go without an umbrella over my head because a minimum of 3-4 birds (Grackles, they’re called) would make contact.

They DID have a professional come address the nests. I saw the cherry picker the day after I called. This was appreciated. But the thing I cannot understand is why this was not disclosed in advance. Especially because all clues point to their prior knowledge of the issue. This was made known to me by the front desk employees and the reflective ribbon tied intermittently to ward them off, although there was none near our unit, next to the palm trees where they resided. And after I asked for this to be addressed, it never was.

The last straw was the moment my 10 year old son was trying to retrieve something from our unit and was attacked. He became terrified and did not want to go back out the door. And who can blame him because according to a front desk person the man who removed the nests came back with an open wound from the attacks of these native, and apparently protected birds.

It made our stay completely traumatic. And we asked to be compensated because of the lack of responsibility. My wife and I have humble incomes and save responsibly all year to take our family on a worthwhile vacation. This fell completely short of it.

The problems linger on as we had to frequently evacuate our children out of the pool while guests began lighting their blunts and becoming intoxicated in the pool courtyard, blasting their music. There was a complex-wide message sent to address the noise- but this does not forgive illegal behavior. This lack of attention to the conduct and behavior of guests has tremendously reduced its value so rapidly that I fear we may never return to a once lovely and enchanting getaway.

We complained directly to management about the grackle problems outside our unit, and for knowingly placing us in this “pet-friendly” unit when they knew the bird infestation was well established. We learned the apparent managers are completely powerless over the deity level mysteriousness of the owners. According to management, our contract states there are no refunds- which is untrue as that is only in the context of early departures and cancellations. Not in cases of extreme liability and physical danger on family vacation. They have refused our request to be compensated for our troubles.

We will never use Padre Escapes or stay with El Constante Condominiums ever again. And we will be having our attorney...