Holiday Inn Club Vacations Galveston Beach Resort, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Galveston

We have stayed here several times before, but this will be the last time. Check in is at 4:00. Called at 12:00 to see if we could get in earlier than 4:00. They didn't know. They couldn't tell because they didn't know what room we were getting. (By the way, I had 3 rooms reserved). We were going to be there early anyway because we were going to the beach right next to where the hotel is. Got to the beach around 2:00. Called again to see what time we could get in since we had food we wanted to put in the room and out of the hot van. They didn't know when our room would be ready. Asked if they got one with the view we requested and the answer was "we don't know what room you are getting so we can't tell you". Really? It's a couple hours before check in time, everyone had to check out at 10:00 that morning so it's 4 hours after that. You don't know if you gave us the King Villa that had a beach view? Went up there at 3:00 to talk to someone in person. And no, the room is not ready and we can't tell you what room you are getting. But you can check in and pay for everything. Then we will text you when it's ready. Oh, by the way, we don't have your phone number or email in our system so we need that, even though you are an IHG member, and you have been getting emails and texts from us about your reservation confirmation etc.... So I paid and went back to the beach. Next thing I notice is it's after 4:00 and no text. So I went up to demand to get the key so we could get into our room. And then they try the crap about having to go wait in line for another hour for the person to give you the timeshare sales pitch before they will activate your room keys. BS! I didn't put up with that and started making a fuss and all of a sudden the same human at the front desk that couldn't activate the key a few seconds earlier was magically transformed into someone with special powers that COULD activate the key. Right there in front of my eyes... it was a miracle!!! When we finally got up to the room to check it out, it smelled bad of mold. So my wife went down and they were very responsive and gave us a different room. This one didn't smell as bad. When the rest of our guests showed up that night for the other two rooms I booked, one of them had a broken refrigerator. This WAS a good hotel, with reasonable rates for the area, that tried to take care of you when we stayed there the first time years ago. WAS. It is now just a grift front to try and sell you a timeshare, and waste your time on a room that smells moldy and is past it's age for the outrageous price. Not sure how they are still associated with IHG. The staff that works there is not the problem. They try to help but must follow the rules or get fired. This is a beach front hotel and that's the appeal. But we don't even walk to the beach from the hotel. It's to far of a walk. We drive down to the adjacent parking lot at the turtle and walk from there to the beach with all the things you have to haul for a day at the beach. RIP Club Vacation. Next time we want to spend a couple nights near the beach, we will just rent cheaper better hotel rooms 7 minutes down the road and still park next to you at the turtle. Or we will just do our day drive trip to the beach on the Brazoria side and park on the beach with nobody around us for 500 feet on either side as is...

We booked this trip online after reading lots of great reviews, and we read that if you call and specify a preference you'll be accommodated to the best of their ability for your room selection (We asked for high floor and noted that we were celebrating my Wife's birthday for this trip). During this call we mentioned we would be arriving late 9 or 10pm, and we were told by the lady on the phone that the resort check-in closed at 8pm and there would only be security there but they couldn't really check you in. So my wife and I both had to take extra time off of work to accommodate and arrive on time. We hurry and rush to the hotel to find out there are actually staff until 11 and then after that there's security who can still check you in. (This is strike 1). We finally get checked in to get a room on the second floor out of 5, well this isn't a high floor but since it's not on ground level we'll give this a wash and not a full strike. We get settled and into the room and open our doors and get the nice ocean sound. We had an east facing king room (E25A) so in the morning we watched the sunrise from our balcony, we got ready and were heading out the door when we noticed a cockroach next to our coffeemaker on the counters, we promptly tell the front desk staff about the cockroach and they agree to move us into another room once one becomes available. About an hour later we get a call with a room, E31 with an awesome view of the road, we politely decline as being downgraded in quality of view when there was a roach in our room was not something we were going to agree with. (Strike 2) We told them to call us when something else comes up and they called a couple hours later with E35A, our previous room but a floor higher and we obliged, we moved our stuff unpacked and went about our day and that evening went to use the jacuzzi tub (which worked in E25A) to find out it didn't actually work and the jets were just for looks (strike 3). I really don't think getting a downgrade in view, or a not fully working room on an issue with the resort is an acceptable resolution to the problem. The manager did offer some extra IHG points to help alleviate the issue.

Another concern was that people were allowed to smoke on the pool patio, my son can not be around cigarette smoke so it completely make the entire pool area unusable as there multiple guests smoking.

This vacation club property was definitely lacking in the quality of staff and recognition that I'm accustomed to with IHG properties, there was no recognition of club membership or status, the front desk staff often didn't have answers for questions and seemed very apathetic around the issues we had and questions and concerns that were asked. I would only stay at this resort again based on the location but everything else really makes me not want...

The location of this place was easily one of the best in Galveston. As, you have direct beach access. Theres no food or bar. Also, I noticed a sign saying that alcohol was prohibited!?! I'm not sure if that was just the lobby and public areas or the whole building. It was a crime to have it.

There are way too many mosquitoes inside the room and halls. However, I don't want to leave the impression that it wasn't sanitary.

Lastly, when I went to check-out before a 12 hr drive, the lobby was closed. Some lady kept looking at us from inside in the dark. I told my wife, "She looks like she doesn't want us to bother her, but we need to get going." She comes out, and I show her my key, tell her my name, and that we need to checkout. She says needs our room number if we want to checkout. She can't look up our info with my keys, ID, name, email, etc. So, I give her what I thought was our room number. I was wrong because they don't label by floor. They have wings. (East, West) Instead, of telling me that, she keeps insisting I can't be staying there, because that room doesn't exist. I tell her we've been there for 4 days, have keys, and just want to leave. I told her I was obviously staying there, as I had everything to turn in. So, I walk all the way back to my room and get the right first letter instead of number. I go back to her and all she really said was, "It didn't have a number in front of it did it?"

I don't know why the checkout was so hard. I don't why they have a box to drop keys. Then, don't let you use it and get upset when you inconvenience them. I've worked in timeshares and customer service. It would've been way easier if she would've explained things and offered to help us in anyway. Because after all of that, we just dropped our keys in a box, she didn't write any info down, yelled about why she was right as we were leaving, and acted like we were serial killers, when we had keys, parking pass, offered ID. Etc.

The people staying at the resort were the best part. I literally have no reason to specifically visit this place ever again.

Just go to the beach somewhere else that allows direct beach access. Not impressed with this side of the Gulf. Stayed at the Atlantic, East Gulf Coast, and Pacific many times. This was by far the least impressive and most expensive. At least there was no roaches like my room in...