The Galvestonian — Hotel in Galveston

Extremely Rude Welcoming & Ask us to Leave at 8:00 pm. Told us If we did not they would call the police & not give us a refund.

The mask mandate had been lifted for Texas & no one told us that it was not part of The Galvestonian private rules. Check in was no problem but after returning from a nice relaxing dinner & looking forward to a nice quiet evening....shift change happened (the Desk Clerk Melissa”) RUDELY yelled very loud from behind the front desk over & over we require mask wearing here...I was startled & some what frighten as I fumbled through my purse for my mask to wear, my husband left to the car to get his mask.

Melissa came for behind the desk & continued to yelled at me “put on your mask on & to put it on right, I am going to have to ask ya to leave“, I told her...I am looking for my mask & I placed it on & proceed to the elevator to go to our unit, she threatened to call the police & yelled out Stop Her! don’t let her on the elevator to a staff person on the elevator... that seemed to be just as confused as I was. She also told me I could not get my belongings. I replied I have my mask on and I am going to get my things, I paid for my room you can’t stop me & throw us out, because I am wearing my mask, she said this is private property & I can stop you & you can’t get your thing and ya need to leave now or I going to call the police.

I was confused because we both put are mask on, but I guess not as quickly as she wanted us to, this did not give her the right to throw us out. Wow, we are both over 60 you think she have some heart & it was late in the evening and we are being ask to leave even after following her so called private property mask rule.

With my mask still on I ignored her and proceeded to the elevator to our unit. Melissa again said she was going to call the police but instead the maintenance man came to escort me to my unit & waited by the door while I gather my belongings. I suppose they don’t have onsite security after all.

My husband returned from the car with his mask on he was told the same thing & she ask a staff member to escort him to our unit as well. We were treated & like criminals and definitely not like guest. They followed us up to our unit & all the way back out the front door. My husband told her he wanted his money back, if she wanted us to leave, it was about at 8:30 pm. Melissa replied no your not getting your money back this privately owned property and you need to leave. Wow...I thought this woman is insane. She a mask dog #+#! I don’t see how this is allowed, never have we been thrown out of a hotel after paying for a weeks stay & after wearing our mask as requested. We just stayed at Palisade Plams Condominiums next door which is a 5 star hotel (I highly recommend it - very modern & extremely clean). We would of continued to stay there for another two weeks but they were booked - We thought it would be just as nice to stay next door at The Galvestonian but we were very wrong. I rated this place as RUDE, It smelled like Roach Spray, Old furniture in lobby & unit & it had dirty old carpet/low rent appliances, but we were going to make the best of it because the outside area beach front & the pool was nice, we should of stayed at the San Luis instead or even at the Islander on East Beach again. Oh well... it was a huge inconvenience, very sad lasting devastating experience, A huge lost of our time, Weird place The Galvestonian. Desk Clerk made me feel very nervous & I will never stay there again after such a bad experience. We called America Express we did get our money back. We are going to stay at the Palisade Plams again next week. It’s their lost of a good friendly...

Zero Stars for Oscar

In the past few weeks, Galveston has endured significant challenges due to a recent hurricane. This disruption forced us to make a last-minute cancellation at our house next door in Beachtown, as power had not yet been restored. Fortunately, we found a three-bedroom condo available in Room 615 at The Galvestonian.

The facilities at The Galvestonian, with the exception of the ice machine area, gym, and common area restrooms in the lobby, were well-kept and very enjoyable. Our condo itself was great, aside from three outlets in the kitchen and one in the living area not working, which left us without the use of the microwave. We informed the front desk, who said they would report it to maintenance, but we never received a follow-up or had anyone address the issue during our stay.

The proximity to the soccer tournament, less than two miles away, was ideal. As is typical with tournaments, Sunday’s schedule was uncertain, depending on win-or-go-home scenarios. On Saturday evening around 5 pm, we inquired about a late checkout. The front desk lady informed us that it would be $25 an hour extra, with the latest checkout at 1 pm due to another guest checking in that evening. I asked when we needed to let her know, and she replied, “whenever.”

The next morning, we had our first match at 9 am. We won, meaning we played again at 10:40 and 12 pm. This timing was perfect for our 1 pm checkout. I called the front desk to confirm we would take the extended hours and were okay with the additional billing. The lady on the phone abruptly informed me that they don’t offer late checkouts. I explained my conversation with her colleague from the previous evening, but she rudely cut me off, stating that the evening shift isn't allowed to authorize late checkouts. When I mentioned the unresolved power outlets issue, she told me, “you have to let us know if something isn’t working,” to which I responded that we had immediately disclosed this. She then admitted they had a communication problem at the front desk.

At 11:45, a lightning storm forced us off the beach, which worked well for our hotel arrangements. We returned upstairs, loaded our carts, and packed our vehicles. While waiting to hear if our final game would be rescheduled, we sat in the lobby watching the storm. The tournament organizers kept us updated as they tried to manage the flooding and play the last games. We were delayed for two hours.

While stretching my legs and using the restroom, I was rudely approached by Oscar. “Are you waiting for your room?” he asked. I replied that we had checked out and were waiting to hear if we were heading back to Austin or playing our final match. He brusquely told us we had to leave the premises immediately. I informed him that we would never stay at the facility again, to which he replied, “that’s fine, someone else will.”

With a terrible taste in our mouths, we headed back to the tournament. Less than five minutes later, Oscar called, demanding we remove our other vehicle from the property within 10 minutes or it would be towed.

Galveston has been through a lot in the past two weeks, and people are understandably on edge. The drainage system and tourism have been affected. We had just spent $1800 for two nights at your facility and, due to extenuating circumstances, were sitting in the lobby quietly. The facility was nearly empty, and we were not being disruptive. Given this experience, we will seek other accommodations if we visit Galveston...

An annual trip to the Galvestonian is a staple in my husbands family. They have been visiting every summer for 35 years. I have been visiting for 10 of them. We have stayed in countless one bedroom, two bedroom and three bedroom condos. The Galvestonian is dated. Most rentals have small bathrooms and tiny kitchens. We have stayed at nicer, newer and less expensive condos on west beach. What kept us coming back year after year is the amenities, views and friendly staff. Unfortunately, the Galvestonian no longer feels like home. Staff our flat out rude, maid service is no longer offered, the complex is not kid friendly and the atmosphere just feels tense. You are forced to wear a generic cheap green bracelet at all times to prove you are a renter. They use to offer fruit infused waters, coffees, donuts and snacks. Now they barely have a running ice machine. Our extended family was kicked out after checking out of their room at 11 am. (Mind you most facilities allow use of amenities the duration of the day after checkout and it is not clearly written in the packet of rules. May want to add that one to the stack.) We still had 6 rooms at the facility but were told they could no longer use amenities or be added to another room. Our 12 year old cousin was yelled at in the pool area and “escorted” to her parents. When her older adult brother protested since she is a minor they basically threatened to call the cops. She hadn’t been rough housing or misbehaving at the pool. On top of that staff had the audacity to say they had to drive down and use public beach access to gather their belongings from the beach. Seriously? They literally look for ways to start fights with rental customers. I’m not sure what the goal is with management changes, but it is obviously not beneficial. I remember in years past they went out of their way to make our family reunions special. Even bringing a larger table for our family to gather in a 3 bedroom. The Galvestonian use to be the #1 condo rental on the Island. They are now third and will continue to get poor reviews unless the condo owners take action. If the goals of the condo association have changed then maybe consider ending rentals entirely? Next time you visit Galveston do yourself a favor and steer clear. There are many other options that are a better value and experience. Our recent visit has tainted all those years of fond memories. Unfortunately we won’t be...