Seashell Village Resort — Hotel in Port Aransas

Let's start with the fact that the office is only open until 5pm in the afternoon, so good luck getting anything after hours or if you check in late and need extra towels. The emergency # they have for after hours, no one ever answers, and even when the office IS open no one answers that phone either. We checked in late in the afternoon after spending the day at the beach and upon arrival the place is charming to the eye, once we were in the room we discovered hair on the bathroom floor and nail clippings in the corners of the bathroom. The shower had so much soap scum on it I would not be surprised if someone told me it was never washed. The carpet was super dingy and dirty. So once all of these things were discovered the office was closed. The next morning, we wanted some coffee...the coffee maker in the room still had remnants of prior coffee that was made in it and the inside where you put the water looked like it had never been washed. Same for the dishes in the cabinets. At this point they had already taken all my money for the two night stay.When making this reservation over the phone I had advised my dog was going to be with me, I was told there weren't any dog rooms available anymore but I was placed on a 2nd floor room(which apparently don't allow dogs in them) and was told by the front office, I think her name is Darlene?...who is also the manager...that there wouldn't be any issues with me having my dog in the room because he is an ESA and I provided documentation. I was then pulled out of my room the following morning after checking in, (after the housekeeping lady told the front office I had a dog) by Darlene who advised me that I was not allowed to have my dog in here and she wanted to discuss the pet rules with me. I told her that when speaking with her on the phone she placed me in this room and it wasn't a problem. I felt like I was getting pulled to the principal's office and being reprimanded and talked to about the rules. When checking out, we expressed our concerns with our stay with Darlene and she told us that we should have said something when checking in because now nothing can be done about it because she doesn't know if we are the ones that made the room dirty. NO ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL! I let her know that I didn't appreciate being blamed for something I didn't do and that the room should have been clean in the first place before putting us in there. She seemed very nonchalant about the situation and kept saying, "oh everything is fine" "it's not a big deal" "every thing is good here". She said that next time we come we have to let them know right away that there's an issue...we wont be going...

Honest review, realistic expectations.

LOCATION is right in the smack of downtown Port A. Restaurants and a CVS within walking distance. Nicer options within a short 2-5min drive. This is how you save on cost over the beach front properties.

We drove down to the beach. Unlike CA, you can drive on the TX beaches. This is convenient for hauling our stuff, but makes for a hella messy car, so take this "with a grain of sand".

At a beachfront property, you can just grab and go (walk down to the beach), so plan accordingly when you're shopping for your stay.

STAFF was very friendly and helpful start to finish, even before we booked. Zero complaints here.

DOG FRIENDLY. We have a service animal we travel with, which can limit some travel accommodations. Seashell Village is good with this.

PROS: coffee pot in room, full size. I brought my own coffee, filters and water and saved $20 during our stay.

Friendly staff, reasonable accommodations for the price.

CONS:

1. Driving to the beach requires a $12 parking pass (good for 1 year). At beachfronts, this isn't an issue.

2. WiFi would not work in our room: couldn't do light work or watch movies with my kiddos.

3. Trash fee. First time in my 40yrs a place that already charges a cleaning fee...will also ding you if there's any trash in your trash can.

There's no dumpster nearby. I had to hike out to a small local trash can several times to dispose of our waste. Weird and unnecessary policy, as others have stated.

4. The room/building we stayed in was pretty old, and it showed. Nearby buildings (likely not used) were falling apart on the exterior. The plus side is this meant we had no neighbors on our side. Score!

5. On their smaller Queen Cottages, the fridge and microwave are in the bathroom. NOT ideal.

Rest of the room was solid with a large closet and shelves to store our things.

6. 2 pools...great for kids, but hella small. The semi-shaded covered areas are a God-send for adults and parents.

CONCLUSION: if you're on a budget, and need to maximize, this is a solid option. Just don't expect Hilton level accommodations. And BRING extra bags for your trash and laundry.

They have a laundry mat on site, which you might need if staying more than a few days. The beach and summer are messy fun. Bring your own detergent, or buy some from the CVS.

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I stayed at the OVER PRICED AND SLUM MOTEL, The Seashell village resort over labor day weekend with another family. This was my 2nd time here (first time in the "deluxe" cabin). I was even referred to as "a regular" when the other party checked in (reservation was under my name). The hotel is under new ownership and is largely unmanaged other than the daily front desk staff. There are a number of issues that will prevent me from EVER returning to this unmanaged property...there are way too many other options! We were 2 separate groups and decided to split one of the lofts. The keyless entry doesn't work and the solution was 1 single key for both groups to share becuase they "couldn't fix it" during out stay due to lack of maintenance staff who quit and took all the extra keys (again, info provided per staff). One key for two different families was a major issue and I would have never booked I would have known this was the case. In addition, several lights in the room were not working (bathroom and kitchen), which was a massive inconvenience for those in the loft because only the main lights worked and were way too bright! The rooms were covered in sand...yes, it's the beach but this was excessive and the cleaning crew clearly did a half effort job. When checking out, there were two other guests in the front office complaining. One of which was complaining that the prior guests were doing drugs and even left some marijuana mess behind. Other guests were very loud and inconsiderate of others. Not exactly the best crowd for a family or children. I tried to follow up with the owner...who never returned a call or email and finally after a full week, I got him on the phone. He was completely unwilling to credit part of the cost of the stay or make any attempt to resolve this poor experience. Never again will I stay here. DO YOURSELF A FAVOR AND BOOK AN AIRBNB!!! I...