Don’t be deceived by the photos of this property on their website. The property itself is small and the parking lot was somehow built in such a way that makes it chaotic to maneuver and find parking (cars are to park in opposite directions). No handicap parking near the main entrance either. The property itself was not very clean and appealing upon my arrival. I definitely knew I was going to a 2 Star hotel, but the photos were very deceiving in terms of cleanliness, size and amenities (the pool is also pretty small). The bedrooms were clean so that was good—but beware that the rooms are tiny and the bathroom is pretty small (very tight for 4 people)—particularly the bathroom vanity (no room for storage). The breakfast was also a huge disappointment—neither appealing nor appetizing in anyway. The presentation was off putting—eggs were extremely watery and powdered textured; and the sausage seemed old and rewarmed. I ate breakfast on my first morning there, but chose to not have breakfast at all on the next two mornings—it just wasn’t good. Now, unlike most hotels, this one doesn’t have a waffle machine, it has a pancake machine. I’ve actually experienced yummy pancakes from a similar machine at a Holiday Inn many years ago. And while I didn’t eat the pancakes at this Best Western property, my adult kids told me they weren’t good. My vacation was ruined by the manager at this hotel, Asish, who preauthorized my credit card for the entire stay prior to my arrival without my consent. Typically, guests either choose a pay in advance discounted rate and pay for their entire stay in advance or they use their credit card to hold their reservation, typically with only one night being authorized on their card. To my shock and dismay, my credit card was authorized for the entire stay before I even arrived in South Padre. Check in time begins as 3:00pm and the manager had already charged my card in full around 3:30pm long before I arrived. My experience as a guest and a former hotel employee is that guests can change their form of payment upon arrival. This property did not give me this option and unbeknownst to me charged me for the entire stay hours before I arrived. Ironically, if I were to never show up and ended up having to cancel—I still would’ve been only charged for 1 night and not the entire stay. Upon checkout—the manager, Asish (possibly misspelled); never apologized for the inconvenience he caused—he just told me that it was on me as the guest to call and tell them not to authorize my card before I arrived. In all of my years as both a traveler and a hotel employee, it has never been a standard practice to authorize a guest’s credit card for their entire stay prior to their arrival (unless they’ve selected a pay in advanced rate) because guests reserve the option to change their method of payment upon arrival. Needless to stay this put a huge damper on my vacation. This was my first time in South Padre and I loved it—I will definitely return, but I just won’t be staying at...
Read moreWe had a horrible experience with Best Western Beachside Inn South Padre Island. We only stayed one night on the island. We were given a parking pass which we put in the console, yet woke up to our vehicle gone. It was towed to Port Isabel, and we were temporarily stranded on the island. After a $20 taxi ride and a $276 fee to get our vehicle out of pound, it cost us $296 and half our last day having to deal with this mess. There were other cars with no parking pass, and one vehicle with a pass in the console that did not get towed. It was a slow time of year, and at least 25 vacant parking spots. No hotel should take any chance of having a paying guest's vehicle towed off!!!! They need a system in place where this would be impossible to happen to their guests!!!!!! When I spoke with the person on duty about it, they were very snooty and rude, and the manager of this location arrogantly did absolutely nothing to accommodate the mishap. Also, I was told they didn't have any king size rooms available when I made reservations, and being a Diamond Member, wasn't even offered an upgrade or water when we checked in. We ended up in a two queen room with the beds being more like full size. We decided to sleep in separate beds so that we could sleep more comfortably and what an awkward feeling it was. It was a very unpleasant experience!! All guests are important, but they advertise that when a guest member reaches different levels, they get different perks. This hotel did absolutely nothing to make me feel special in any way; as a Diamond Member, we got absolutely no perks! We had our vehicle towed away and out $296. Needless to say, after having to sleep in separate beds, waking up to vehicle gone, and having coffee alone while my husband found a way to Port Isabel, and being out $300, isn't an ideal vacation. BE AWARE!!! They allow a tow truck company to tow vehicles without being certain if it belongs to a guest or not!! They need to come up with a system where they do not risk this happening to their guests!!! We stayed April 13, 2023. I will not stay at that location again. Stay at...
Read moreI was there last week. l felt compelled to help the next person, not get taken by beautiful hotel photos, only to show up and find that those photos are 20+ years old and the hotel hasn't been maintaining their property but, still expect to get top dollar for their rooms. I spent about a week or two researching hotels & inns. This was my experience. I cannot guarantee yours but hopefully this will help in some small way. I relied heavily on customer reviews and learned to always look at customer's pictures and compare them to the business' (in this case inn or hotel's pictures). Customers post more up to date photos and show and tell in their reviews and with real pictures of whether the hotel is maintaining the property. Usually there were two options, pictures and customer pictures. If I could not locate both, it wasn't worth the risk and I moved on to a hotel that did have both. The online pictures for Best Western Beachside Inn in Padre are exactly what my room looked like and actually to my surprise, smelled fresh & newly renovated. My room was a nice mixture of a fair price and a nice clean room. Everything in the room, refrigerator, microwave, tv, etc. were in working order. They had a very nice diverse complimentary breakfast buffet. The check-in lady was very nice and knowledgeable. Another lady at the front desk the next day wasn't as friendly but she was still pleasant enough. Then I spoke with a gentleman at check out who was very friendly. The pool was decent. The beach was very close, like a block away from the inn. My only complaint was the road called Venue is one of the roads being worked on and it was loose white, gravel. It really dusted up the cars. Unfortunately, when I decided to take the road while trying to walk to or from the beach (even on the sidewalk), I had to be very mindful of any passing cars because, a cloud of white dust from the gravel surely followed. Obviously, this should be temporary but, for this mildly irritating nusiance, I gave them 4 stars instead of 5. I totally recommend staying...
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