South Padre Island KOA Holiday — Hotel in South Padre Island

My family, family friends, their kids, and myself all stayed in a 8-person cabin for 5 nights very recently. This had been our first experience with a KOA and also our first time at South Padre Island. The cabins look small on the outside, but they're very accommodating on the inside! There is a large loft area, a queen sized mattress in a room with a door, a pull-out sofa large enough for two people, and another small room with bunk beds and a door. There is a full-sized bathroom with a window. Water pressure is great but the drains are slow draining. A blow-dryer is provided as well. Oh, and a clothesline is in the shower to help dry your items. The kitchen, has a sink, a stove top, all the dishes, utensils, and cookware you'll need. A full-sized microwave and refrigerator are included. There is a Keurig and they provide 6 k-cups, but you can ask for more up in the front office. What I didn't know and I wish I had, was that there is also a potted coffeemaker! There isn't a dishwasher. The stove top is very small, so unless you're cooking tiny meals for everyone, you'll most always be using one skillet at a time even though there are two burners. We decided to buy an electric griddle to make things easier for ourselves from the Walmart up the road. The tap water is cloudy, so bring water with you. It's perfect for cooking with and for coffee, but we didn't feel comfortable drinking it straight from the tap. Shelving is provided to put all your pantry food up. Trash is picked up curbside throughout the morning until 2pm. After that, you'll have to walk it to the front office. The air conditioners are window-units, but they work very well. If you need more trash bags, towels, etc., just call the front office and they'll send someone right over to you. There's a nice sized table that seats 4 right next to the kitchen and tv. If you need more seating, there is an outside patio with seating for 8-10. It's always a good choice to eat outside! There isn't any lighting for the nighttime seating though, so you'll need to bring a lantern of some sort. A Weber grill, grill brush, and a lighter are all outside as well. There is parking for two vehicles right beside the cabin. At the office area, there's a heated pool, a hot tub, a playground for the kids, a fire pit, and a lighted seating area outside. Inside, there's a 24hr laundry room, a ping pong table, a sweet fitness center, couch area with a TV and DVD player. There are board games, Jenga, DVDs, and books for you to utilize. Like I mentioned before, there is a Walmart just over the bridge in Port Isabel. If you need ice, there's a Penguin Ice right in front of the Walmart (10lbs-$1 20lbs- $1.75) or there's another Penguin just outside the KOA exit to your right, or if you're headed into the KOA, it'll be on your left. It's a bit more pricey though, 16lbs for $2. If you're looking to shop local, there's a grocery store on the island called the Blue Marlin. Overall, we enjoyed our stay at the KOA and are already planning our next stay! If you're going to visit SPI, you HAVE TO stay at the KOA! I don't know why...

Everyone has different expectations and I get that. Everyone has different experiences which is understandable. I have read some of the 1 star reviews and I don't get why they had the issues they had. Even my teenage daughter agreed on that. We arrived after hours and grabbed our late arrival packet. Unfortunately they forgot the key to our cabin. There was bad weather and some flooding so they were probably a little distracted by that. We called the emergency number on the packet and the manager was there in no time. She was very apologetic. We stayed in a cabin right across from the managers camper. She was very pleasant. On our last day we were running a little behind packing up to leave. I apologized for our delayed departure. She said it was no problem. Keep in mind we were only about 15 mins late so it may have been a little different if we were a couple hours behind. We were only a couple mins away from the campground when we received a call to let us know that we had forgotten some clothes. So we went back and the cleaning lady stepped out to give us our items.

As far as the facility itself since they had just had a lot of rain there was some standing water. The manager told us we could park on the other side of our cabin so our kids didn't have to walk thru water. I was a little worried at first because the cabin looks tiny and we have a pretty big family. I was pleasantly surprised when we got inside. There was plenty of room to stretch out and keep some space between kids. The restroom was clean and they provide shampoo, conditioner and body wash. They are tiny bottles that isn't enough for long hair (4 girls, 1 mom all ling hair). They have dispensers hanging on the wall. They have everything you need to cook right there in the kitchen. The stove only has 2 burners but that's ok. They provide a charcoal grill and grilling utensils. They have enough cups plates bowls and silverware for the amount of people that can sleep there. They provide bedding and towels as well. It was all very tidy. The cleaning lady does an incredible job. We never went to the pool as we were more interested in the beach and sightseeing. The laundry room has a change machine and vending machines with laundry supplies. My only complaint is that it is a little pricey to wash clothes but hey at least they have a place available if you need it.

I can not make a review of the cable, internet or playground since we were mostly off doing things. My kids watched some TV but since it was a family vacation that was super limited.

I have stayed in quite a few KOA's and this is one of my favorites. As soon as we drove off the property my kids were asking when we were going back. It was a unanimous family decision this KOA is on our must visit again list. Maybe next time we can make more use of...

Site is well located just outside the busy strip. Was a little hike or short ride to beach access. Free shuttle also runs 7 AM-9 PM, daily. We used this after taking Ubers the first day and it really helped us save a few ends since we didn’t want to rent a cart that you can’t take to the beach to haul stuff and have to find parking for. We don’t like to break down camp if we don’t have to in order to leave since we have an older class B van. Perfect for a bike or scoot/OneWheel/etc.

Staff was friendly and helpful. Grounds were kept pretty clean and neat. The grounds were peaceful and the vibe was laid back. Felt pretty safe and left our chairs and a cooler outside a couple of times and overnight with no drama.

Only gripes: lack of hooks or shelving in bathrooms, no toilet seats to put a lid on things when others’ leftovers were…left over, and scarce counter space to put a toothbrush and a few small items. No towel rack to put towels. Also, at nearly $4 a bag of ice from the office, it would have been nice if the bag was completely frozen. The freezer left something to be desired. But it is hot and humid here in Summer, so it happens that refrigeration can’t always keep up. Thankfully there was a machine nearby for $3 or 3.50 for a 20 lb bag but it only takes cash. If you have a way to get around without breaking down camp, there is a convenience store not too far away as well as a harbor with sportsmen shops that probably sell ice as well.

Pool was like lukewarm bath water but was nice and large. Was actually one of the nicer KOA pools. Thankfully, the beach was a lot more refreshing. But in cooler seasons still temperate enough to swim or for kids, it’s a decent pool setup.

Would definitely stay again and plan on it in the shoulder seasons for a quick getaway. Wish there was a little nicer bathroom and bathing experience since our rig’s shower is only large enough for a dog or small child and largely why we stay at KOAs and other campgrounds with bathrooms and showers. I just felt like with no toilet lid, I was afraid I’d lose some toiletry or pill bottle to the toilet. I appreciated the privacy of the little bathroom pods…but these were just a little more cramped than the more communal open bathing facilities at other campgrounds. Maybe the rear bathrooms were more traditional…didn’t have to go there since we had the pods closer to our site. But the water was always hot with great pressure so the shower themselves were awesome. And, having a few pod bathrooms located around the property was welcome so you don’t have to walk super far.

All things considered this is a solid 4 star and not too far off from being a...