The Tiki Condominiums — Hotel in South Padre Island

Near perfection!!!

The Tiki property, in general:

First, I would like to address many of the negative ratings that I read for Tiki Condo because these ratings nearly caused to me to book somewhere else (and I am very glad I didn’t) … Generally, the low ratings for the property are from pampered, self-absorbed, millennial types who do not like to be questioned about anything. I will explain… Yes, you must wear a wristband for the entire duration of your stay, or you will be asked to leave. Yes, you must display a vehicle placard, or your vehicle might be towed. No, you cannot hang your towels and beach wear all over the patios and balconies, trashing up the place. No, you cannot let your dog poo all over the property and not clean up after it. Thank God for all their rules. Tiki’s rules are designed to keep the property nice and secure, as well as to keep individuals who are not staying on the property from parking in the parking lots and filling up the swimming pools and common areas. The property is fantastic, well maintained and as advertised, right on the beach. The pools were pristine. The staff is friendly and accommodating but will not bother you unless you are being part of the problem.

Specifically, Condo 122:

With regards to condo 122. It is fantastic, well thought out and accommodating. It is well maintained and up to date, with everything you need for a comfortable stay. When the listing says Murphy bed, it is just that, a fold down extra bed in the living room area (not a sleeper sofa). This unit is on the ground floor and the owners were kind enough to gate in their patio, which is especially handy if you are traveling with pooches. Once you leave the patio gate, you are pretty much in the pet relief area. Again, fantastically convenient for the dogs (but clean up after them – Tiki provides pet waste bags and disposal receptacles). From the Patio, you are less than 100 yards to dipping your feet in the Gulf. If you exit the unit from the front door, you are about twenty steps through the breezeway to one of Tiki’s sparkling pools. A Courtyard by Marriott is next door, and their pool is immediately adjacent to the condo. At times, that Courtyard’s pool was quite loud and boisterous (i.e., live music, DJ, lots of partying and hooting and hollering). HOWEVER, my wife and I were so pleasantly surprised– we could not hear all the commotion next door from inside the condo. We are not fuddy duddys but we were traveling with a small child, who incidentally had a blast at Tiki and in SPI and who was very comfortable in the condo, as well. The condo has all tile floors which is a great feature because, due to the proximity of the beach and lawn, there is no way to keep the sand and grass out of the condo, but it was easy to keep it swept up. The only one issue with the condo is the bedroom is the air conditioning. The AC freezes the living room and dining room, but the bedroom is quite a bit warmer. The owners have supplemented the bedroom with a free-standing AC unit, but it still is not significantly cooling the bedroom. Now mind you, I am my own “thermonuclear reactor” and like it COLD when I sleep. It is still cool in the bedroom and tolerable to sleep in but, again, it is much warmer than the rest of the condo.

All in all, our experience in SPI, with Tiki Condos and Condo 122 was fantastic and I would not hesitate to book this property and Condo 122 again and hope to have the opportunity to do...

This was overall an "ok" experience. The rooms (our large family rented out multiple rooms for a reunion) appeared to be an average low-to-middle class apartment room. For two nights it was around $800 for a Spartan 3 bed, one bath condo. Bare, white walls, paint "worn down" due to the heavy traffic over time, with hardly any decoration. The furniture varied wildly from room to room. You might get a straight-from-the-80's corduroy sectional and light brown, mirror-inlaid entertainment center with a table straight from Bettlejuice, with a large tube tv; or you might get an ultra-modern "boxy" pleather couch and recliner set with a glass top tv stand and flat screen and matching dining table. The kitchens were on the smaller side, but still serviceable, and came with your standard appliances. Counters and cabinets looked dated in every condo. The three rooms and one bath were equally plain and dated early 90's, although they were all very clean. Space overall was ok. The dining room areas were tight but everything else was fine. The AC systems seemed to struggle to keep the rooms cool, but there were a lot of us moving back and forth. Who knows how it would've been if we just spent the whole day with all the doors closed and inside (which the notices next to the "balcony" doors made sure to remind us). From the condo complexes the beach was less than a block away, with its own walk-through pathway to the beach. I think you can rent tents and chairs and the staff sets them up for you but we brought our own. Parking is for paying guests ONLY. Getting a pass for a guest's guest (not all of the fam were able to get rooms at the Tiki) was a pain. You need everyone present with ID and wristbands and parking passes posted in the vehicles, etc. They just ended up parking somewhere else and we'd shuttle them to the beach. Same goes for pool usage. Only paying guests can use the pool. They allowed up to two wristbanded non-paying guest per room, but again you have to go through the whole process and the receptionist made it her goal to make that as difficult as possible. I understand their reasons for restricting access to their facilities and parking, I've just never had so much trouble passing a "resort"s checkpoint with a guest in my life. For $400 a night I think I'd at least deserve a little bit of courtesy while we wade through the red tape so two extra family members can use their pool for a few hours. ANYWAY, like I said, overall it was ok. The condos had all the basics you need to live next to the beach for a few days, but nothing more. For the price, I'd rather stay at a La Quinta for half the cost and receive basically the same amenities. We spent most of our time on the...

My family and I have stayed at the Tiki a handful of times over the past 5 years and had nothing but positive experiences. Room 236 is by far my favorite! The view of the beach and gulf are stunning! You will have a perfect view of the sunrise over the gulf from the balcony. This room is basically beach front without paying the beach front price. The room is nicely decorated and has a very comfortable bed and pull out sofa bed. The bathroom looks recently remodeled with a tile shower perfect for rinsing off the sand and salt water. We had everything we needed in the kitchen to make meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The Tiki itself is a very nice place to stay. The grounds are well landscaped and well kept. The pool is kept at a very comfortable temperature year round, and although it looks a bit dated it was very clean. The private beach access is a nice feature and there is a shower head for rinsing right inside the gate. The Tiki is located at a more quiet end of the island and there was not much traffic or commotion with the exception of a few events at Clayton’s next door. We had very pleasant interactions with all of the staff we encountered and everyone was very helpful. Be sure you know who you are renting from!!! We booked through the Tiki website and were able to use the towel service, laundry, and did not have any hidden fees or charges. We were in the lobby when someone came to complain about not getting fresh towels or maid service, but it was determined by the desk attendant that they had rented from a third party site or from the owner directly and those services were not part of their stay. Be sure to ask about those services ahead of time to avoid confusion. It seems like some of the other negative reviews may be from people that also rented from another source. My family and I will definitely be back,...