Sunchase IV — Local services in South Padre Island

Beware. To start off, it was my mother’s birthday weekend and I was coming back from corpus to meet up with the family at Sun Chase IV. I had originally called in online to ask about parking since there would be two vehicles and I was told once I was there to go to the office which is “24/7” and I will be able to get a temp pass and park outside the gate. So after getting at the condo at 9:30pm, my father hands me the pass and we unload everything. I drive my vehicle right outside the exit and park it. From August 8th to August 11th is what my pass has written on it. Well me and the kids and family were in and out all week and not one issue with parking. Mind you, there are a ton of spaces at the condo that apparently you can’t park in. Well the 11th comes and we’re all packing up to leave, I have a long way to corpus to drop the kids back off. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen “dude where’s my car?” But that’s exactly what happened, I walk out to get the vehicle so I can pack everyone’s items up, and my car is gone. I ask sunchase and they say it’s sunchase 4’s lot. I ask sunchase 4 and they say it’s sunchases lot. Confused? I sure as hell was. Anyways I call the tow company off a random sign, they say they have my vehicle and it will be 277$ to release it. My vehicle had the parking pass displayed right on the dash for the whole world to see what room number and dates we had booked. There’s no sign right outside the gate where I was parked, instead of issuing a warning like some of the vehicles inside the gate, they just tow mine away. This island is beginning to be a lot like Destin FL. They don't care about maintaining their house, they just want everyone's money, I truly hope the condo owners aren’t paying any type of HOA. They just take your cash and go. It’s a SCAM AND SAD EXCUSE of a property. The security team absolutely sucks, the grills outside are all rusted out and they don’t light. They have a ton of safety concerns around the property which are going to end up putting them in waters they don’t want to be in. You should definitely hire a different grounds keeper, because the grass looks like Edward scissor hands was intoxicated and went to town on your yard. The concrete pillars around our room on the balcony are falling apart, this place is your typical money grab and I can’t wait to see them in court. Feel free to reach out to me before you respond, I wouldn’t want this negative review to draw attention away from scamming another potential customer for y’all. Next time, when you hand someone a pass, be specific on where you want them to park ( hand them a freaking map and make them sign it ) and don’t just tell someone outside the gate… you owe me 288$ after the 4% cc fees and time lost. Good luck, I hope you clean up your act. I don’t have any clue on how ya’ll maintain 4 stars on google. THIS PLACE SUCKS, and it smells...

This place could be great, but it is poorly maintained and very rundown. First, they need better signage from the main road, as the entry to the complex is down a very small alley beside a candy store. There's a sign on the gate, but if the gate is open as it was when we arrived, it's very difficult to see from the road. Second parking is very tight, and if you have a second vehicle, you have to park it outside the gates in one of the two small alleys that leads in and out of the complex. You also have to visit security when they arrive between 4:30-5:00 pm to get a piece of orange paper with the room and dates handwritten on it to use as a permit. Why the front desk couldn't do this when we checked in is beyond me, especially since they do not ask for any vehicle or personal info at all. They tell you that you must have the permit or you'll get booted, then make you do all the work to get the second permit that could have easily been issued at the front desk at check-in. This causes undue stress and frustration. Third, the condos are split-level, which was nowhere on the vrbo listing. This was a big surprise and to say these are not handicapped accessible units is an understatement. The grounds and the units are very rundown, with years of grime coating the lobby office windows, rust stains flowing down all the balconies, filthy carpets from the elevators to the units and so, so many broken tiles everywhere. Our unit living room was decent, but the bathrooms are poorly lit, the vents don't work, they have extremely low shower heads, and the bathtub in the main bathroom has a poorly patched hole which makes the whole tub unstable for taking showers. I felt like I was going to fall through the tub every time I used it. The many vertical door blinds are missing slats everywhere so there is no way of blocking light at night. There are paper sheets stuck into the vents to try and prevent them from rattling, but they're only partially successful. The dryer vent is not installed properly. It vents right into the half bathroom and washing and drying anything takes at least two hours. I expected way better for the price I paid. And the place could be great with proper management and maintenance but its clear they are not spending money or time on the complex. It was within a two minute walk to the beach, so that was beneficial, but we will definitely not be coming back to this...

Review of Sunchase IV #701 South Padre Island

Our overall experience was not bad. I will detail what we liked and offer constructive criticism for both the host and whoever manages the entire building.

When we arrived, we were instructed to call the number in the reservation, which didn't work. We called two other numbers repeatedly and eventually someone at the front desk answered. The front desk told us that they didn't have the ability to open the gate and that we needed to contact security. We had already done that multiple times. Luckily, someone behind us let us in with their code. This was definitely a bad experience. We proceeded to park after entering the gate. Parking spots and the parking lot, in general, are pretty tight, so be mindful of that.

Checking in was fine. The front desk explained all the details about the property and issued our parking pass and room keys.

There are tons of luggage carts and shopping carts near the lobby, which is super convenient. The building is separated by towers.

Our condo was spacious and included balconies on both levels. It was stocked with cookware, cooking utensils, and most items you'd need for everyday living, which was really nice.

Here are some things we didn't like about the condo:

The shower doors in the bathroom were broken. There were traces of hair everywhere, including the beds, showers, etc. Overall cleanliness was definitely lacking. The floor was gritty and even had spots of dirt. The condo is severely outdated. A lot of the finishes and architecture are worn and old throughout the whole building. Cable and Internet intermittently disconnected frequently Bathroom sink handles were hard to use Nobody answers the phone, and it's annoying.

We loved the pool area, and my kids enjoyed the kiddie pool. The proximity to everything in South Padre is unmatched, with several attractions and restaurants within walking distance.

Overall, this place needs a lot of work, and housekeeping is definitely an area of improvement. We wouldn't have cared as much about other things if the place was clean and things worked as expected. We wouldn't stay here again but would recommend it to someone on a budget who wanted to be in the heart of everything...