Good morning ladies!
Hope you've got your morning coffee. I'm up early, too late to go back to sleep, to early to "officially" get up & get ready for work so I decided to get up & get a jumpstart on planning our family vacation. We're leaving the baby at home & making this the "last hoorah" before man starts school in the fall. We want to make this extra special, you know how it is - - - new baby in the house...
So, we've decided to go to Galveston this summer (an extended weekend in mid-July) and we would like to stay somewhere on the beach so our little man can play. I've priced hotels & feel like we'd get more bang for the buck if we got a beach house instead. We're joining another family there, so we could split it which makes it even better.
So any tried & true suggestions are MUCH APPRECIATED! Even it it's a waterfront hotel. And what to do there with a 5 year old? The hubs is abandoning us one day to go to Houston to a soccer game - (INSERT EYE ROLL) so we will be sans transportation that day, so we just beach it that day?
Thanks for your imput.
Happy Hump Day
(Do the humpty hump, yeah do the humpty hump)
Any suggestions?
I can't recommend a specific beach house for you, and I've never been to Galveston, but we've had great success using www.vrbo.com to find awesome beach houses all over the east coast. They've got tons of listings for Galveston. Good luck!
The Hotel Galvez & Spa! It's a historical hotel dating back to 1911. The property is now a Wyndham, but it has retained it's beauty and on is on the beach. Can I go with you;) just kidding....
Last year we splurged on a family weekend at Escapes to the Gulf at Galveston http://www.escapesresorts.com/resort_Galveston/ It is a time share condo that also rents rooms. We paid $200 a night (including taxes) for a suite with a king size bed, fold a bed sofa in the living room for our boys and a furnished kitchen, as well as a balcony overlooking the beach that connected to the bedroom and living room. It is on a semi-private beach that was no where near as crowded as the public beach up the road where all the hotels are on the sea wall, and I believe had chairs available for rent, though we didn't use them. We avoided the crowds, driving to the beach or crossing 6 lanes of busy traffic, and were able to keep and cook food in the room. We drove by the hotels and beach by the sea wall, saw the crazy crowds and limited parking, and were grateful we spent the added money for the Escapes! We usually are true budget vacationers, but it would be hard to ever go back to a Best Western on the sea wall...
Most of the hotels that are in Galveston are on the Seawall and are actually across a highway from the beach (and not very good beaches.) I don't really want to have to make a mad dash across 6 lanes of traffic to get to a small, ugly beach. The best beach in Galveston is Stewarts Beach, but it is a public beach that you would have to drive to. So, it is best to look right outside of Galveston - Pirates Beach, East Beach, etc. Beware - even if the hotel says it is on the beach, but the address is on the Seawall, then it is NOT on the beach!
We like to stay outside of Galveston in a little town called Surfside at some condos called Peregrine, http://www.peregrineresort.net/public/home.php. It is a timeshare, but they do rent out also. They may already be booked for this summer. It is right on the beach and has a pool. They are large two bedroom condos and have a very nice family atmosphere, but it is about 30 minutes from Downtown Galveston.
There are lots of things to do in Galveston, depends on what interests you. The big attractions are Moody Gardens and Schlitterbahn. Some of our favorite things have been smaller, less expensive activities. When my two boys were 6 and 2, we took them on the Ferry. It is a free ferry that takes cars and people back and forth from Galveston to the mainland. It is way up at the end of the island near Stewarts Beach. We drove on then got out of the car and walked around. At the other end we got back on and rode again. They loved it so much that we ended up parking our car in the parking lot and just walking on. We rode that ferry for over two hours! You can feed the seagulls and usually see some dolphins riding in the wake of the ferry. (especially nice around sunset) We still ride it several times every year. My boys also like to go to SeaWolf Park. There is a cost for this, but not very expensive. They have an old navy ship and submarine that you can walk all over.
There are a lot of things to see in Downtown Galveston on the Strand. Neat shops, restaurants, etc. There is a little park with a huge chess set that my kids love and it is across the street from a big old fashioned candy store. You can also ride a trolley.
We have not been back to Galveston since the hurricane, but I understand that things are mostly all cleaned up.
The Commodore on the Beach. It is a very old groovy hotel directly across from the beach. Literally 100ft from the front door of the hotel. Which would work for you on the day you have no wheels. It is a clean place, but it is very dated, retro, 'cool'. There is a flatscreen and modern amenities, just dated decor. We loved it. EVERY room has a view of the beach (if you look at the website you will see).
There is a Waffle House right next door. A Joes Crab Shack just a little further on the same side of the road. Have fun.
OH..... and they have milk and cookies in the lobby every afternoon. ;)
We've rented from Swedes over on Bolivar (across the bay on the ferry) and had great experiences every time. It's calm and quiet and very relaxing.
http://www.swedesrealestate.com/VacationRentals.aspx
Their customer service is great- if you call them and tell them what you need, they'll recommend which properties they think would work for you.
The galvez if you are loaded
Commodore is pretty good, and they just remodeled it.
absearesorts.com has lots of appartments they rent out.
We always stay in the best western on the seawall. You can walk to the beach, and its only $100 a night, but its not a beach house - but you do get your towels washed and a breakfast!
