DoubleTree by Hilton Hotels in Galveston

We haven’t been to The Galvez in over a year. We used to stay at least two weekends a month. The Mitchell family has sold the Galvez and it is NOT the same at all! If you haven’t been in awhile you are in for a shock! I will start with the positive of the new owners “remodel “. The food is much better and I like they took out the tub in the bathroom and made a bigger shower. Now for the not so positive. They took out the beautiful front doors and put in a cheap revolving door. They painted the outside of the hotel a Pepto-Bismol pink with huge black and white window coverings on the front of the hotel. Then you walk inside, to what I am guessing they were trying to achieve a swanky something. They have put in an ultra modern guest registration desk, to which we waited for 2 1/2 hours after check in time for our room! They removed the large check in area of old and put in a coffee bar that is open from6:30am and 1:00pm. They added a bar to the left with huge red chandeliers and playing Sinatra. The hallway has huge gold bells with Chrystal chandeliers underneath them. I thought it was a decoration for Christmas but it wasn’t. The opposite hall has white chandeliers with red covers with black and white checked flooring. Getting off the elevator to your room and you are blasted with the most god awful wall coverings, a floral jungle with owls and monkeys and a blue carpet! Then you enter your room which has the same wall coverings on one wall and mirrors on the entire wall behind the bed. The ceiling is painted a light blue and the furnishings are white, cheap and chintzy. The carpet is blue and white square with white specks on the blue part. The hotel now looks as if someone tried to make it a cheap hotel somewhere in the Bahamas with maybe a hit of I’ll repute! The Galvez is no longer the eloquent, glamours, classy hotel of distinction. The name has now been changed to the Grand Galvez, which this remodel did not come close to “grand”.

The hotel was perfect for what we wanted apart from the dark & dreary decoration of the rooms... dark browns, mustard & dark orange colors were not what I expected at a seaside resort! I imagined walking into a light blue or light green room as you'd see in the condos to rent. These colors were just dark & desperately need renovating. The bathroom had seen better days for sure...the bath base looked slightly grubby but it had a raised anti slip mat which often retains a darker appearance & the shower doors were streaked & didn't fit together properly. Basically it was a bit messy & unappealing! However, the facilities were excellent. Balconies are great w/ wonderful views. Club ten level allows a child free zone, which makes it way quieter & offers a free delivered breakfast or a voucher to reduce your breakfast bill @ Blakes Bistro & I believe free valet parking (apart from tips of course!) The restaurants here at The San Luis are excellent. Everything we ate here was delicious but expensive. Service was excellent also & all staff were extremely attentive & friendly.

Everyone was nice and the property was conveniently located so you could walk to the main attractions. We also got a free upgrade when we informed them that it was our anniversary!

Hotel location is good! Recommend everyone can come here to see! Parking is free! Especially for everyone, this restaurant, which is very close to the hotel, tastes quite good!

The $40 plus tax park and cruise, and round trip shuttle to the cruise port sounded like an amazing deal after comparing parking at the port. Shuttle from the hotel to the port went smooth. Returning was terrible. On disembark day, I called the hotel at 7:30 AM to make sure we knew where pickup was and the shuttle bus number. We arrived at the pickup place at 9:45 am and confirmed with port staff we were in the right location. At 10:19, I called the hotel to check on the shuttle’s route. I was told the driver was at the hotel picking up passengers and headed our way in about 10 minutes. At 11:00, I called the hotel again to check on the shuttle as we had seen several other shuttles come and go repeatedly. She said we had been waiting way too long and he should be there shortly and if he didn’t arrive in a few minutes to call back. I called back around 11:30- was told they would personally talk to the driver and they would call me back. I missed the call but called back promptly and was told a driver was on the way. Just before noon, a Mercedes’ shuttle #405 van pulled into the designated parking spot. He said he would take us to Holiday Inn Express and I told him we needed the resort and he said he would take us. He was not a charter bus that had dropped us off and he definitely was not bus number 803 as the hotel had told us . He said he was normally a private shuttle but he was filling in and helping out and would take us. He was confused as how we had waited so long but overall was apologetic and friendly given we had sat in the sun waiting for a ride for over 2 hours at that point. We arrived back at the hotel and I stopped at the front desk. The staff apologized and said that this driver wasn’t even their driver and was just a nice driver to bring us back and was not affiliated with the hotel. The manager I believe apologized and thanked me for the feedback and said she would get with the shuttle company to improve their service. She also said they would get us taken care of at check in and all set up for our stay. When I told her we were only there to pick up our vehicle and head out on our 7 hour drive, she just said oh ok I thought y’all were staying not leaving. She made no attempt to compensate us for the trouble or the terrible experience of sitting out in the sun for two hours. Won’t stay here again or recommend it. If you’re cruising, just pay the extra money and park at the port so you can leave in a timely manner!

Loved the location. Hotel was very nice and most of the front desk people were very accommodating. The lady who held luggage until we checked out was so very nice and funny. The rooms were very nice for an older hotel. The restaurant was a complete dud. Breakfast was overpriced and appeared as if it were heated up in microwave. No refills on coffee. Staff standing around and showing no interest in people there. Felt we could have gone down the street and had a better meal for much less.

Had only an overnight stay for an early appt at Shriner's the next morning. No complaints whatsoever. We loved the indoor pool and hot tub. Our room was spacious and comfortable. We had a 2 double bed suite with fold out couch. Everything was clean. Staff was friendly and checked with us to ask if our room was ok. The breakfast was plentiful and had a variety of choices. I don't usually eat oatmeal but I could not pass up the oatmeal bar with all its toppings and fruits and nuts. There was 3 types of juices, eggs that were scrambled and boiled, jalapeño mini-quiches, sausage, cereals, various breads, milk, yogurt, waffles, fruit and coffee. I had read someone else complaining about the smallness of the pool. I think some people forget that Galveston is an island with very limited space. The island has had to be built up several times to remain above the tide. The city has weathered many storms, and things are not going to stay pristine in that harsh sun and salt-spray environment. Target is right across the highway via an underpass, so easy access. There is a view of the bay but again, it's not pristine. It's a port city, thus it looks like one. We will definitely stay again.

Very nice. Especially for the price. Not far from the seawall and customer service is awesome.

We stayed at this hotel because they offered a park & ride for our Journey Cruise. For their cheapest room, the shuttle service & after tax we paid almost $183.00. If we would of parked at the Galveston Port of parking it would of been about $150.00 for the two weeks of parking. Now this hotel uses Moody Gardens for their shuttle service because somehow these two companies are linked together. Here is the down fall to this deal. Since Moody Gardens Hotel is the shuttle service their guest come first & are high priority. So the shuttle picked us up first then went to Moody Gardens to pick up their people. After sitting their for 20 minutes the driver came back & said they didn't have anybody to pick up at that time so we went to the port. He told us the pick up times where 9:00 am, 10:30 am & 12:30 pm when we return & where to find them. So when we returned we found the driver & got loaded to be returned. Now since Moody Gardens in priority they got dropped off first. The driver called in all their valet numbers so their vehicles were waiting for them up front when we arrived. Then he went into the hotel to get their keys & then unloaded their luggage. This whole process took us a half hour of messing around & we didn't get dropped off until almost 10:00 am. If I was to ever do this again I'd just stay at Moody Gardens or park at the port which is much faster.