Courtyard by Marriott South Padre Island

Vanessa Barbosa made our weekend especially nice. She was kind, helpful, and attentive, and made us feel comfortable and looked after. The whole team was friendly and responsive. Our rooms have always been clean, the food has been delicious, and the pool is fun. The hotel has a relaxed, welcoming feel, and we’ve had an amazing time staying here. We’ll definitely come back more often. Thanks, Vanessa Barbosa and the team!

We’ve returned here each summer for a work conference for the past 3-4 years, but the service and attention to the guest experience have declined. The parking lot is a mess: cars unloading are left under the covered area and block traffic, with no one managing them. The bathrooms have no ventilation, and the rooms feel humid. Food quality and service at both the restaurant and outdoor bar have also gotten worse. Courtyard by Marriott SPI, you need to take the guest experience seriously.

My employer prepaid for my stay, and my own card was meant to cover only incidentals or a deposit. At check-in, the hotel first tried to put the full bill on my card. I corrected them, and they confirmed the company had paid. On checkout day, I went back to make sure the company card was being charged, and they assured me it was. I asked for a receipt for my travel claim, but they said they couldn’t print one because the room wasn’t billed to my card. Later I found the full stay charged to my personal card anyway. My company’s admin assistant called, and the hotel supposedly corrected it and refunded me. Three weeks later, the charges showed up on my account again. I called, got put on hold, and nobody returned to the line. My bank said the hotel shouldn’t still be charging the card weeks after checkout and advised me to cancel it and dispute the charges once they post. This has been an enormous hassle caused by a broken billing process and staff who seem incredibly incompetent. There were other problems, too. During my stay, they changed all the room locks and cards without warning. I walked across the property only to find my key no longer worked. A sign or a warning at the desk would have been easy. Parking was inconvenient because we had to park across the street and use a pass. Check-in dragged on while the employee typed endlessly. With all that information going into the computer, you’d think they could get the billing right. This was one of my most frustrating hotel stays. If you care about accurate billing and avoiding surprise charges weeks later, stay somewhere else.

The hotel is still not bad, but there have been some changes to breakfast. Omelets now cost extra instead of coming with the complimentary meal. Hot food is served with plastic cutlery, and coffee comes with shelf-stable creamer rather than real dairy.