Commodore On the Beach

The location to the beach is near perfect however the rooms need help. We stayed on the very top floor and it is VERY outdated and needs an overall good scrub from just grit and grime. The bathtub is more like a deep shower pan which didn’t bother me but for those looking for a tub you will be very disappointed. The traffic on the seawall is very loud even with blinds drawn and balcony door closed. AC never got below 80 degrees and I’m pretty positive they let you think you can adjust the temperature but we had ours cranked down the entire weekend and it never got cooler than 80 degrees in the room. More like it allowed the fan to blow non stop but no AC. They did however bring us a fridge promptly when asked but charged us which we expected. The WiFi was very NOT most of the time as it dumped you off or just ran really really slow.

Ok, on a scale of 10, this place rates a 2. Having spent over $ 200 for this dirty pit really stinks. The beds feel like a water bed. Really need to be replaced! The carpet is disgusting, keep your shoes on! That needs to be replace too. The hotel which is more like a motel also serves complementary breakfast and it’s more like a basic grab and go. Obviously I’m not very impressed with this place. I’m used to staying in nicer rooms for the cost.

I’ve stayed at this place many times and although it’s not the greatest I’ve always had amazing customer service, until this trip. Even when I went into the office to simply ask a question I was abruptly cutoff by the clerk behind the desk. Rude and inconsiderate. Never again will I waste my money here.

After much hesitation after reading other reviews, I decided to go ahead and give this place a try. I called to book reservations for an upcoming weekend in March, seeing as how they had the availability and the suite we were looking to book was quite nice, from the pictures. A man answered the phone in a very dull voice. I asked to make a reservation and he put me on hold. I was on hold for nearly 10 minutes before the phone disconnected. He hung up on me. I called back and told him what happened, and he responded, «Oh, I know. I’m with a guest.» And immediately put me back on hold. This kind of irritated me and I thought to myself: this is not a good first impression to make. After being on hold for another 5 – 10 minutes, I was disconnected again. Only to be called back immediately, but placed on hold without anyone ever actually answering the phone. I kept saying «Hello? Hello?» into the phone, but no one was responding. I waited again for another few minutes. This time, I hung up myself and called back. The same man answered the phone sounding very unamused. I told him, «Look, you’ve hung up on me twice. And put me on hold much longer than I have the time for. I am on break and trying to book a room with you! Please do not place me on hold again if you’re going to continue to hang up on me!» And the man said very indignantly and sarcastically, «Well you know what you can do! You can either be quiet and wait until I’m done with the customer in front of me or you can go online and book it yourself!!!» Upset beyond belief, I told him, «Or I can take my business elsewhere and write you yourself a very nasty review!» And he said, «You do that.»
Well, I’m doing that. And I hope management looks into this and takes their customer service under serious scrutiny. I will be taking my business to the Hotel Galvez for future stays.

It’s old and inexpensive and no-​frills, so you get what you pay for, which is basically a bed, a TINY bathroom and a room with brick walls on every side. The building is constructed so that every room has some sort of view of the water, even if it’s at an odd angle. Stay away from the elevator! It’s old and scary and reeks of sex and motor oil. Just make sure you’re gone during the afternoon. I had stopped back in the room mid-​day and put the chain on the door, and the housekeeping lady opened the door with such force she pulled the entire chain mechanism out of the wall! She never knocked first, just opened the door. I suspect that thing has been pulled out of the wall before — that’s probably why the screws came flying out so easily.
So, if you just want a place to sleep and don’t care that you’re surrounded by brick walls in a room constructed and decorated in 1966 (and nothing’s been done to it since), this is your place.

This was a great place to stay in Galveston. The location is ideal, right across the street from the beach. All rooms have an ocean view with a balcony. There is a beautiful sparkling pool in the front of the property, so while swimming and lounging pool side, you can still enjoy the ocean and waves. You will enjoy free hotel parking and easy access to the good part of the beach.
The room was spacious and had enough furniture to make a several day stay comfortable. It is a beach hotel… so don’t expect the Marriott. But it was clean and comfortable and the staff are very nice.
We will definitely be returning guests… and soon.

The only thing this hotel has going for it is its location. It’s directly across from the beach and centrally located on seawall blvd. It is within walking distance of several great restaurants and the pleasure pier so parking along seawall wouldn’t be an issue if you stay here. All of the rooms have a great ocean view and if you stay on the first floor you will have a door opening right to the pool area which was great for my kids. However the room décor is very outdated and I had to ask to change rooms on my last visit because the room I was given had a STRONG mildew smell. The breakfast is definitely lacking. It consists of cereal, blueberry muffins (not fresh) and juice. The weekday rate was $ 135 so for the price I expected more than just a great location. In my opinion, it’s more of an $ 80 /​night motel.

We just went on a one night Galveston getaway and this hotel was perfect. We looked at many hotels /​inn’s in the area and could not find any ocean view rooms for anywhere near what it cost us at the Commodore. Check in was very easy. All staff that we dealt with was very nice and courteous. Parking was very convenient and free right behind the hotel where the stairs and the elevator is. Yes, the rooms are outdated but so what. If you are staying there 1 or 2 nights who cares? There were no issues with the room itself. They had flat screen TV’s, lots of chairs and unlike some reviews the bathroom was actually newly remodeled and looked to be like the newest and most modern part of the room. Again, all we needed the room for is to sleep, use the bathroom, and store our stuff. We don’t need a luxury penthouse. Some people need to be more realistic. The fact that all the rooms at this hotel all have ocean view, pool, and low price — will make me consider this place first the next time we decide to stay in Galveston. Also, on the other side of the hotel, as you walk out the door is the view of harbor side. On Sunday you can clearly see the cruise ships at the port.

Exactly what we wanted.
The boy and I are both busy Houston professionals working 50+ hours a week. So when we both had a free weekend, I immediately booked a quick Galveston get-​away.
This may not be the nicest hotel I have ever stayed at, but I really enjoyed it. The room is outdated, but clean and cozy. The hotel was crowded, but we had our privacy in the large pool area. Free drinks and snacks in the lobby most of the day. The beach access across the street is clean and relaxing. The staff was lovely and the location is ideal.
The balcony with the stunning beach view sells this room. Play some nice music, fix some good drinks and enjoy it. Very refreshing.

This place is really, REALLY over-​priced. You would think that $ 150 a night, on a weekday would get you a mini-​fridge and microwave, but it doesn’t. There is a complimentary continental breakfast which I made the mistake of thinking would be comparable to those of other motel chains. Negative. All they offered was cereal, packaged oatmeal, milk, juice and packaged muffins. Not very impressive to say the least. It is conveniently located on the main drag and offers a lovely view of the beach, but IMHO it simply isn’t worth the price.

Since I live in Houston and frequent the island for stays, I have to say The Commodore is by far one of my favorite places to stay. No It’s not moody gardens, but the price makes that clear from the start.
This place has great charm and reminds me of vacations with the fam in the 80’s. First thing I love is that every room has a good beach view and a balcony, and we like the first floor rooms specifically because the back door opens up to the pool area which is really convenient. The pool location is great, you can look at the beach view as you swim, which is not possible at most places in galveston. It’s a great family friendly place.
Next thing I love about the The Commodore is that fact that it is CLEAN. It’s not the fanciest, but Its always clean. The cleaning staff looks a it rough but they get the job done, s o they are okay by me. Room 109 is next to the gate and every time that bad boy closed it was loud. Room 101 which we stayed in most recently was right next to the office, and it was actually really quiet.
The lady at the front was pleasant and helpful, and very welcoming, which is a welcome change from my Galvez experience in which they got the reservation wrong for several people in the wedding (which was there), including mine and then had there nerve to be very snotty and rude about it. If your customer service is better than the 4 star hotels, then damnit, I think you deserve an extra star so I am giving The Commodore 4 stars instead of 3.
We have already booked our next weekend excursion here.

If you’re wanting Hyatt, Hilton, Sheraton, accommodations, then this is not your place.
If you want a clean room, reasonable square footage, an ocean view room with a balcony, decent sleeping bed, fair breakfast bar, a walk across the street to the beach, clean towels, and reasonable rates, then you should check out this motel. Their website is very accurate with their listing of amenities and pictures. I’m a hotel snob, and thought that I wouldn’t like this place. I adapted quickly and I would definitely return.
One negative… I wouldn’t advise anyone to go to The Gumbo Diner next door.

We got in late on a Saturday and they had one room available in the size we needed. we get to our room and there is a lot of clutter in it, i guess they had been working in there. the lady at the front desk was so nice and upgraded our room! it was so comfortable. It is nice to know that even when it is late they still showed respect and poise. i will absolutely come back to stay at this hotel any time of year! they were so friendly and so helpful! Thank you so much for making our trip stress free!

I am a nurse and had taken my patient and her family to Galveston for a weekend of relaxation. When I called to make reservations the lady I spoke to was very sweet. I explained that we had a handicap child and ask if the rooms were wheelchair assessable and if we could get a wheelchair in the room. The answer was yes, and we were very excited about staying there and enjoying the beach. Upon check-​in the lady at the front desk was very rude, when I asked if there were handicap parking she rudely stated that «yes, but we were not the ONLY customers with a handicap child that needed parking.» A simple yes, but I am not sure what is still available would have been sufficient! When we got to the room, we had to move furniture to be able to get the wheelchair in the room. We had enough room to get to the end of the bed, to transfer my patient to the bed (she is a quadriplegic and is unable to do anything on her own). The view was amazing but the rooms looked like they had come out of the 1970’s and had not been updated, the noise was loud, elevator was slow, the older lady with blonde hair at the front desk was rude. On the websight the rooms looked big and spacious which was not the case at all. We could have gotten over the rooms but the lady at the front desk was rude to everyone that she spoke to while we checked in and really rude to us, and we booked two rooms so for the price of $ 250 ish we were also treated badly! I would not recommend this hotel and will not stay here again!

The absolutely ONLY thing going for this hotel is its location. While the location is fantastic, it still doesn’t make it worth the price. It looks nice from the outside, but when we walked in our room my bf and i both started laughing. Straight from the 70s, and I’m not sure it’s been thoroughly cleaned SINCE the 70s. Super musty smelling.
It was a Saturday night and a last minute reservation, so we got the last available room which was on the ground floor and had 2 beds. One bed was super hard, and the other was the opposite — i think i could feel every single spring, and thought i was going to sink all the way through to the floor the mattress was so bad. We kept our things on the squishy bed and slept in the other.
The tv didn’t work (no reception even though they advertise satellite tv) and while this isn’t a big deal as we weren’t in Galveston to watch TV in our hotel room, we both tend to like some white noise to fall asleep to.
It was kind of cool to be able to walk right out to the pool from our room, but not so cool to be heckled by the one random drunk man hanging out poolside. We were the only ones there and it made what could have been just a relaxing fun time swimming quite annoying. Once I got over the fact that the water felt like it was about 50 degrees and the drunk guy telling us to «get a room!» every time we swam anywhere near each other, it was fine…
Oh, and the woman who was working at night when we checked in was incredibly rude on the phone. I was extra nice to her when we checked in (i don’t think she was aware we were the people who had called) which seemed to help. She was still unpleasant, and moved at a snail’s pace, but wasn’t outwardly rude like I was expecting.
We stayed here 2 nights and the location WAS fantastic, but I’d much rather stay somewhere not right on the seawall that doesnt cost upwards of $ 200 a night (weekend price was 179 i think?) while looking like a $ 25 motel room.
The only thing saving it from 1 star is the fact that there were no bed bugs, although HOLY FLIES everywhere… so many flies and bugs, it was pretty gross.
If you do end up staying here, I’d recommend staying on a higher level than the ground floor, then you get a balcony and can see the beach.

For the price you can’t beat the commodore. The view is great from any room.

This place *urgently* needs renovation! Its age shows everywhere — especially the dirty, musty elevator. On the plus side, our room was clean and the bed was comfortable. And while we were greeted with some enthusiasm, the 3 people at the desk during check-​out were lazy, inattentive, and rude. Even at the price, which is kinda on par for other economy hotels on the beach, this place simply isn’t worth it.

This place is awesome.
The location is absolutely unbeatable, every room has a view of the pool and ocean, and the price is less than what you’ll pay at some generic chain motel for sure.
Location is also walking distance to several restaurants and bars along the seawall.
Yes, it was built in the 70’s, the walls are brick… but this is GOOD for keeping out noise from your neighbors.
The pool was clean, even with a zillion kids in it most of the day. Large pool area for hanging out and lots of chairs/​lounges.
The room was clean, looked like it had new carpet recently, the bed was on the hard side but not intolerable, and the bathroom was clean, if a bit basic.
I’ve been in a LOT of hotels in the past few years (100+) and this one was very solid. Good price for what you get. Go here.

Not worth the $ 150 even based on location. Very basic room. Shower didn’t work in the morning and the «tub» didn’t drain well either. Lots of road noise thru the door and windows on the beach side. Disappointed the room didn’t even have a simple desk to set up my laptop on.
Probably wouldn’t stay here again.

I give this place 3 stars based on:
–the proximity to the ocean/​beach
–the 24 hour juice/​cookie/​coffee in the lobby
–the lady at the front desk was very nice
–the view of the beach from the rooms
I really didn’t like:
–the elevator was soooooo slow
–rooms were okay clean, but not super-​clean (if you hate dirt, you’ll understand that)
–the rooms are really small
–for a while, my shower didn’t work. But, after a while, it did.
–satellite TV channels weren’t working
I have stayed in super-​swanky hotels and really, really bad ones. This place is one of those places that you love for the location, but hate for just about every other reason. If you’re wanting a really spacious room, this isn’t the place for you. But, I’m pretty easy-​going, not too germaphobe-​ish and really do just like to be comfortable.
BTW at all costs, avoid the restaurant next door. («Dutch» something?) We all got sick.