Galveston Hotel help!

[EagerToCruise]

We are a group of 26, cruising next Feb. out of Galveston. Half of us are flying, half are driving. I am looking for a hotel that has free airport shuttle, free parking for length of cruise and free shuttle to cruise terminal. Can anyone help? Thank you, thank you, thank you.

 

PS I posted this thread on the Hotels forum and got no response. Can anyone help me?

[EagerToCruise]

Forgot to mention that we will be flying in to Houston Hobby airport. Do any Galveston hotels provide free shuttle from that airport? I sure hope so.

[Paradox]

Go to www.galveston.com

 

They have a great selection of hotels listed that offer free parking and transportation. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Beach, and used their service. The down side would be getting that many people to the ship in one trip.

 

Most hotels have 3 shuttles that are van size. Not sure how you will manage that. You might have to call the hotel you choose and make special arrangements.

 

Good luck!:D

[EagerToCruise]

Believe me, I have studied that website inside and out. I trust my fellow Cruise Critic members and want to hear from someone who has actually stayed in one of the hotels. We are looking at Holiday Inn On the Beach or The Hilton. I will do some phone calls to these hotels to see about shuttles for our group. Only half of us will need airport shuttle.

[Aprille]

The Hilton is wonderful! We stayed there pre-cruise in December. The service was great and we had a very nice room with a small balcony. They have free parking and shuttle to the cruise terminal. I don't know about airport shuttle. We drove. It's only 35 miles from our house. ;)

 

The Hilton sometimes offers a cruise rate so ask about that when you call.

 

Edited to add: The Hilton is also in easy walking distance of two good restaurants - Rainforest Cafe and Landry's Seafood.

[debandbill]

Stayed there precruise during a very busy time (Dickens on the Strand) and was just amazed at the wonderful customer service and precruise help. Rooms were very spacious and pristine. We got the $99 cruise rate that includes transport to and from the port and free parking for the week. The concierge has a great system for booking your shuttle and it all went very well and organized. The shuttles are the nice ones like the rental car places use...lots of headroom, luggage room and great AC. No problem on pickup either, just called when we were ready and we were taken right to our car. Can't say enough about the Hilton....great little restaurant in the hotel...lovely breakfast buffet or ala carte service...nice bar area for prenight gatherings. Hotel is right on the waterfront...nice Landrys restaurant next door. Call the hotel direct and ask for the cruise rate...some folks are saying that there is a two night minimum but that was not my experience:

 

Phone #409 744-5000

 

Good luck...Deb

[Cindyrella]

I researched this quite a bit and couldn't find a single hotel that offers a free shuttle from the airport, not surprising as it's a hour away. I booked Galveston Limo on recommendations from this site, $50/pp RT. I made reservations at the Hilton but had to cancel as they will only make a minimum 2 nt. reservation. I changed to Holiday Inn on the Beach, will let you know how it goes, we cruise end of March.

[wallie5446]

On the Galveston.com site there is an area called book a room, look there. Have not heard of any Galveston Hotels that will pick up at the Houston Airports. I would compare it to flyin in to Chicago, but wanting a Hotel in Gary to pick you up. To far away. Most do have a shuttle that will take you to the pier from the Hotel.

[Grandma Dazzles]

Last time we sailed out of Galveston was almost 2 years ago, so some things may have changed.

 

We used Galveston Limo from the airport - they are not a true "limo" more of a shuttle type van with regular service to both airports. They were very good - highly recommend them and would use again.

 

We stayed at the Holiday Inn, not the one referred to as the "beach" location. We changed our reservation to the "other" HI, might have been an express, because they had a shuttle to the pier. At that time, the "beach" location did not have a shuttle. The HI we stayed at did allow parking for the week if you drove and used their shuttle. The morning of the cruise, however, we decided against their shuttle. It was absolutely packed - was planning to make several trips - there was baggage all over the place and loads of people. It was total disorganization, hot, humid and not my idea of starting a cruise.

 

We had flown in the night before and taken a cab down to the pier area to eat - cab fare was around $5 for the two of us. When we saw the line and baggage for the shuttle we called a cab - paid the driver plus tip and was under $10. He was great, dropped us right at the door. The shuttle to me wasn't worth the wait, etc.

 

We could have just hit a time when everyone spent the night at the HI - I don't know if it is always like that.

[Aprille]

About the 2-night minimum stay many Galveston hotels require - we stayed at the Hilton on a very busy weekend last December and the website was showing the 2-night minimum requirement. I called the 800 reservation number and had no problem booking a single night with a cruise rate of $99. The cruise rate wasn't even available on the website.

 

As Deb stated above she called the hotel directly and avoided the 2-night minimum and got the cruise rate.

 

So sometimes you can get around it unless they've changed things recently.

[Cindyrella]

I too called the Hilton directly and the reservations manager spoke to her boss and no go for a 1 night stay. I told them I would have to cancel the reservation and they held fast. We are crusing during what is our spring break, end of March so maybe that has something to do with it.

[EagerToCruise]

You're all the best! Thank you so much for all the info! So maybe pier shuttle isn't as important as I thought, if cabs are that cheap. And I guess when I saw free airport shuttle offered at the Hilton (according to Expedia), I hadn't realized yet that we couldn't fly into Galveston. Thanks so much for your recommendations.

[KruzDude]

I am not sure if the Moody Gardens Hotel does all the stuff you are looking for, but I can tell you it was very nice a couple of years ago when I stayed there. You might check out their website to see if they meet all of your requirements: http://www.moodygardenshotel.com

 

:)

[ernie16]

Kruzdude, glad to hear you liked Moodygardens..we are staying there a couple nites precruise next month. They do offer FREE shuttle to the ship terminal. Anything I need to know about MoodyGardens???

[JohnSax]

Moody Gardens Hotel is my choice for top Galveston hotel. It's really more like a resort and is excellent in all respects. Plus it's connected to Moody Gardens itself, which is Galveston's best attraction IMO.

[wallie5446]

Moody Gardens is a very neat place. A series of piramid's with Botanical gardens, IMAX Theater, and some other stuff, and yes the resort Hotel. Last time we were down, they were building their own beach type area around their pool.

The Strand Shopping area is across from the pier and is a mix of old style shopping and new.