Texas City ok to stay in?

[odiesam]

We are cruising out of Galveston 4/1; flying into Dallas for family reasons then driving to Galveston area evening of 3/31. We don't really plan on visiting Glaveston at all but would like a short drive Sunday morning and an inexpensive hotel. It appears the Galveston hotels are kind of pricey for what you get. What does anyone think of the Texas City area hotels? Is that an ok area for what we are looking for? - safe and a short drive to the Galveston pier (for the Rhapsody)?

 

Thanks!

[clearlakecruisers]

Texas City motels are primarily located around the intersection of Interstate 45 and Lowery Expressway/FM1784. No problems with that area. It is very convenient to I-45, near a large mall (Mall of the Mainland), near the dog track if that interests you, and a short, easy drive to Galveston.

 

Enjoy the Rhapsody - it's our favorite ship.

[lovetexas]

hello-

we are out of the dfw metroplex and are getting to go on the rhapsody in august and my dh is working the sat night before we go- we are considering spending the night before the cruise, but i think galveston is too expensive for us. i had rather spend the extra 40-50 dollars on the cruise. we are looking at the clear lake area or the woodlands. texas city is nice, but there are closer nicer places. we are going to do the ez parking and just get to galveston early and see the ship come in-:) :cool:

[odiesam]

Is Clear Lake or the Woodlands a closer ride than Teaxs City? We are totally unfamiliar with the Houston/Galveston area - we are doing the one way rental from DFW with Hertz. I picked Texas City because it looked closer.

 

Which area other than Galveston would anyone recommend for a safe, reasonably priced hotel with a short ride to the Glaveston pier Sunday morning?

 

Thanks - and how long will it take us from Dallas?

[DannyMac]

Texas City is around 10 miles from Galveston, the Woodlands is located North of IAH and Houston.

 

I believe there is a LaQuinta located in TC on 146 and Palmer highway. You can reach this area by taking I-45S to Palmer Highway and taking a right. If you choose this location, you can reach Galveston by taking 146S and it will meet up with I45S just north of the Causeway.

 

You might call the Texas City chamber of commerce for my hotel listings.

[DannyMac]

Sorry about the 2nd post,

 

Your drive from Dallas to Galveston should take you about 5-6 hrs. depending on traffic. Try not to come through Houston during the Friday afternoon rush hour, the traffic on I45S is horrendous at that time and will increase you travel time. Early before 3:00pm is good or late after 7:00pm is good. The traffic is bad all the time but during rush hours it is the pits!

 

Galveston offers many nice hotels/motels that are reasonably priced, some offer free parking and a shuttle to the terminal. Check out Galveston.com for more information.

[clearlakecruisers]

There are motels from almost every major chain in the Clear Lake area {Interstate 45 and Bay Area Blvd. and/or Interstate 45 and NASA Parkway (AKA, NASA Road #1)} This is a major suburban area of Houston which surrounds the Johnson Space Center and offers lots of good restaurants, and a large shopping center/mall. In this area you will be about 30 minutes north of the Galveston cruise terminal.

 

Texas City is approximately 15 miles further south on Interstate 45 and therefore closer to Galveston. There is also a motel (Motel 6??) located in Dickinson which is between Clear Lake and Texas City. There are several fairly new motels on Interstate 45 at the Texas City exit and, unless you are staying in Galveston, Texas City would be the closest lodging to the cruise terminal.

 

The Woodlands is a very nice area but it is located in the far north reaches of the Greater Houston area +/-25 miles north of the central business district. Typical travel time from the Woodlands to Clear Lake (we drive this often as we have a lake cabin in northeast Texas) is one hour. As DannyMac said, be aware of high traffic times if you are driving through the Houston metropolitan area.

[texreno]

Clearlake gave you some good information but made the same mistake that most of us locals do. Texas City / Lamarque are sister cities but us locals mainly refer to both of them as Texas City. I-45, the dog track and Mainland Mall are in Lamarque city limits. Hotels with a Texas City address are off I-45 about 5 to 10 minutes and located mainly around Hwy 146. Not much difference for a local but for an out of towner to keep it easy just stay around I-45 and the dog track with a Lamarque address.

[gratefulguy]

Have you tried using an internet hotel finder that plots locations on a map and/or offers driving directions? As others have posted, you'll find the easiest stay to be one on or very near I45 (aka the Gulf Freeway). No need to go over to Hwy.146, IMO. And, yes, price Galveston first--it's obviously the closest--but it might also be "Spring Break" time for some college kids from somewhere. Hope you can get an early start from Dallas.

Happy Cruising

[DannyMac]

Just returned from a short afternoon in Galveston, when passing through TC, I wrote down the hotel/motel names. Best Value Inn and Suites, Crystal Inn and Suites, La Quinta. All are located on Palmer Highway and Texas 146 in TC.

 

Hope this helps

[odiesam]

Thanks for all of the help. I think we are going with the Fairfield Inn in Texas City - it appears along I45. Anybody ever stay there or hear anything good/bad? The Tripadvisor reviews were pretty good.

[cmdir]

I live in La Marque. The Fairfield is good, we have put guests there before. Also, Best Western, Mainland Inn & Suites is the newest (next door to Fairfield) and is very nice. The rates here tend to be high, I guess because of the plants and the dog track.

 

But.... this area ia no closer to the cruise terminal than the seawall in Galveston. I know you can get better rates online at Casa Del Mar.

[ShoMeChiefsFan]

Thanks for all of the help. I think we are going with the Fairfield Inn in Texas City - it appears along I45. Anybody ever stay there or hear anything good/bad? The Tripadvisor reviews were pretty good.

 

what kind of prices did they quote you?

 

You can stay in Galveston at Gaido's Seaside Inn for about $65, plus leave your vehicle there, and catch a cab for about $10 to the cruise terminal.

 

I am saiing on the Conquest on 4/1/07 and would also like to know if there are any better deals....

 

you can also do the priceline thing....i have been expeirmenting with that, trying to locate the best hotel for the lowest dollars.

 

I can recommend the Gaido's i stayed there last year, good clean hotel, cross the road and your on the beach!

[odiesam]

I think the Fairfield AAA rate is $85. I haven't seen anything on the Seaside Inn. We do not need parking as we are dropping off a Hertz car at the Broadway street address. We are also driving down from Dallas the day before and are not sure how ealry or late we will be arriving in the Galveston area Saturday night (based on family plans in Dallas). Because our plans are up in the air we decided against Priceline as I do not want to be locked in.

[ShoMeChiefsFan]

I think the Fairfield AAA rate is $85. I haven't seen anything on the Seaside Inn. We do not need parking as we are dropping off a Hertz car at the Broadway street address. We are also driving down from Dallas the day before and are not sure how ealry or late we will be arriving in the Galveston area Saturday night (based on family plans in Dallas). Because our plans are up in the air we decided against Priceline as I do not want to be locked in.

 

Here is there website: http://www.galveston.com/includes/links/memberlinkout.asp?memberid=34&url=www.gaidosofgalveston.com

 

I forgot to mention on top of the lower rate, they also offer discounts for cruising patrons....check out the specials/discounts page on the website.....it all depends on what you would like to use the discount for.

 

We chose to use the 10% for the stay.

 

I understand about the priceline deal as well....