Harbor House, Galveston

[CINDYSUE]

Can anyone give info on this hotel?? Have seen it, but have not gone inside. Have booked it for my October 2005 cruise. Suppose to let you leave your car there for no charge, but charges for parking while you stay at the hotel????!!! Still less expensive than Hotel Galvez. Does anyone have any other suggestions for a hotel for two days prior to cruise that would let you park your car.

[dogsdogs]

My husband and I stayed at the Harbor House on 1/2/03 precruise. It is an old property and dated in many ways (They were still using actual metal keys then). That said, we really loved our stay there. We requested and rec'd a second floor, corner room facing the cruise ship pier. They allowed us to check in a little after noon. The room was very large and had enormous windows to watch the ships. The king bed had a fabulous mattress that we enjoyed very much. The staff was friendly and helpful. There was no bellman when we arrived, but they did provide a limo to take us and all our luggage to the pier. The property is within walking distance to many restaurants. I booked the room through http://www.galveston.com because it was cheaper than calling the hotel for a reservation (I tried.). I think we paid about $85-$90 for our room. We had a good breakfast the next morning at a quaint little restaurant called The Phoenix. We enjoyed our stay in Galveston very much. I hope you do as well.

[Peyton6]

Commodore on the beach is not as nice, but they DO let you park for free and have a free shuttle to/from the pier.

[Kelly43]

We are staying at Best Western Beachfront on 4/9/2005 prior to sail date of 4/10/2005. It has heated pool, breakfast, free parking during cruise, on the beach. It is especially liked for its location. We're gonna give it a try....can't wait for our 1st cruise. :D

[helicopter]

CindySue, excellent choice! If you can, get a suite (I believe they have 4). The suites are well worth the price, and actually not that much more. They have a living room with windows all around (you look right at the pier where the ships pull in), and a separate bedroom. When we woke up the morning of our cruise we looked out the window and the whole window was taken up by the sight of our ship (Rhapsody) turning around to backup to pier. You will never have to get back into your car once you park (very safe) if you don't want to. At night go outside and sit by the pier (out back of hotel) and just enjoy the atmosphere, watch the people and have a drink. Be sure to take the trolley (you can pick it up in front of the hotel and down maybe one block). The trolley will take you down by the beach and all around the town. There are tons of shops in the downtown strand directly across the street from the hotel. I think you made a very good choice. I wouldn't stay any where else after discovering Harbour House and since we live in Texas I've gone to Galveston so many times (and stayed at so many hotels) I can't count them all.:) And of course there is a restaurant right behind (and connected to) Harbour House and one or two next door. But, there are also some across the street in the Strand.

[bobnpaml]

CindySue, We stayed two nights at the Harbour House the first part of November this year. I really liked the room. Very large rooms. Their decor is a natical theme so it may seem a little sparce. IT was very quite at night. Which these days is somewhat of a oddity. The parking is good, however you need to take your conformation with you. I ran into a problem with the "free parking" When you book online they tell you that it is free. When you check in they tell you that the lot is owned by a different company and they must charge for the parking. I was told that it might be a problem so I took my conformation with me and stood my ground. We also had our children coming in on the second day and they stayed there also and were planning on leaving their car in the lot during the cruise. I talked to the manager and showed her the conformation and we didn't pay for either the daily or cruise parking for both vehicles. We parked our car and didn't move it the entire time we were there. Everything you need is within walking distance. When we cruise out of Galveston again we will be staying at the HH.

[calliecat]

We are staying at Harbor House next Friday evening before our cruise.

I called this past week to ask about a room overlooking the water. I was told that they would not do anything until I checked in and if there was a room available then at that time we could get one. I have been booked since June. They young lady didn't take my name or my confirmation number to verify anything. I was a little put off with her abruptness but we are only staying one night so I can deal with this. Maybe they're getting tired of cruisers!