Worst "resort" ever. If I could give this place zero stars, I would. If I could give negative stars, I'd happily hand over a few. Let's start with the name: Crystal Palace Resort. Calling this place a resort is like calling a gas station hot dog a five-star dining experience. "Crystal Palace" sounds luxurious. What we got felt more like "Questionable Motel Behind the Highway Exit." Which I did expect going into this trip but my goodness, it was worse than I thought! The accommodations were underwhelming, but management somehow managed to be worse. I completely understand policies. What I don't understand is a complete inability to exercise common sense or basic customer service. We had family members actively sick with COVID and asked if we could either modify or cancel our reservation. Not for a refund, just move the reservation. Not for special treatment. Just a little flexibility. Their response? Essentially, "Sounds good. Bring the COVID." Apparently protecting your family, fellow guests, and their staff was less important than enforcing a reservation policy with all the warmth and compassion of a parking ticket. As a result, half of our family went and half stayed home sick. Nothing says "family vacation" quite like splitting up your family because management couldn't be bothered to show an ounce of understanding. The entire experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I found myself wishing I had been the one stuck at home instead of spending time at this place. Save yourself the headache. Stay literally anywhere else. Sleep in your car. Pitch a tent in a parking lot. Befriend a raccoon and ask if it has a spare room. All would likely provide a more pleasant hospitality experience than Crystal Palace Resort. The only thing "resort" about this place is the amount of regret you'll have after booking it. read more

Stayed during Mardi Gras. Very clean and comfortable. The staff was great. I was checked in by Sam and he was very kind and helpful with questions I had. I would definitely stay here again and recommend to anyone looking for a nice stay. read more

Don't be misled by fraudulent reviews, this place is a dump, and no refunds once you check in, because the beds are dirty with pubic hair on pillows and bed, furniture is old and worn out. Place is as nasty as a snake farm.. BEWARE don't do it! read more

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If you like bed bugs, boogers on your pillows and non-functional AC units this is the place for you. Hard pass here, fellow reviewers. It's as gross inside as it appears on the outside. This hotel does not fuck. read more

Crystal Palace Resort - Ready...aim....SNOT ROCKET! - Resorts Near Me - Port Bolivar, Texas

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I love the smell of this room an the painting and blanket. But you guys need to make having 2 seperate rooms cheaper. I wanted privacy from my parents wheater this is a shor vacation or not. Also the microwave is a bit complicated to use. The floor needs rugs and bathmat for bathtub. I was afraid I slip from the water. Other than that, nice place but I expect far much better. read more

When I walked in the office it said it all. No refunds after check in! Must be a problem!!!

My son is a musician and he had 2 gigs booked at Crystal Beach. We live 2 hrs away and these shows were back to back nights. We couldn't find ANYTHING in the community that was close to affordable for 2 people with 2 dogs. We originally booked in Winnie, TX at the Holiday Inn and they completely disappointed us with waiting until we arrived (1 hr before showtime) and told us their pet policy had changed. Desperate to find a place that accepted pets, I had read horrific reviews about the Crystal Palace Resort and would rather drive the 4 hrs round trip than to stay there but... locals had assured us it was under new ownership and improved. Reluctantly I obtained a room while my son set up for the gig. I brought our dogs to the room and was pleasantly surmised to arrive to a CLEAN, COLD COLD COL 60* room (in the dead of TX summer heat, that was very spacious (big enough for 2 adult dogs 3x4 Kennels and clean grounds and ample parking. The lobby was clean and appeared updated. It's NOT a 4 star hotel. This is a BEACH MOTEL but I would DEFINITELY stay here again and we are because we have gigs booked here monthly!!! Kudos to the new owners for the improvements and please keep it up!!! You have the forward momentum of turning this place into a great family vacation spot!!! Also note, we had very expensive electronics in our vehicles and trailers and never once had an issue with theft or anything of the sort. I read the most recent reviews on here from disgruntled customers and they're obviously not from this area. What their complaints are really aren't complaints about the motel it's about their expectations. What they expected and what they received were different but they should have KNOWN this based off the price they paid. There is NOTHING 4dtar and up for less than $500/night. You can a step up around $300/ night but they stay booked for obvious reasons. So in my opinion (and I AM a hotel/resort snob) this place is excellent for the price!!! You wont find ANYWHERE to stay on this peninsula for less than or equal to what you pay for this motel. read more

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I would not suggest this place, if you have kids, grand parents with you or even a dog, they will not respect you or them. Room wasn't setup correctly and didn't even enough towels. No direct beach access which it says it did. My door was bent half way to the moon at my hotel. read more

I stayed at the resort for the Crab festival. Rooms were very clean and cute. The Management team was AWESOME!!!! They were very friendly and helpful. They treated us like family!!!! I am going to stay there next year for sure for the Crab Festival 2024. The air conditioner kept the room very cold if we wanted which is great with Texas humidity! Thank you so much Harry, Nedhi, Ally and Ray!!!! read more

It's been completely remodeled and under new management. Looks super nice! Great for a weekend with the family.

This place is a fantastic place to stay, it doesn't look that nice, but the customer service was excellent, we had rented a few rooms because I got married on Crystal Beach and all my guests were happy the way we were treated. The owners are very friendly and willing to help you. I will admit the place is old and run down but it a beach town and there are not very many places to stay on Crystal beach. So I think it's what you make of your experience is that's what matters. read more

The description of this place as a resort is a deception. The hotel is nothing more than a roach motel. We were told it was recently remodeled. The paint was splattered on the floor of the bathroom and carpet. The carpet was tattered and dirty. The room was not ready for us. It did not have towels or cups. When asking for towels, I was informed I needed to bring dirty towels to swap out with new towels. I informed them I had just checked in and no towels in the room. I was given only 2 towels. Listed in name as a resort, there is not wifi service for guests. The cable tv selection was all staticky reception and not clear. No phone in the room, no clock. Room features not updated to accommodate any usb charging. In addition, the seat cushion slid out and there was a pair of underwear and a dirty wash cloth. A pair of socks in a desk drawer. Disgusting. The pool was a good attraction until the residents. Yes. Residents not guests came out to the pool and over ran the pool. Cooking and eating at the pool. We stayed leading up the to 4th of July and they set off fireworks at 11:30 pm on July 2. Waking up my whole family from a dead sleep sounding like emergency services at the door to get us out of the room. Not acceptable. We voiced issues of fireworks on July 3. We were offered and agreed to a discount upon check out completion next morning. The next morning we were forced to wait held hostage for a manager who stated they live on site. I had to wait more than an hour for the manager living on site to come up and speak with me. At this time they immediately began to not honor the agreement from the previous night. The check out became a disastrous argument about the items mentioned in this comment. I would not recommend this property for anyone traveling to stay in Galveston area. read more

Awesome Pool. The room was large and smelled good. The bed was huge, really big and comfortable. The pool was really nice, big and deep. Crystal clear water, great for after the beach. Good Mexican food down the street. read more

If I could give this place zero stars, I would. My family and I checked in on 7/2 and immediately noticed what a shit hole this place is. $175 a night. We found old crusty socks stuffed into the dresser, toilet paper all over the bathroom floor, and a used rag and shorts stuffed under the sofa cushion. Not only that, it's a family owned business. So the pool was constantly swarmed with the owner and their family. Not a big deal at first. Until their partying went on nearly all night. I understand, it's a holiday weekend, people want to party. But they were setting off fireworks in the parking lot. It was so loud, it literally sounded like someone was banging on the door directly. Keep in mind, this was at 12am. Myself and my family were sleeping. When we went downstairs to ask that they do that somewhere else, we were told "well we're doing this for the guests." I would understand if on their website they informed the guests that they would be doing fireworks in the middle of the night for the guests. No one knew anything about it though. Long story short, this place is terrible. Even after the "remodeling", it still smells like garbage and is not worth more than $50 a night. read more

Nasty and unclean. I turned dm down the covers and there was period blood on the bed. Absolutely disgusting musty smell obviously hasn't been cleaned with any type of actual cleaning product. Unsanitary to the extreme. Stay away unless you want bed bugs, Corona, or something else read more

Crystal Palace Resort - Period blood in my sheet - Resorts Near Me - Port Bolivar, Texas

Very disappointing. The outside had trash everywhere. Broken glass and lots of cigarettes littered the property. There were no trash cans on the property. The pool was nice and well maintained. The room had a cold AC and a fan to help cool the room. However, the fan was caked with dust. Crystal Palace Resort? We jokingly referred to the place as the "crystal meth palace of last resort". This place seems to attract a lot of sketchy people. One man was walking around in his underwear and even went swimming in his underwear. We woke up at about 1 AM to a stranger standing in our room. The caliber of "guests" made me think this was a pit-stop for drug traffickers and human smugglers. Our refrigerator did not work but we were supplied with one that did. Our microwave was broken. Weekday rate was $116 and weekend rate was $167. Way overpriced! It's a $69 a night hell-hole at best! read more

Lady up front was sweet, it didn't take too long for us to get a room. They are remodeling the lobby area which looked promising. It was around 10pm and there was a pool party outside which wasn't too annoying at first. Entering the bedroom the smell off cigarettes and old carpet was absolutely horrific. The room is extremely outdated and ugly. The sheets felt horrible and looked like it came from the 1700's. There was dust everywhere and unclean surfaces. When we opened the window that has absolutely no view we noticed a napkin with blood on the bottom of the window frame. The bedding was itchy and very uncomfortable. Later on around 11:00pm- 3:00am I kid you not a group of crackheads we're screaming and running across the entire outside hallways. They were knocking on people's doors and being stupid, this lasted all night. Once the knocking on doors started happening on our door it became honestly terrifying. The guy would start moaning and he would start beside our door waiting for us to open it. Each time he stood there was a good 10 minutes and then he and this woman would run over to another door screaming. I called the hotel and very rudely and unbothered told me he was handling it. Obviously not. Shit hole of a hotel, would definitely get kidnapped there. It remains with its title of the Crystal Meth Palace after 7 years. read more

If I were able to give this place negative stars, I would. Absolutely horrible. From the minute you walk into the lobby, you should be aware that this will not be a pleasurable experience. The owner has a medical condition, with a frightening growth in his mouth, while his children play in the hotel room neighboring the office. They jump, run in and out and wreak of the unprofessionalism that is Crystal Palace Resort. The price of the room came to about $80. Upon approaching the bright green door with the room number scrawled in ball-point pen, you are then greeted with the distinct smell of mildew and neglect. I first go to the bathroom which has water damage and a free hanging light bulb which doesn't work, and the smell gets worse near the drain of the tub. My girlfriend and I gave the room the benefit of the doubt because it is a beach motel, but when you near the bed, all excuses go out the window. We pulled back the sheets to find pubic hair and cigarette burns. The cigarette burns explained the fact that the sheets had not been changed, because the burns broke through to the mattress pad. That quickly sent me out of the room for a refund. You can guess due to all of the pleasant amenities that the professionalism was sure to continue upon the request of money refund. Sorry, sir there is nothing I can do, as I deal with this beautiful couple that has obviously reproduced to create future stellar business men and women, who will most likely offer their hospitable talents to tired tourists in the future. The weakest of the group probably taking over this establishment that is one rung above sleeping under the bridge (maybe not). For those who pay close attention to detail: other fun Crystal Palace Resort facts: Roach found on wall, exposed wiring, exquisite duck print held by wood screws, woods screws as hangers in bathroom, vomit inducing odor emitting from pillow, water damage in all corners of room and around electrical outlet. Microwave from 1989. Unclean refrigerator. No phone. No clock, No internet. And for the religious, no complimentary Bible, no pens or stationary. However, to the credit of the Crystal Palace Resort, the ashtray is turned upside down and ready for use in this elegant non-smoking room. read more

This place is a step below your local ghetto rent by the hour type places.. Rooms smell like a bums ballsack, the hotel clerk was completely rude, saw what looked like children (12-13 years old)smoking and drinking in front of their destroyed room, and the a/c broke in the middle of the night. So save your money and camp on the beach.. The locals told us you can camp on the beach and have a small fire for free, I'm staying there tomorrow night! Haha! read more

Crystal Palace Resort - The humble commode. - Resorts Near Me - Port Bolivar, Texas

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It was worth the money. It was clean roomy, pleasant to be in. Spacious parking we parked on the side by the door. Only thing that bothered us was a pesky skunk when we went to check in. We will us this place again. read more

Crystal Palace Resort - Nice and clean - Resorts Near Me - Port Bolivar, Texas

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The place wasn't cleaned from the day before. Ashtray in window cell had 3 q-tips in it. One, I repeat one light bulb by bed is all they offered. I went to office to get more and they gave me just one bulb. It went in the restroom. She said they normally don't have lights this time of year. The bottom of the door had a 2" gap at the bottom. We put a towel there so nothing could crawl under the door....A half roll of toilet paper. This place is a joke. It's worth maybe 25.00 a night. ....no wifi, no cable, no satellite, carpet got soaked when it was raining....terrible, terrible service.... read more

Bed bugs nasty sheets wow health depart will be making a visit here shortly we left and didn't stay because of the filthy room the lady said no credit or refund very unprofessional read more

This is one of the nastiest motels I have ever stayed at!! Roaches everywhere, dirty linens, stank bad, just overall nasty and gross!

I would consider myself someone who is well cultured, with acquired taste. That being said there are not many places I've encountered in my 27 years of life and many years of traveling the globe that would allow me to use this word to describe them...but I think I found the hidden utopia in the Bolivar Peninsula. My stay at the Crystal Palace Resort was nothing short of spectacular. I was greeted by the most friendly employee of any establishment I've ever frequented, and lead into the promised land of beachside hotel rooms. The amenities were more than I could ever dream of. The atmosphere was euphoric. Even the air smelled of fresh adventure with every inhale. I awoke the morning of my checkout with a feeling I haven't felt since I was a small boy. A feeling of innocence and grandeur, as if I could conquer anything this life threw at me. My life will never be the same after my time at this paradise. You haven't truly experienced luxury until you've spent a weekend at the Crystal Palace Resort... read more

This place is about as bad as they come. To begin, when I walked up to my room, there was trash everywhere. There was a jumbo, half eaten burrito right in front of my door. The woman/couple that own the place are pretty much from the armpit of society and are about as rude as they come. Their children ride their bikes up and down knocking you off the sidewalk as they go. They are completely feral. The rooms are pretty ghetto. The one bonus was the mini fridge for drinks/leftovers. There was water damage, graffiti on the AC unit, and ripped up carpet. I cannot stress the rudeness of the owners. She has a very heavy accent which is hard to understand. When you ask "what?" Or repeat what you thought she said, she rolls her eyes and says , "yyyyyeeeeessss". Completely put out and not customer service related at all. They were bottom feeders. To sum it all up, a local asked us where we were staying. He laughed when we told him. This place is affectionately called the "Crystal Meth Palace". I think this pretty much accurately summed up the majority of the clientele. read more

I was very pleasantly surprised! After reading reviews I was worried, and actually brought my own Bedding to lay on top of whatever the Motel had. It was Go Topless JEEP weekend, and our beach house sold so we needed someplace to camp... I didn't want to sleep in the sand. So we booked the bright yellow motel, we have all driven by hundreds of times. We found it clean, with Granite in bathrooms, beds were new, bedding and room clean! I told the hotel Owner/MGR how happy I was. He shared they have remodeled many of the rooms, and plan to continue to upgrade. Pool was really nice and looked inviting. Mgr. gives discounted rates often to fill his rooms, still trying to get the word out the motel is really nice, a good value for money and safe. We will go back again. read more

We rented a beach house right on the beach but more people came so we looked for the closest hotel and that was it. We walked up to the front and no one was even in there so after 10 minutes or so. She finally came in and the front office was horrible the roof was falling apart and there was mold and lots of dust everywhere. So we got the keys to the room I was looming through the room and the lamp was sagged over so I touched it and it fell into pieces. The rooms smell like dog pee and feces its ridiculous. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY!!!! read more

This place is a total dump. If I could, I would give it negative stars!! First of all, we had to wait outside for several minutes before the people came to unlock the door to the check in desk. When they did come they were very rude. They would roll their eyes at you and you can NOT understand their accents. When they did respond they would respond with "what?" The rooms were as nice as the lady at the front desk. The rooms smelled terrible. The sheets where filthy, the microwave from the 1980's didn't work, and the fridge had leftovers left in it with no shelves. The water also didn't work on the faucet and the bathroom was not clean and smelled 100x worse than the rooms. Right before we left, the people in the next room told us they found bed bugs in their room. The rooms also didn't have a complementary bible. If you ask me, I would rather get a room a hour away than stay at this dump!! read more