Stayed here many years ago and had low expectations but wanted a cheap place to stay for a couple of days. Am absolutely blown away by the upgrades from the new ownership & management. Friendly staff, well appointed rooms, delicious food, clean rooms, restaurant and grounds. Seamless WiFi and everything works!! Very pleased and anxiously look forward to my next visit!! read more

White Sands Motel - Great sunsets - Hotels Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

Shocking that I haven't reviewed this spot! We've been eating here for well on 20 years. Their food has always been really good and in true God Bless America style, the portions are gigantic and cheap as hell. Things that stick out as extra special: 50 cent margaritas from 11 - 7 pm day $1 bloody marys from 11-7 pm every day best iced tea ever huge diet cokes blackened shrimp salad blackened fish tacos anything fried super yummy hamburger fajita con todo taco breakfast con todo taco The atmosphere is Port Isabel chic. Paintings of gulls, caricatures and "Brittany's Gallery," line the walls. There's lots of teal but you're not going for the decor. You should be there for the tacos filled with (get this!) bacon, ham, egg, beans, cheese, tomatoes, green peppers, egg, onions, sausage all wrapped in at least an 18 inch tortilla. See my pic... it's as long as my forearm and twice as wide. Long story, even longer: It's unassuming, maybe even a little sketchy. But the thing you can count on here is that it's gonna fill you up and never let you down. read more

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After a good dinner here, I decided to come back to try their breakfast. I ordered a Taco Loco con Todos. The thing was huge... I thnk even bigger than the ones at Manuel's or Isabellas. The taco was filled with egg, chorizo, ham, potatos and beans. It was good... but the flavor of the Shrimp con Todo at Manuel's is better. The taco at White Sands needed tomato, or salsa or something. If you're looking for a breakfast joint that offers good food and isn't near as busy as the other Port Isabel popular spots, give White Sands a look. read more

White Sands Motel - Todo loco - Hotels Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

Terrible management. Roofs leak rooms outdated all but three good ones . Much cheaper and nicer places in port Isabel

The portions are huge and the prices are low. The food is great too. I ate here on the recomendation of one of my favorite yelpers and as always, she was right. I split the beef and shrimp taco with a friend (I think it was under $7.) I have also had breakfast here that was amazing. read more

Definitely not the fanciest place near the island, but for a very modest price, you get a clean, safe place to stay, extra friendly staff, convenience to a darn good restaurant on site with excellent prices, and just a hop skip and a jump across the causeway to SPI. All tile floors, as a beach/marina hotel should be, kitchenettes available. The cheapest hotel I could have gotten on the island this weekend was a Motel 6 for $124 night. I got my double room with a kitchenette at White Sands for $89/night. I definitely will be back again. read more

I'll start with some notes to Yelp staff: 1. IMO, It would be helpful to have separate listings for the restaurant and the motel. 2. The Marchan family is no longer running this property. Per the current management, it was forclosed in May 2013 and is now bank owned, so I'd recommend removing "Marchan's" from the title. This is a real gem of a property, located on the canals just west of downtown Port Isabel. With boat slips available, the marina onsite, the restaurant next to the marina, and the motel with 3 different room levels, White Sands has it all in a centralized location. It is an older property that has been well cared for. We've stayed there for one week each of the last four years. The main reason we're not giving it five stars is that the kitchenette room was not as clean this time as it had been in the past. There were a few dead roaches in drawers and in the freezer. The hot water heater went out on our last day, but the staff was very nice and upgraded us to a 2-room suite. The suite was very clean and overall a nicer experience (more room, central A/C, bigger dining area, comfy chairs and a sofa). Overall, the property is still in good shape and the current management seems to be trying hard to do well. I can tell you they've got some big shoes to fill. We're a little nervous about what the future holds - i.e. who will be owning/managing it next year. We ate at the restaurant one day and it was just as good as we remembered - a solid restaurant with good Mexican food and seafood. My beef fajita plate had nicely cooked skirt steak with grilled onions and peppers, good rice and beans (refried only), and good corn tortillas. Jenny if you were here in June, I'd guess that you caught them shortly after the change of management. They seem to be getting their footing now, but I remain nervous about the future of this gem. read more

The popcorn shrimp basket was very good and hubby said his all you can eat fried fish was very good also! Excellent service and wonderful water view! read more

White Sands Motel - Popcorn shrimp basket for $5.39 (early bird special). - Hotels Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

Being locals, we have driven by the White Sands numerous times but never stopped. Given it was the Friday after Thanksgiving, some of the other local places were closed. We had company in town so we thought we would try White Sands. They were quite busy when we went in and for the first part of the meal, there was only one server. Another one showed up about halfway through the meal. So if you are in a hurry, I would not recommend this spot. Initially we thought that since they were busy, that would be a good sign but come to find out...they were perhaps busy because a lot of others were closed. Food was mediocre. My husband ordered the biscuits and gravy, a favorite at any breakfast for him, and he said it lacked flavor. I ordered pancakes and meat and they were okay...nothing special. Given some of our other local favorites, I doubt we are in a hurry to come back here as it wasn't memorable. read more

New owners%#! Our old favorite... We will not go back. Menu completely changed. Salsa completely changed. No full bar anymore. Prices increased. Food not as good! Big mistake, new owners! read more

Missed breakfast. Lunch was good. Burger was the best of three items. A little over cooked. Asked for Medium well. No local fish bit of a bummer. Local fried shrimp tasty. French fries weren't usual beach style. More like McD's. Reasonable prices. Solid service. Clean place. read more

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Heading to the beach from Brownsville, Marchan's is where I stop for breakfast. The breakfast tacos are delicious and their ginormous size is just silly for the money. Heading back to Brownsville from the beach, Marchan's is where I stop for a late lunch. Their fish and shrimp is fresh and wonderful. Don't be fooled into paying more for seafood at a fancy pants restaurant, Marchan's has got it down. read more

As my husband & I were sitting in the restaurant for the umpteenth time, I made a comment about the tortilla soup and he asked me if I had reviewed the place. I realized that I had not. Well, it is a favorite of ours!! Hardly a weekend goes by that we don't go there at least once if we are here in PI. My husband, the early bird, goes for breakfast & if he orders the taco con todo he brings me leftovers. Most times he brings me this huge takeout of delicious ice tea since I seem to be addicted to it (not really) but it does last me all day. That is until happy hour, lol! For a late lunch we will go over & have hamburgers with real fries, shrimp salad, popcorn shrimp, corn fajita tacos that come in 4's & are so juicy you really need a double tortilla. Their bloody mary's are really good & I have been told that the margaritas are good too. Their lunch specials & dinner specials are cheap. Today we had an early dinner with 3 & 2 drinks each (not tea) for $14.00. I did only have a cup of tortilla soup, delicious by the way, but my husband's popcorn shrimp with fries was enough for me to eat off of so I didn't order my shrimp salad. Service was great today. Sometimes it is spotty because they are still getting used to staying open later & the crowd is getting larger because of the good food & reasonable prices. But even if the service is slow, the staff is friendly and as accommodating as possible. read more

Love this motel, restaurant and marina. The staff is so friendly and honest. The motel is very clean. The restaurant has awesome food. The marina are is very well taken care of. read more

For lunch on my first visit, The shrimp tostadas with creamy avocado and fresh shredded lettuce were delicious. Served with rice, beans and homemade hot sauce complemented the spicy grilled shrimp piled on 2 crispy shells. Friendly service and full bar with real priced meats is a plus. My husband had the BLT lunch special and though tasty, it was short on the bacon. read more

My first time to stay here. The staff was delightful, the restaurant and bar was great the good good and the rooms were very clean. Only problems were the TVs didn't work (some cable problems??) and the bath towels were so rough that you scraped yourself dry. But I didn't come here to watch TV and my old hide was a bit tougher than the towels. Room was listed at $39 but would up being $60. Maybe the web site need updating. Still, except for the bath towels, no complaints. read more

After reading a number of positive reviews, I was looking forward to trying the all you can eat fish. The good news is, it is all you can eat. The bad news is, you don't want to finish the fish they serve! When the food arrived, it looked very good. Three large filets of fish, cooked to a golden brown. But, when you cut into it, it was grey. .definitely, not fresh! Unfortunately, you don't get second chances to make a first impression. You can get a fantastic all you can eat fish dinner a few blocks east for about the same price at Marcella's. It is fantastic! read more

I ordered the crab stuffed jalapenos as an appetizer. I cut into one and it was stuffed with some green mush. I looked for crab and only found one speck about 1/16 of an inch. I asked the waitress if this was the crab stuffed jalapenos and she said it was. She said it was crab and seafood stuffing. It looked like broccoli and smelled like broccoli. I guess if i ordered the stuff crab it probably would contain this same horrible stuffing. read more

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Nothing special but great for the angler coming in for some fishing.

Horrible food! I ordered the whole red snapper and waited 40 min for it (warned ahead of time by waitress that blackened and broiled takes longer) and was hoping for something good. Good sized fish brought but tasted so fishy hard to eat, first indication it was old fish and probably should have been tossed. The so-called side salad was shredded iceberg lettuce you would likely put on a taco, served with typical dressing of your choice. Cousin ordered the country fried steak and potatoes...said her TV dinner tasted better than that and by the presentation of the food I was in agreement. Daughter had the grilled shrimp and fries, started crying and said it was "yucky." I tried it and shrimp didn't taste completely cooked through, texture not right and almost no seasoning to taste. Service sucked. Will definitely avoid in the future... read more

The food was okay , there better places at port Isabel that you can eat fried fish and shrimp. The reason why I give this place 3 starts was with the action that they took when they charged me. It was a party of 5 and they server charger us a 18% if you eat there please check your ticket at the end , the servers name is Rosendo , with out knowing I left a 9$ tip and then he stiffed me with another 11$ . read more

Breakfast tacos were worth a visit. Toco loco breakfast taco with chorizo, beans, eggs... everything will last you all day. Ask for Linda!

We had been there in previous years. We tried it again this week, and the fish and shrimp were very delicious as they were the previous time. Only thing is that the prices were a little bit more steep than what we remember. We'll be back. read more

The breakfast here is great and reasonable. Breakfast Tacos start at $1 with egg. Extra ingredients are only .$0.25, or you can get the 14in taco for $4.98 and put in anything you want in it. The Migas was great also. read more

White Sands Motel - The breakfast taco - Hotels Near Me - Port Isabel, Texas

This is probably the most authentic place you're going to find in the area. Good shrimp, far better than the tourist seafood joints in the area. Best tortillas I've had in Texas. My shrimp fajita was excellent. Breaded shrimp was likewise excellent - very light breading. Cole slaw was a bit too sweet for me. Prices were reasonable. Portions were generous. Service was minimal and brusque, but in a home-town family restaurant sort of way. Atmosphere was likewise. Parking is a bit tough as well. But it all felt authentic. read more

Very good food at a good price. Great service ! A real local secret. Unassuming on outside but very nice place after u walk in. Great waterfront view. Also stayed at motel 5-21,22,2014. Great place at a good price.clean big rooms,very nice staff. Pool,marina ,restaurant, boat slipsand more just steps away.my 2 nd stay . I will go back! read more

A Lot of changes done recently and all of them good! Great place to drop your boat and stay overnight.

The restaurant located here is hands down the absolute best place to eat in this sleepy, lazy, little port, located on the southern tip of Texas. The others do not even pass the smell test. Whatever you order will be good and the prices are very nice. Don't waste your time or money in any other eatery in Port Isabel. read more

Food is great good prices and excellent service they are famous for breakfast, I hear their happy hour is really good Mexican food outstanding, tampiquena, enchiladas and seafood are very good so is their soup they have good desserts and coffee, very nice view also. read more

People were being served in A head of us. We were treated like we not even their. The service is awful

We found the White Sands Restaurant a couple years ago after locals said they take their family here for good inexpensive seafood, burgers and chicken....the all you can eat fish is a definite win.....mostly fried food but excellent portions and fresh. I highly recommend this for family travelers to Port Isabel and S Padre Island... read more

It's a marina/motel with a restaurant and it was amazing! I had the fish and shrimp combo it came with a baked potato and coleslaw. The fish was delicious and fresh and the shrimp was perfect. The price was not bad 11.99, it was worth it I was full. They have all you can eat fish for 7 bucks! My bf got the chicken fried chicken and it was huge. There were locals , I never eat on the island what a rip off. Come to this place, it's decent and the service was great. Very friendly, read more

This is our ONLY choice when coming to South Padre & Port Isabel. We have a fishing boat & bring it with us so of course the inexpensive on-site boat slips are perfect for us. Getting out into the bay takes only a few minutes & we find fish rather quickly. We've stayed in the basic room with a microwave & mini-fridge & the room with a full kitchen. The latter is the way to go! Rooms are clean & we can get extra towels, etc when needed. Housekeeping staff are very helpful, as are the front desk folks. Love the on-site laundry for washing our fishing & beach clothes! Bring or buy your soap. Bring your toiletries! They provide bar soap. They also provide a couple packets of coffee each day, but we bring our keurig. The pool is clean & cool. There are so many places within walking distance that we don't have to drive anywhere, unless we're going to the beach. Restaurants, shopping, bait shop, Port Isabel Museum.... WE LOVE IT HERE! read more

Great breakfast, very reasonable prices. Beware of the huge flocks of snow birds that tend to roost there in the winter months (usually between 7 and 10 am). read more

I don't know why I didn't give this place a 5 star. I think it is because I associate that with people wearing tuxedos. This is not that kind of place. It is laid back, if you want to wear a hat while your eating, it's OK.. They keep the place really clean, Pat, the fellow that makes sure things get done around hear, does not mind being bothered, and makes sure your stay is a pleasant one. read more