Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa and Convention Center Review

Just had the worst experience at a hotel I have ever had. I wouldn't waste your time or money at this antiquated hotel and attractions.

Always love going here. STEVE was playing and as always plays awesome, just a nice place to chill out & enjoy the music, more people need to go thier.

It would have recieved five stars if the lobby, night, bartender had not been so rude. We gave her no reason to act that way.

The awards banquet was a success. The food and service was good.

I'm please with moody garden hotel this is my 3 time love it

Make sure to check your bill if you were offered a discount to see if they applied it. I had to call over 5 times to get my bill right. The reason I received a discount is because I paid for a room with the pyramid view but when I checked in they did not have any. The lady at the front desk didn t even tell me I wasn t getting a room with the view.. I didn t know until I made it to my room. So I went back downstairs to talk to them at the front desk where I was offered the discount.. So The first time I called they told me my discount was applied, however it was not. Called again and they said they applied it but I never received a receipt. Called the third time and they finally sent me a receipt, looked it over to see that they only applied the discount to the first night. Called again to find out why, they fixed it for all 3 nights (I thought). Hung up and looked over the receipt with fine-tooth comb to find out that they gave me discounts for the first night price which was cheaper than the other 2 nights I stayed..so I had to call again to get it fixed. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. If I wouldn t have called, I never would have received my discount but they can t seem to get it right the first time. ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS.

Great place for the family nice people would refer to many more people

They are overpriced for not being on seawall side especially since they limit key times for 2 and 3 minimum stay nites. So staying over nite to chaperone prom or celebrate mothers day cannot be 1 day affair but 3 day out of price range experience,

We had an Amazing weekend!! The massages at the Spa were sooo relaxing....

My family and I stayed there, front desk staff were nice, but that's about where our good stopped. Got into the first room and the electric drapes were broken, popped out of the track. Then all the pictures on the walls were a mess, the reflective parts of the bathroom mirror were massively peeling away from the glass, and the bathroom floor was disgusting. The second room we're got moved into was better, but the floors still were still nasty, just wasn't worth moving again. After finding they wanted 5 dollars for a bottle of life water we decided all food and drinks would be purchased elsewhere. All in all we will probably never go back.

The rooms are very comfortable and nice. The staff are very nice and helpful. The view is great and close to the water and aquarium.

Very good atmosphere, a lot of things to do for families and or couples getting away for the weekend by themselves.

Had an amazing time, there with wife and grandson...

Lots of stuff to do at Moody Gardens!
Our room was very nice and clean. Check in was a breeze. Plenty of free parking. Every staff member we came into contact with was very friendly. One in particular was so sweet to our little boy. He was wanting to wander all over. When my wife stopped him from going up the stairs she came out from the cafe and offered crayons and a page to color. Our little guy loved it! I thought that was a great moment considering we didn't even eat at the cafe. We will for sure consider this hotel first for our return trips to Galveston!

Good kid friendly place. Free admission to Palm Beach is great. My family loved staying there.

The graduation event at Moody Gardens was well organized. The parking was adequate and easily accessible.

Amazing value for the price youcould almost stay in the resort the whole vacation, with all the near by attractions. Food was good service was great we will definitely be staying here again next vacation.

Moody Gardens Hotel is an awesome resort. It is very kid friendly as it has a water park, aquarium, 2 pools and face painting, movie night etc for kids. The staff of the hotel was also very helpful and courteous.

We had breakfast at Cafe in the park on Monday, and a party of 8 at that. I highly recommend it, they have great service, hospitality and energy! They had a breakfast buffet that was unbeatable also an open menu, options are unlimited!

Nice room & pool area. Was disappointed that the kid crew area wasn't up & running.

I. Love. T I love the hotel so much you did a good job

The hotel rooms are comfortable and pretty well maintained. The door to my room stuck a little and a light bulb needed replacing, but I'm really quibbling. The staff has been welcoming and accommodating. The front desk even printed out a document for me when I had technical issues in the business center.

Great location, facilities, and service. Room is a little bit dated but clean and comfortable. Restaurants and bars are good. They have indoor/outdoor pool, outdoor hot tub, child care, gym, steam room. Nearby attractions within walking distance are pluses. We would come back to this hotel again.

Friendly staff and clean rooms. We have stayed here several times. Lots of kids activities and within walking distance of attractions.

Great venue, very kid friendly. Our package gave us access to all areas. We had a great time.

Attended a dinner for an award ceremony. Everything was nice. Food was only OK. There wasn't very much.

Not a bad day-destination or Galveston area hotel/spa. Some attractions and gardens to make it fun.

I always enjoy the service but was a little rushed from one service to the other last time.

It was a nice hotel. We had a late lunch at the bar and the food was delicious. My only complaint really was the mattresses were to soft for my wife and I.

Beautiful hotel with attractions walking distance from the hotel.

Very nice cosmetically. Much of the staff has knowledge of nothing. Some of the must have skipped the intro course altogether. They really don't know the answers to the simplest questions about IMAX, the beach, or other amenities, or perhaps they just like misleading people, or being no help at all. However the bartenders at the pool (we don't drink alcohol) were very nice, as was the pool staff. The restaurant downstairs with the buffet was GREAT, along with the courtious staff. Sherns upstairs was fantastic, moderately priced as well, deserts were awesome.

nice hotel with friendly staff, clean rooms and great food. definitely recommend this place

Amazing and huge conference center, my only issue is how to find places. Beautiful view when you get up high.

This is the worst experience i have ever had at any resort i have ever stayed. Still waiting for a call from the GM to discuss our dissatisfaction. If you plan on comming to Galveston you would be better off staying somewhere else. Service here is the absolute worse. The staff are rude and condescending. The restaurant on site is just awful. The kid working at the obstacle course was rude and obnoxious to my wife and Gran Child. Again do yourseld a favor and stay elsewhere. Also no maid service to your room and also no clean towels daily. Again still waiting on a call from management.

Great hotel with attractions. Great for kids, and adults!

Great Place.great service.
I highly recommended

Small but nice water park inside Moody Gardens. Only 3 showers so long wait for that but they are clean and private.

*Check for MOLD in your room!*

We booked a Family Package. Check-in was quick. We arrived around 4PM, which is regular check-in time. The attractions close at 5 so there was no point to get our passes, so we decided to get the passes the next day. Staff were friendly and guided us to where to park.

We arrived to our room and it was freezing, so I went to adjust the AC, and discovered that the vents were covered with mold. I called the front desk to ask to be moved to a different room, the person who answered was very short with me and didn t bother to apologize for the inconvenience. The person who showed up to give us the keys were kind and offered to help with the luggages but I didn t want to bother her.

We moved to the 2nd room on a different floor. It smelled like smoke. We couldn t breathe. Called front desk again, this time, answered by a very polite and friendly staff. She went up and give us another set of keys.

This time we re moving just a few rooms down. Seeing that I have a baby and another young child, the front desk staff offered to help with the luggage as well, and I accepted, because I sure was exhausted by that time. She stayed to make sure that the air in the room was fine. I appreciated that.

Bath time: we discovered that the hotel is very outdated; besides their AC unit, their shower head is very very very old and there were not much settings to change the way the water was coming. The rubber mat for the bathtub was dirty/molded. It was an unpleasant shower. We called for some extra towels and they were quickly delivered.

Bed time: the pillows were not the best but not the worst either. The beds were fine. It was quiet enough for us.

Ironing: I attempted to use the iron for my daughter s white dress and I would have ruined it, had I not checked the iron. It appears that someone have used the iron as a toaster. There were a lot of crumbs still sticking on it. It made me wonder if housekeeping did in fact clean it? I believe with Covid, things like these would have been sanitized.

The attractions: We have been to the Moody Gardens attractions a few times before. This time it seems a lot of animals were missing. A lot of activities also were not available due to Covid. The cafe was closed.

Overall, the experience was disappointing for the amount we paid. We will not return.

The rooms are clean but the restaurants are outdated. The water park was very packed and the water in the pool was dirty.

Attended the Iceland exhibit which was well organized

Very nice place... if only I can say the same about their food...

Old and outdated. Much better options for the money. Location is good though.

Beautiful atmosphere and setting with super nice people.

If I could give a ZERO I would. The check in was HORRENDOUS wrong rooms again. No maid service. for the entire stay. Front desk never pickup. If I was not here for an event I would check out now.

Had an event that I was helping run and the staff were very quick and attentive to get me to my area to set up for the event. Very very awesome staff.

Fantastic rooms, great food, friendly staff, and extremely convenient for family activities. Great for a family trip.

Lovely vacation there. Pool is nice. Service is what I would expect. There is valet parking available or a garage to park in. The offer military discount also. Lots of activities to do right on site. Some are free. Walmart is around five minutes away. Lots of stores right up the road to include but not limited to Dollar Tree, Starbucks, and a drug store. You are about 5-7 mins away from the beach area.

It was very awesome i liked the smores even no i have a cavity i still think more poeple should go and the festival of lights we go there every year so i give it a yes!

Awesome service great and welcoming staff alot of hand sanitizer and the employees all wearing masks a great time as usual thank you

You get more for your money at a super 8 motel. I'm paying over 100 a night and they dont even serve a complimentary breakfast. You have to spend $12 on a stale bagel at the starbucks. And we didnt even get trash bags when I asked a few times for them and the bathroom smells like pee.

I'm really surprised this place has such a high rating. We had a bad stay. Originally boomed for 3 nights and checked out after the first.

Pros: good valet attendant who brought our luggage cart to the parking garage for us to load up. Nicely decorated lobby. They let us check-out early w no fees.

Cons: there was a dead roach in our room upon arrival (gross), everything in the room was broken - the coffee maker, bathroom door, bathroom sink, and the towels smelled mildew-ish. The beds were also very bare bones and just felt like springs. We ate up at the "fancy" restaurant as well and while the food was really good, the service was abismal. (Very slow and left us hanging for half an hour at the end of the meal.) The next morning we also couldn't get anybody at the front desk. The phone just rang and rang.

The piece de resistance for us was that upon arrival at check-in, we were informed there would be no housekeeping service throughout our stay. If that is there covid policy, fine, but this information was never made known on the website or at by time during the booking process online.

For a 3 night stay, we decided that was unacceptable and so checked out.

Great for families. Our kids loved the pool area, which includes a hot tub, swim-up bar, and small waterfall. The hotel does a lot of nice things for the kids too, such as a movie at night, free popcorn, smores, and some games on their patio. Pool towels are available.

Always a fun spot to visit but the gift store could be so much better if the merchandise was more trendy and fun.

I was a little agitated when I was told that there were no rooms with a balcony available upon check in, even though we checked in nearly two hours early for our two day stay and I specifically stated during booking that this was my only must have. I booked over a week in advance through their reservation line as directed and purchased a family package for over $550. Outdoor pool was closed most of the time due to weather, as well as the included ropes course and paddle boat. Never did find the ice skating which was the only thing my kids were excited about, and couldn't locate the jelly fish exhibit either. The few activities that were included and not closed were over packed and way over rated. Aquarium was definitely the best part, except the over abundance of dizzy kids everywhere. Hotel restaurant was medocre at best and for the price ($100 for 4 people) I would not expect the mashed potatoes to lack basic ingredients like, milk, butter, and salt. I was super agitated when we were awoken at 12:30 am by the fire alarm, my kids were terrified. After sitting in the lobby for about 30- 40 minutes (packed with families) we were told it was a false alarm and to return to our rooms. Upon check out we stated our grievances and were offered only an insincere apology. I am disappointed because my only other visit here (a one night stay with my sisters in October) was not nearly as bad; although, we didn't do much at the hotel but sleep. I definitely would not choose this for a stay beyond a day or for any family adventures that you have any kind of heightened expectations for.

This is a beautiful place close to the beach and shopping. Plenty of adventures to explore

UPDATE: fire alarm went off at 12:30AM... Kids in their PJs terrified and crying in the hotel lobby, clutching to their mothers. Do we get to know what happened you ask? No. The answer is no. Just a "everything is ok. Go back to your room" so in summary, if you love firetrucks, not getting any sleep, and having to return to a tiny cramped economy room when you paid top dollar to reserved a suite after coming in from 40 degree weather, then this place is for you! Coffee in room isn't fit for putting out any fire if there even was one. I've seriously had better stays at roach motels. Save yourself the money and don't stay here.

Diane at front desk is a joy to talk to. However, we paid to reserve a junior suite with balcony weeks ago. Yet when we show up all those rooms are booked and they just jammed us in a crappy double queen room with a view of the parking lot. We are very dissatisfied. We were basically told "too bad" and there was nothing they could do. The only reason we chose to stay at this hotel was specifically for the balcony suite, so it would be zero stars if that were an option. Will NOT be staying here again.

Love this hotel. The rooms are always clean, the views are excellent, the pool, outdoor area makes it worth the price staying here. Close to the water park, the moody palm beach, and moody gardens pyramids. Love staying here

Everything you want in one place! Lots to do with the kids!

They're always ready to go out of their way to help guests. The facility is very nice as well.

I stayed in this hotel recently. On the first night, I had to call the cleaning services to change dirty bed linens. The cleanliness of the bathroom was questionable. I became very ill while there. I went to Shearn's and requested "to-go" service as I was concerned that I would make others sick. I was told that they did not have to-go and they were unwilling to make an exception. Customer service is truly a dying art form.

Nice friendly staff, Beautiful grounds... need more information for those that come during the week.

Attended the Santa Hustle 5k. The facilities were great for the event with plenty of parking. The course went through parts of Moody Gardens that we're decorated for Christmas. Was a great time.

Updated recently. The online phon photos do not do it justice

We had booked a room with a king bed and a sofa bed, in the reservation we listed we were a party of four. We arrived late at night and the sofa bed was not made but we were told housekeeping would come with sheets. When they arrived I was handed the sheets and told I had to make the bed myself, I was not to thrilled by that. It was 11:00 at night, I'm pregnant, I had my two small children, we were exhausted from traveling, and my husband was out parking the car.

The next morning when we went to take showers we discovered we only had two towels, again the reservation showed we were party of four so why the room wasn't ready for us I don't understand. Housekeeping will not clean your room during your stay due to the Corona virus which I understand but I feel they should make more of an effort to have the room ready for guests because of this.

After getting ready we headed to the front desk to get tickets for the pyramids. There was a queue line setup which we got in. All the employees were helping people except for two on the end that were huddled around one computer not making eye contact so I assumed they were dealing with something and waited patiently in the line. A guest skips the line and walks up to them and while they're helping with whatever that person needed people started lining up behind that guest and ignoring the setup queue line we were in. When the original guest walked away they took the person that was standing behind them and we asked why are we being ignored because we were waiting in the actual line. The employee told us they were the line for tickets which further ticked us off because there's no signage anywhere saying that there's a separate line for tickets and we were following the rules trying to purchase tickets. After they did nothing to assist us we left the line and decided to explore the city instead of giving them anymore of our money.

During one of our nights there my toddler had an accident so the next morning I asked for clean sheets and a new mattress protector for the sofa bed. When housekeeping arrived with the sheets I asked making sure that they gave me a mattress protector and I was assured they had. Surprise they hadn't so I had to call again trying to get one. The blanket they had given me the first night we were there had a hole in it and the sheets they gave me after my toddler had the accident and had purple stains on them I'm guessing from nail polish.

This hotel feels like it was once a grand resort that has fallen into disrepair. It is clean and has a nice little playground but the service is severely lacking for how much they charge and things are falling apart. The fan in our bathroom didn't work which caused the door stop to be extremely rusty and while the playground equipment was fine, the picnic tables around it were completely rusted and disgusting needing replacement. If the front desk employees provided better service we would have spent a lot more money hanging around the resort.

Always have a wonderful experience when I visit the Moody!

This is a great holiday destination. Kid friendly and filled with activities. If you have an annual pass you get to go to several of the shows, activities without having to pay. If you really want to explore the place and have a stress free vacation then a minimum of 2 nights is definitely recommended. Breakfast is great with the usual egg and the meat with fruit and oats. They will make omlette too! The $17 / person is worth it. Kids below 6 eat free and if you are a member of Moody Gardens, you get a 20% off everywhere. The rooms are okay, they could be maintained a little better. Bedding, carpet and bathroom is decent for the price. You can self park for free. Make sure you get your own drinking water. Water is obviously expensive. They also do smores during weekends. Service staff is courteous. Service staff at the reception could use some training on events and passes and what is included, we had to ask several times with multiple people to get the correct answer. Overall very satisfied. A must staycation for Houstonians and anyone who wants to be on the Island. It's about 5 miles from most super stores and the beach.

Restaurant is too slow...I wated 20 mins for my water . Food was not too bad..and too loud...