South - South Padre Island

I am travelling to South Padre Island for a week in June.. Are there any hotel/attractions that anyone can recommend?

Last time I was there (about 1.5 years ago) the nicest hotel was the Sheraton because they just redid the rooms. I stayed in a 2 bed room condo for about $200 a night.

I like black beards for casual sea food. Can not remember the name of other restaurants I went to.

I stayed at the Sheraton a couple of years ago, also, but the condo-style room we stayed in was a bit beat up, to be honest. The rooms looked nice at first, but it didn't take long to see all the signs of wear and tear. We were still happy enough with our suite as it was BIG and the bed was comfy and we had two decks and were right on the beach, but it wasn't in great shape. Perhaps some have been renovated, however.

Also, the Sheraton currently has some exterior renos going on, which are supposed to be complete by May 15, but I would call and ask. Check the Trip Advisor reviews (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g56691-d230497-r7486741-Sheraton_South_Padre_Island_Beach_Hotel-South_Padre_Island_Texas.html)to see how it impacted previous guests. Also, it looks like there may be construction under way right next door (http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/announcements.html?propertyID=909).

We were there for a week or so and ate at several restaurants and found the service and food was quite inconsistent (even at the same places). Depending on the time of year and day of the week, the Island can get very busy and it can be hard to get a patio seat at times, especially for the lovely sunsets.

You'll probably want to do the birding boardwalk, even if you aren't usually interested in birds. There are a lot of species and some are very interesting.

The Sea Turtle rescue/rehabilitation place was quite interesting.

The golf course was fun to play, also.

There are also a gazillion privately owned condos for rent. Some are in large resort-style groups and many are in duplexes or quads. Web sites like mypadre or spadre have tons of them listed and weekly rates of course are more economical.There are also several good reviews of restaurants and things to do on virtualtourist.com

And there are some pretty good restaurants in Pt. Isabel to check out as well.

Most of the restaurants on South Padre Island are great. Pick up one of the local free newspapers to find out who has what on special this week. Spouse and I enjoy Louie's Backyard as a fun place with good food and run by some great people. We also like both Dirty Al's and Daddy's ... a father and son own the pair. Many good restaurants are on the mainland at Port Isabel. We're particularly fond of Marcello's: good food, reasonable prices, owned and managed by a wonderful couple.

Also, SPI offers free transportation on The Wave. It will take you throughout SPI and Port Isabel. To catch it you must wave at the bus, literally.