My wife and I are thinking of heading down there for our anniversary the last weekend in April, she wants beachfront, I want to make her happy .

Any suggestions on a nice place to stay and what to do?

Quoted: My wife and I are thinking of heading down there for our anniversary the last weekend in April, she wants beachfront, I want to make her happy . Any suggestions on a nice place to stay and what to do?

UM, GO SOME PLACE ELSE?
look at Rock Port, Port Aransas area.

Galveston Sucks.  to many reasons to list.

The water is dark and so are most of the UH MMMM well you know. Definitly find a better location for your vacation. I live about 40 min from there and I hate going down there. Try South Padre.

Personally, Mrs. KYreb and I like Galveston.  Maybe we are just easily amused.  I see galveston trashed here all the time, but we have never had any problems there.
I have inlaws down there this week from Indy for spring break.
They are staying at the new Holiday Inn Sun Espree.  We all went down there yesterday.  The weather was a little cool, but we enjoyed the tiki bar by the pool and an afternoon on the strand.

Galveston is not my idea of a nice place by any means either. The beach is nasty, water murky and the restaurants sub par as well. Maybe Kema?

Quoted: Galveston is not my idea of a nice place by any means either. The beach is nasty, water murky and the restaurants sub par as well. Maybe Kema?

what/where is Kema?

Quoted: Quoted: Galveston is not my idea of a nice place by any means either. The beach is nasty, water murky and the restaurants sub par as well. Maybe Kema? what/where is Kema?

kema is not where you want to go.
it's where clear lake dumps into Galveston bay.  it's land locked and a good hour run to the gulf.  
the have some ok resturants and a board walk that is a tourist trap joke.  no clubs, beach or any cool things.  no nice hotels and no "places to get away".  
if you want to take the lady for a nice weekend and have a relaxing time try to get as far from houston as you can.  

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Galveston....the beach ain't great.  But, there are things to do.  
I last stayed at the Harbor House...it is on the channel side, next to the Strand.  Rooms are nice, and there are several restaurants next door.
You can stroll the Strand...shop...drink a few beers, etc....and shop some more.
Not sure what you and your bride are into.....but for antiques, go thru the Peanut Butter Warehouse, it is full of old junk....furniture, glassware, etc.
There is the sailing ship Elissa, Seaport Museum, etc in the immediate Strand area.

And, I like to stop by Leo's on Broadway....it is a walk up restaurant.  He prepares awesome gumbo, crawfish boudan and riblets.  It is a local kind of place...you get the food to go.
Get the good stuff to go...then cruise to the Bolivar Ferry landing.....(take the right lane) and park in the lot, by the landing.  Then walk on the free ferry, with your Leo goodies.  Sit up top and cruise across the channel to Boliver and return.  Takes about an hour round trip.  If you are gonna feed the seagulls, please do so from the stern of the ferry.

If you are into history, take in Seawolf Park...they have a WWII Destroyer Escort and a Guppy Class Fleet boat for you to see.  Or the Railroad Museum on one end of the Strand.....nice exhibits, rail cars, etc.

There are several places on Broadway, with old homes, etc......Bishops Palace, etc.
Or Moody Gardens....tropical rain forest, fish, etc....it is over off of 61st street, by the airport.

I have spent a few days in Galveston...went to school there......drank a lot of beer, and chased a few nurses from the UTMB Medical School.  There are parts of town to avoid, due to the crime, etc.
The Stand is a good area....have fun.

she wants to sit on a beach somewhere without the kids

Quoted: she wants to sit on a beach somewhere without the kids

in that case either corpus christi or south padre island. Galveston and everything around it is a SEWER!

SPI is your best bet dude. water is very clear and nice and you don't have the foul stench of excessive seaweed, not to mention MOST of the accomodations are top notch.

I've fished in Galveston and surrounding areas many times and I live about 30 miles north of Houston.  Its a good place to fish, but for overall relaxation and scenery, go somewhere else.  Corpus is much nicer IMHO.

South Padre is the only place to go.  Don't waste one minute thinking about Galveston.

HH

bring a rifle

ok it's not that bad,  it is a great place to get soul food and fried gizzards tho

If you want to make the wife happy, Galveston is okay, and a nice seafood dinner at Gaido's is something she'll really like. For your wife, the Strand has plenty of nice nick-nack & craftsy type shops and she can get some saltwater taffee. For you, there's always Colonel Bubbies. That is one big-ass army/navy surplus store.

If you hit the weather right, you'll both really enjoy it. That said, I'd prefer South Padre, or even Corpus, but both have a heck of a lot longer drive.

Quoted: Galveston....the beach ain't great.  But, there are things to do.   I last stayed at the Harbor House...it is on the channel side, next to the Strand.  Rooms are nice, and there are several restaurants next door. You can stroll the Strand...shop...drink a few beers, etc....and shop some more. Not sure what you and your bride are into.....but for antiques, go thru the Peanut Butter Warehouse, it is full of old junk....furniture, glassware, etc. There is the sailing ship Elissa, Seaport Museum, etc in the immediate Strand area. And, I like to stop by Leo's on Broadway....it is a walk up restaurant.  He prepares awesome gumbo, crawfish boudan and riblets.  It is a local kind of place...you get the food to go. Get the good stuff to go...then cruise to the Bolivar Ferry landing.....(take the right lane) and park in the lot, by the landing.  Then walk on the free ferry, with your Leo goodies.  Sit up top and cruise across the channel to Boliver and return.  Takes about an hour round trip.  If you are gonna feed the seagulls, please do so from the stern of the ferry. If you are into history, take in Seawolf Park...they have a WWII Destroyer Escort and a Guppy Class Fleet boat for you to see.  Or the Railroad Museum on one end of the Strand.....nice exhibits, rail cars, etc. There are several places on Broadway, with old homes, etc......Bishops Palace, etc. Or Moody Gardens....tropical rain forest, fish, etc....it is over off of 61st street, by the airport. I have spent a few days in Galveston...went to school there......drank a lot of beer, and chased a few nurses from the UTMB Medical School.  There are parts of town to avoid, due to the crime, etc. The Stand is a good area....have fun.

Those nurses ain't bad at all. I even married one from there!  

Port A near Corpus is much nicer, but the wife and I have had nice times in Galveston.  

She likes romantic B&B's.  

She took her fam to the Moody Gardens Hotel and Spa last summer.  They all liked it, but I think that they mostly liked seeing the gulf- they are from Nebraska.

Another Option:  San Antonio B&B's on the riverwalk are always good for romance

Bolivar Pennisula

Stay at a bed and Breakfast.

Nice relaxing place.
Quiet

Quoted: Bolivar Pennisula Stay at a bed and Breakfast. Nice relaxing place. Quiet

Thanks for the tip SC, checking that out now.

Best location along the TX gulfcoast I would also say Port Aransas.  But if Galveston is to be the destination, maybe rent a beach house over on Bolivar???  Tillman F.  has been trying to spruce up Galveston some but the Moddy foundation sure seems opposed to updating things and improving it.  You can have a good time down there, the wife and I sometimes go there, we just live 20 minutes away.  Or stay at the Galvez or even the convention center.  For beaches though go pay and sit on the private beach at Moddy Gardens.  

Galveston is one place I always carry my CHL with me!  Especially for night time walks on beach, sometimes we take the dogs down there and sometimes we just go alone.  Nothing like sitting on the beach at night with your special woman when a drunk comes up sits next to you!  GTFO you drunk bumm!!

We found a nice B&B s couple of houses back form teh beach.  It was nice.

I have a place in Rockport...When I get away from Houston thats where i head for some peace and quite...TO be honest if I want  to hit a nice beach I would go to SPI or Corpus...ANy place but Galveston,  Sure Galveston is only a little over an hour away BUT I STILL DRIVE 3 hours to be somewhere else.

Galveston for me is not what it was years ago...I used to blast down there on my bike and ride up and down the strip almost every weekend...but alas the ganster element has spoiled it for me. I'll never return.

+1 on Bolivar.  Very relaxing.

Quoted: Bolivar Pennisula Stay at a bed and Breakfast. Nice relaxing place. Quiet

Quoted: We found a nice B&B s couple of houses back form teh beach.  It was nice.

do you remember which one?

we are not stuck on Galveston, we are looking for someplace quiet, yet able to go out for some nice dinners.

If you go to the Strand, check out Col. Bubbies Army surplus store.  
It is one of the best I have seen.  They have tons of neat stuff.

We usually get a nice beach house on the west part of the island.  

I found THIS , I was thinking staying here and suprising her with a day spa. Anyone been here or know anything about it?

Moody Gardens is a nice place.  It is rather self contained, not a lot of restaurants nearby.....the Strand is about 15 minutes away.
And Moody Gardens is one of the tourist places to go......tropical gardens, fish, etc.
She will like it.....rooms can be pricey.    
I have also stayed at the Galvez.....it is an older hotel, but I liked it.  It is on the seawall, facing the gulf.
And if you go to Galveston.....take the free ferry ride and check out Col Bubbies surplus store.  You wife can spend $$$ in the Mikassa crystal store.
Me.....like I posted earlier......I like sitting on the Strand, by the Harbor House....sipping a cold beer, eating Leo's take out.....and watching the tourists go by.  But, I graduated from the Maritime Academy at Texas A&M Galveston...so I like the ships and the smell of diesel fuel.

If you go to Galveston, check out the Lone Star Flight Museum. It's on the airport next to Moody Gardens. They have over 30 WWII aircraft. Many of them still fly!

Whats with the Col. Bubbies recommendations?  That place blows!

Quoted: I found THIS , I was thinking staying here and suprising her with a day spa. Anyone been here or know anything about it?

If you stay at moody garderns your about 5 minutes from the range I shoot at.  If you go on the right weekend you might hear some F/A firing going on from there.

Andrew