My husband and I will be traveling to Texas the beginning of April. I wanted to know if anyone has stayed in the following hotels recently and how they are:
Hilton Palaci Del Rio in San Antonio
Radisson Hotel Corpus Christi Beach
Best Western Beachfront
Also what is the weather like the first 2 weeks of April? Thanks

I cannot tell you about the lodging because i haven't been there but i can tell you about the weather beings i've been on the coast a long time! It will probably be sunny BUT WINDY and chilly. And i can assure you i do know what i'm talking about on this one! Anything else...is a crock!

I lived in Corpus last April and while I never stayed at the Radisson, it looks nice from the outside. It's on the beach (although the beach is a Corpus Christi BAY beach, not the Gulf of Mexico) and very near the USS Lexington, which you should definitely see while in Corpus.

The weather in April is hard to predict, but there were times where it was pretty warm (80s), but the next day it might be chilly again (upper 60s). Windy is right, too. Most likely it will be warm enough to sit outside on the beach, but not go in the water.

Best thing to do is check the weather on line a few days or a week before you come here. I'd say first weeks of April will be at least in the 70's. Possibly warmer. April is my favorite month in Texas. Hopefully you'll see a great showing of the spring flowers as well.

Thanks for your replies. I had originally planned on bringing only short sleeve t-shirts but now I will bring some warmer things also. We are from NH so it will be warmer in Texas than in NH. One day while we are in San Antonio we will take a drive thru Hill Country which from what I have read will be nice at this time of year. I'm getting very anxious to go. By the way one poster mentioned that The Radisson is on the bay and not on the gulf, is the bay not as nice as the gulf? I just plain love the beach so will enjoy being near it no matter what. Any other suggestions on things to do or good restaurants would be appreciated. Have a nice day.

Padre Island lies between Corpus Christi and the ocean. The water between Padre and Corpus is "the bay". You can see this on a map.I'd rather stay on Padre, perhaps in Port Aransas, than in Corpus. It's the "real" beach on the "real" ocean. I've stayed in Corpus before and we ended up spending all our time driving out to Padre to be on the beach anyway.

It sounds like you'll have a great trip! Texas will be GREAT in April compared to the Northeast.

I wanted to elaborate on the "bay vs. gulf" comment. Corpus sits on a very large bay...along the mouth of the bay (and down the whole coast of TX) there is Padre Island. The beaches on the island are MUCH bigger and better than the "bay" beach. However, it's about a 20-30 drive to get to the island, so if you are wanting to do things in Corpus Christi, it would be better to stay in town and make a day trip out to Padre Island. You can go to Port Aransas (a town on Padre Island) using the ferry and enjoy the nice, wide beaches and waves out there--along with good seafood restaurants and bars. Let me just say, though, that I think the bay is very pretty, too. It's great on a still day when it looks like glass.

And I also wanted to give some suggestions on things to do and restaurants. In Corpus you should definitely tour the USS Lexington--a decommissioned Air Craft Carrier that you can take a self-guided tour of. It's VERY interesting if you are at all into that kind of thing. The aquarium is right there, too. It's okay--if you've never been to an aquarium or if you have kids, it's worth a visit. Otherwise, it's not really a "must do." Again, definitely take a day trip to Padre Island. You can actually drive along the beach for miles and miles, which was fun for my husband and I. You can get a boat tour of the bay from the pier in Corpus. For restaurants...my absolute favorite in Corpus is the Yardarm. It's on Ocean drive past downtown and looks like a hole-in-the-wall from the outside, but has great food (mostly seafood) and ambiance once you get in. Mama Mia's downtown has good Italian food and large portions. The Texas Star, which is on top of one of the large hotels downtown is supposed to be GREAT. I haven't eaten there, but went for a drink. The view is wonderful--it's expensive, though. Also, for a casual lunch one day, go to Whataburger by the Bay (downtown by the pier). It's a chain of fast food restaurants started in Corpus Christi and this is their flagship. It's just burgers and fries, but you can sit outside on the deck and watch the fishing boats on the pier.

Have a great time!

In San Antonio, check out the Buckhorn Museum. It's downtown and you can walk to the Alamo from there. Definitely worth a look and they even serve food.
http://www.buckhornmuseum.com/

Be sure to do the River Walk in San Antonio. Also, we stayed at Port Aransas a few years ago and really enjoyed the beach, although it wasn't real clean (in summer). We saw a lot of seaweed and tar. There are some good local seafood restaurants in Port Aransas.

Texas beaches just aren't the normal great beaches that you see in Florida or California. We here in Texas are subjected to "mud pits"....but if you don't have anything to compare them to you will think they are the greatest!

You've had good info on Corpus. In San Antonio, the Hilton Palacio del Rio is nothing to rave about but certainly OK. If it's a great price, go for it.
In Galveston, the BW Beachfront is near to the main cross island route of 61st street so is easy to get to - after the causeway onto the island turn right on 61st then left at Seawall. Haven't seen it in a couple years but it was an OK place, not fabulous but not bad. It is right on the Seawall so you should enjoy that, since you like the beach.
Galveston is about 4 hours by car from San Antonio, and the weather can change between the two places. In April Texas weather can be very fickle, but should be lots warmer than in NH. Especially at the coast there can be some cool breezes, so do bring along a sweater or light jacket.

Thanks for all the replies. We will do Riverwalk for sure and a good size list of other things too.

I got the Hilton in San Antonio for a very good price that is the only reason I would stay there after reading some of the reveiws. All I really care about is that it is clean. We won't be spending any time there except to sleep. The Best Western is also very inexpensive and seems to be in a good area and that is what I care about most since we will spend very little time in the room. Another plus is they have free parking. I hate having to pay for parking after paying good money for a room.

The beaches sound fine. I'm a person that likes to walk and beachcomb so I like any beach. I also like the seabreeze and the salt air. We have nice beaches in the Northeast but I have to say my favorite beaches so far are along the coast of Oreagon.

When you're in Galveston, you might enjoy riding the ferry to Port Bolivar and back. It's free and part of the highway system (you drive your car on) and always a fun little trip. I assume it's still running... haven't been down there in a few years.
Galveston is a neat town-- I like it better than Corpus Christi because it's right on the beach. Other interesting places are the historic Strand area and the Bishop's Palace. There used to be a neat little trolley that was a great tour around the city... you might check on that as well.

We stayed at the Hilton Palacio Del Rio not too long ago for our anniversary. I loved the place. We had a great room overlooking the riverwalk. We had a nice dinner out and weht to a piano bar type pub at night and had a blast. Our room was very nice, the front desk was great. We felt safe walking around late at night. Our room included breakfast which we had on the patio downstairs overlooking the river. I think it's a good choice of hotel for San Antonio.

Thanks Everyone. The more I read the more anxious I become for April to arrive so we can start our trip. I will add everything written here (that I didn't already have) to my list. All suggestions are welcome.

The weather in CC might be very different than that of the hill country. It's about a 4 hour drive north. If you take a hill county drive you must go to Fredericksburg and see the Wildflower Seed Farm.
http://www.wildseedfarms.com/
I agree that you should stay on the island if possible.

We go to Port Aransas every Spring Break to visit my parents who are Winter Texans. Our favorite place to eat is Snoopys. Under the bay bridge between Corpus and Port A.

creek00, do you have a resaon to go to Galveston or is it part of a scenic trip? I ask because I lived in Houston for 30 yrs and between Galveston and Padre Island area, Padre is far superior for beaches/ And you are subjecting yourself to long drives already btwn San Antonio and Corpus area. Personally, I'd only go to Galveston if I was in Houston and needed a beach without driving more than an hour. Galveston beaches can have alot of tar, and water and beach isn't as nice as Padre or even Corpus.
Also, make sure you see the bluebells and indian paintbrushes blooming that time of year (end of March, but I think you should get some still at start of April). I am more familiar w/the fields around Brenham and College Station, but there are some on hwys around San Antonio too. Really spectacular, like blue and red carpets on the ground.

Hi emd,
We are flying into San Antonio. We will dirve around hill country one day then head to Laredo and Neuvo Laredo for a day of shopping. We will spend a couple of days in Corpus Christi and then spend a couple of days in Galveston before flying home from Houston. While in Galveston we will drive up to Orange and that area to sight see. We will go to NASA for a day also. It seems as though there is a lot to do in that area. We decided not to go to Padre Island since it is a long drive from there to Houston and we decided to see some other things rather than just stay on a beach for a few days. My husband is not the type to just laze around on the beach although I can get him to walk the beach and beachcomb.

I second the recommendation for Snoopy's under the bridge! Great food at a good price.