Vacation Rentals by Owner
Sleeps 8 W/2 Full Baths! Walk to Beach! Memorial Day Available [#108920] | View Property
El Cortez Villas
Villa, 2 Bedrooms + Loft + Den, 2 Baths (Sleeps 7-8)
From $185/nt
Write a Review
Traveler Reviews (28)
Joe's review
Guest: Joe
(Del Rio,tx)
Date of Stay: 03/16/12
Review Submitted: 03/23/12
Had a great time at port aransas, this condo made it even better
Owner response:Joe, so glad you had a great time - we'd love to host you again! Thanks for the note!
Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.
Spring Break With the Girls
Guest: Karen
(Massachusettes )
Date of Stay: 02/03/12
Review Submitted: 05/11/12
My friends and I came down from the northern cold at spring break and stayed at this condo. It was perfect for just chilling on the beach with some drinks or hanging by the pool with the latest magazine. The price was great for the space that we had as well as all the amenities that were included. The place was spacious, clean, and close to the beach making it great for all of us to relax without feeling crowded. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone with kids, couple friends just trying to get away, or just anyone trying to escape the cold and looking for a good time at a great price. I know my friends and I had a great time and cant wait to go down again.
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.
Great kitchen!
Guest: Todd
Date of Stay: 11/24/11
Review Submitted: 05/01/12
one guest submitted: The one thing that really stood out to me was the completely furnished kitchen. It had all the utensils we needed and great knifes when preparing meals. A little odd, but after staying at a lot of other places, it really made an impression on me.
Recommended for:
Thanks so much!
Guest: Nicole
(Andrews, TX)
Date of Stay: 07/22/11
Review Submitted: 08/17/11
Our family of 6, and a friend, came for a visit last month, and we loved it here! VERY reasonably priced, a short walk to the beach, and everything you could possibly need for a relaxing long weekend! We will definitely be asking for another week next summer!
Owner response:Nicole, So glad you enjoyed yourselves, and you were the perfect guests - respected the property, enjoyed yourselves, and made the most of your time there! We look forward to seeing you again! Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Families with teenagers, tourists without a car, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Family vacation
Guest: SD
(Crawford, Texas )
Date of Stay: 07/19/11
Review Submitted: 07/27/11
We found the villa exactly what we were looking for. It is within a reasonable distance to walk to the beach. Did find that we could drive down and park to haul our umbrellas and tent for the day and walk to the villa for lunch and restroom. Villa was clean and comfortable and had what we needed.
Owner response:Sonny, Glad you enjoyed your stay with us! Many guests like the convenience of being walking distance from the beach; and if you have too much to haul, you can drive it over daily and back again as you did! Glad you find the villa to your liking, and we look forward to hosting you again soon! Your beach hosts, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, sightseeing.
Great Beach Get-A-Way
Guest: Swalltx
(San Antonio)
Date of Stay: 07/14/11
Review Submitted: 07/26/11
My family and I and an awesome time. The beach was within walking distance so there was no sand in the cars. The pool was a nice refreshing place to cool off after the beach. The house was fully equipped and ready for any cooking that you needed to do, We will enjoy coming back again and again.
Owner response:Michelle, Thanks so much for staying with us, and for your review - it helps other folks to know what to expect. We're so glad you enjoyed yourselves, and look forward to hosting you again! Warmly, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway.
Great Stay
Guest: KenJr
(Austin, TX)
Date of Stay: 05/19/11
Review Submitted: 06/07/11
Easy to find, close to Port Aransas 'stuff'...restaraunts, bars, etc..., easy walk to the beach and great beach house! Our only complaint is that the pool is not great for small kids as there is no shallow end. It's 3+ feet at the low end, so we had no place for the little ones to play in the pool. Otherwise, the house was great - plenty of plates/cups/utensils and towels. Showers were strong with plenty of hot water. AC worked great and blew hard so the place stayed nice and cool - cable TV is a great touch esp with small kids so we could watch shows in the AM. The bad part about visiting this time of year (for us in late May) was that the tide brought all the seaweed up close and there was pretty much no room on the beach for the kids to play. We could only really enjoy the beach area in the afternoon/evening.
Owner response:Ken, We enjoyed hosting you and your family - thanks so much for staying with us!
Recommended for:
Our stay at the beach
Guest: Gram
(Driftwood, Tx )
Date of Stay: 04/22/11
Review Submitted: 05/09/11
We enjoyed our stay at your villa , It was comfy and clean. A very nice walk to the beach. I would recommend this for a girl's getaway, or families. The beach is a little further from town, so not as crowded. As for my family, we like to take a vehicle to the beach to park.(we have a 4 year old and lots of beach gear). It was a several mile drive to the beach access road, and several mile drive to our area. The villa was well provided. My suggestions to you: a little more organized kitchen. There were no empty cabinets to put our food and dry goods. It made the small kitchen seem much smaller with dry foods all over every surface. With small children coming, the small sofa in the loft should not be placed by opening. There was a loose board on the patio towards the sidewalk that could be unsafe for a small child. We had dishwasher problems, and a blackout on that part of the island for several hours one evening. We DID have a wonderful time, and enjoyed our stay. WE are Gram, 3 grown sons, my daughter-in-law, and 4 year old grandson. This is my Christmas present to them each year.
Owner response:Dear Gram (and kids/grandkids!) Thanks so much for staying with us - so glad you enjoyed your stay! I also appreciate you taking the time to provide helpful suggestions - that was so thoughtful of you! Kitchen storage - most folks use the pantry (the closet thingy next to the kitchen) to store dry goods; we'll also consider emptying a cabinet in the kitchen itself (although it's hard to fully stock a kitchen AND leave an empty cabinet!) Patio loose board - that's the responsibility of our complex management, not us as individual homeowners; and thanks to your notification, we've already let them know that it needs to be repaired! It's so helpful to know these things in between our visits! Thanks! Dishwasher problems - hmmm, not sure what was going on here, since the guests after you, and our cleaner, both report that the washer works fine! Sorry that you had problems - in the future, you can always contact us during your stay if you run into something like that again, though, and we'll send someone out to look at it for you! Gram, it's guests like you that make us happy to share our lovely place with folks - people who take great care of the place and who help us to make it even better for future guests. You're appreciated! Your vacation hosts, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Perfect for Two Families!
Guest: Peter and Veronica
(Midwest)
Date of Stay: 10/01/10
Review Submitted: 01/07/11
We loved having two floors of living - a full bedroom and bath on each floor - with the sleeper sofa for downstairs and the single/double bunk bed upstairs (although the kids all ended up staying upstairs as a 'sleepover'!). Kitchen had everything we needed (and then some - two blenders, etc.!) and we love the pool and the short 5 min walk to the beach... We hope to make this an annual event (if not 2x/year) and loved how responsive and pleasant the owners were - their "helpful packing list" made sure we didn't forget something, or bring something we didn't need (like a cooler with wheels, as they provide one); and two sets of keys meant we could come and go as we pleased. We LOVED it!
Owner response:Pete and Veronica, We're so pleased that the villa met your needs and expectations! Glad to know you enjoyed the property, and we look forward to hosting you again soon! Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Adventure seekers, age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
Great Stay
Guest: Hook'em
(New Braunfels, TX)
Date of Stay: 09/03/10
Review Submitted: 09/08/10
Enjoyed our stay at the home. Great renters, very responsive! The place was well kept and plenty of room to stretch out and relax. The pool is only about 20 yards from the front door and the beach about a 5 minute walk. Highly recommend!
Owner response:Hook'em, So happy that you enjoyed your stay at our place, and thanks for the compliment on being responsive - very much appreciated! We hope to see you again soon! Your beach hosts, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, sightseeing.
Great location, great time!
Guest: CJ and Beckie
(Abilene TX)
Date of Stay: 07/31/10
Review Submitted: 08/29/10
We had a great stay and really enjoyed ourselves - the unit was spacious but could use some good steak knives! Some recommendations for future guests would be the evening cruise with Stray Cat Catamaran and Captain Chester http://www.straycatsailingadventures.com/index.html. We had an fantastic, yet inexpensive, evening with Chester and his son Charlie on their catamaran. We found several pods of dolphins, and our daughter was able to get some truly fantastic pictures of them up close. He also took us to San Jose island where we explored the beach. Another activity, free by the way, is watching the baby sea turtle hatchling release at the Padre Island National Park. More info on how to find dates and times of releases can be found at http://www.nps.gov/pais/naturescience/releases.htm For restaurants, of course we recommend the Crazy Cajun, but don't eat all day so that you can stuff yourself. Also, Kody's had the most delicious fried oysters.
Owner response:CJ and Beckie, Thanks for your posting. We've gotten some new steak knives and put them into the unit (8 of 'em) - what a great suggestion! Thanks! I'm sure other guests will appreciate you taking the time to write down some recommendations - how nice of you! We hope to see you again soon! Regards, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Age 55+, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway, sightseeing.
AWESOME SET UP!
Guest: Holly
(Ardmore, OK)
Date of Stay: 07/11/10
Review Submitted: 07/28/10
We had 8 people (4 adults, 3 teenagers, 1 child) staying here. We loved "wanting" to go back to the condo because we were all so comfortable there. There was great weather the entire time. With a washer & dryer in our rental, to only come home needing to do one load of clothes really made for a relaxing homecoming, so the vacation continued. Nice and quiet and clean! The entire complex is very nice. The only negative issue was the pool closest to our place got about 2 feet too low and stayed there for the final 2 days of our stay. This wasn't horrible as there are two pools on the grounds. Only one suggestion to the landlords: Maybe have two keys on the key chain. We had two adult couples and we had to arrange to be home at the same time due to a single key. Yes, we could have put it back in the lock box, but again, it would have been better to simply have two keys. Thanks again for the awesome vacation!
Owner response:Holly, Thanks so much for taking the time to post a comment - it's appreciated! We're glad you were able to enjoy the villa so much, and found it met your needs so well! What a great idea - two sets of keys! (I can't believe no one else submitted that idea prior to this...) - we've gone out and had a duplicate set made, so that future renters will have two sets available to them. Thanks so much for letting us know! Your beach hosts, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:People with disabilities, families with teenagers, families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.
Fun July 4th at the Villa
Guest: Beachie
(Morgan Mill, TX)
Date of Stay: 07/02/10
Review Submitted: 07/11/10
We certainly enjoyed our July 4th at the Villa. The house was clean and had all the necessary cookware. We swam in both pools and used the outdoor pinic tables. The fireworks in Port Aransas were the greatest! The island has great food, golf, mini-golf and shopping for souvieners. We had a wonderful time.
Owner response:Beachie, So glad you enjoyed the holiday weekend at Port A - we always have enjoyed it in the past ourselves! Glad you found the villa met your needs, and we look forward to hosting you again soon! Your beach hosts, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Families with young children, girls getaway, romantic getaway.
Port A condo
Guest: Susie
(Center Point, Texas)
Date of Stay: 06/02/10
Review Submitted: 06/19/10
We had a great time. It is hard to keep 4 preteen girls happy. The pool was a blessing.
Owner response:Susie, So glad you and the girls had a good time at our complex - and we're glad you were able to enjoy the beach AND the pool during your stay! Look forward to seeing you again! Your beach hosts, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:Families with young children
Guest: Desiree2
(San Antonio, Tx)
Date of Stay: 07/08/09
Review Submitted: 07/08/09
We had a great stay in your condo. It was my 2yr olds' first trip to the beach, and she's still talking about it! The condo was quite comfy, with enough space for us to spread out in. Thank You for sharing it with us.
Owner response:Desiree, So glad your daughter had a great experience at the beach! We were happy to host you, and hope that you enjoy many more holidays with your family! Mary and Bill
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 04/01/09
Review Submitted: 04/19/09
We enjoyed our stay greatly - it was nice to being so close to the beach and not close to the crowds. The home was perfect for us and the kids enjoyed the bunks!
Owner response:Thanks so much for letting us know that you enjoyed your stay - we love the access to the beach and the pools also - and I think it's a universal truth that kids love bunk beds! :- ) Hope to host you again soon, Mary and Bill
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/09
Review Submitted: 01/26/09
We thoroughly enjoyed our third stay here in November 2008. It was our daughter's favorite vacation of the year and she keeps asking when we can go back to "the condo". Lots to do nearby (the beach, the USS Lexington, Texas State Aquarium, fantastic fresh seafood) and fun furnishings have made this rental a yearly weekend for our growing family that we plan to continue for a long time.
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 03/01/08
Review Submitted: 03/20/08
We were winter Texans. The place is very nice. Owners very accommodating. Spacious and clean. Bill & Mary are very nice people. The complex is very clean and quiet. Close to beach. Nice swimming pool. All the people staying at the villas and the staff are very friendly. Stay and enjoy. We would be using again next winter, but I have a lung disease and cannot tolerate the steps. I was hopeful, but it just did not work out.
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 09/01/07
Review Submitted: 09/08/07
We went with other couples and our children...Had a fantastic time and we loved the condo and pool and VERY close to the beach. We walked and could rinse off before coming back in with the outdoor showers. We really enjoyed our stay and will stay again soon.
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 07/01/07
Review Submitted: 07/23/07
We stayed here for just 3 days, but it was so relaxing that we wished that we had reserved it for longer. Our kids had a great time and there was plenty of room for them to spread out. We will definitely be back!
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 06/01/07
Review Submitted: 06/27/07
Our family and friends, group of 7 total, enjoyed staying in Bill & Mary's condo. It was spacious, nicely decorated, and comfortably slept everyone with room to spare. Overall, we really enjoyed our stay and hope to stay there again.
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 06/01/07
Review Submitted: 06/03/07
My family and I were so entranced with Port Aransas and the area that this property is in, that we have gone back repeatedly since. We love the axcess to the beach that this property offers and we really like the atmosphere of the villas. Our children enjoyed the generous sleeping space and pool accessibility. We loved this location!
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 03/01/07
Review Submitted: 03/24/07
We had a great time. The condo is very comfortable, with enough space for my parents, my husband, son and myself. We spent our time birdwatching and had a very relaxing time. Val's on the Bay is an excellent place for dinner.
Owner response:Thanks for leaving new wine glasses in the villa - what a thoughtful touch! and they are a nice addition to our place! How sweet of you!
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/07
Review Submitted: 01/08/07
We had a fantastic time here the weekend before Thanksgiving. The amenities were nice and the location was beautiful. Fresh seafood, big, clean beach and a ferry ride. We plan to make this rental a yearly trip for our new family!
Owner response:It was wonderful to see you back again for pre-Thanksgiving 2007 - and you've already requested a reservation in 2008! We love hosting you! Mary and Bill
Recommended for:
Guestbook Comment
Guest: Anonymous
Date of Stay: 01/01/07
Review Submitted: 01/08/07
Labor Day 2006 weekend: It was the wonderful, relaxing getaway we hoped for - with great weather and the beautiful, blue-green waters of the Gulf. We were vacationing with extended family. The condo easily accommodated our dynamic group, as the cousins would “sleepover” in our condo one night and in another condo a different night. We have vacationed at El Cortez before and always enjoyed the best hospitality (and the best rates) on the island. This was no exception.
Recommended for: