The Victorian (Galveston, Texas)

Ad from The Eagle, 9/28/1989. I hate to admit it, but that is closer to 2005 than the present day.
I don't want to wax nostalgic about vacations too much but I went to Galveston in September 2005 (my dad had a business trip) and for many years afterward, I thought it was one of the most memorable weekends I had, even if I couldn't really explain it later. So I thought it would be fitting to at least cover one of those establishments, especially as I dismantle another one of the Carbon-izer Road Directories. (I have been wishy-washy on keeping them).

For that trip, my dad (and by extension, my family) were put up in The Victorian at 6300 Seawall Boulevard, which doesn't really exist anymore in its current form. When it was built in the early 1980s and still very much the case in 2005, it was a hybrid hotel/conference center and condominium complex. I remember being mildly intrigued at the mixed-use concept, but at some point in the mid-2010s the hotel portion was closed and converted to additional condominiums. (An attached restaurant, last operating as the Seawall Bistro, closed as well). The hotel suite where I stayed in is no more, obviously, though I'm not sure if the suites were converted into small condos, or if they were renovated more extensively.

Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort Galveston (Galveston, Texas)

From the hotel's official website. It hasn't made any structural changes to the hotel despite the loss of the branding. I wanted to expand on this one (another Carbon-izer import). The Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort brand was started around 1994 with conversions of 18 existing Holiday Inn hotels in Mexico, Canada, and the United States and by the mid-2000s had expanded to several more properties, though I don't ever remember staying in one, and the only thing that really seemed to differentiate it from a regular Holiday Inn was the "KidSpree Vacation Club" (children's activities)— for this reason it was probably discontinued and folded into other brands when Holiday Inn did its major brand refresh in 2007.

From a hotel directory, c. 2004. Personal collection. Galveston was one of the later additions to the chain, opening in 2005 at 1702 Seawall Boulevard, keeping its logo and brand several years past the discontinuation of the brand, and becoming Galveston Beach Hotel in 2014 during its renovation into a DoubleTree by Hilton. The new Doubletree By Hilton Hotel - Galveston Beach, officially opened February 2015. The original construction demolished a few Seawall Boulevard businesses, the eastern terminus block of Avenue O 1/2, and the houses along it...but not actually the original 1702 Seawall Boulevard address. The older building that shares the 1702 Seawall Boulevard is currently vacant--this was Salt Water Shop (surf shop and bike rentals) until the mid-2010s, until it moved to the space next door. It looks like it may be used as the hotel for event space.

I couldn't find any good pictures of the hotel when it was a Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, there's one here and of course Street View.

Additionally, it features 100 rooms and six suites on six floors (per a 2005 hotel directory) and there's a partially enclosed bar (serves some food items), Longboard Pool Bar (formerly Captain Jacks under Holiday Inn) between the pool and the street.