Hotel Galvez & Spa, A Wyndham Historic Hotel
History
Constructed in 1911, Hotel Galvez was named after Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Colonial governor who first chartered the Texas Gulf Coast and for whom the city of Galveston was named. A year after it opened, Hotel Monthly billed the Galvez as one of the "best arranged and most richly furnished seaside hotel in America." This claim would become prophetic: the Hotel Galvez flourished as a hot spot during the Jazz Age and the Big Band Era.
Over the years, guests have included General Douglas MacArthur and Presidents Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Lyndon Johnson. Just as each of these men served the country in various capacities during World War II, the hotel also had wartime duty, operating as a U.S. Coast Guard training facility. Over the years, the hotel has endured the transference of ownership, multiple renovations and devastating weather conditions. Recently reborn through an eleven-million dollar renovation, Galvez is Galveston's only historic beachfront hotel, offering beautifully renovated guest rooms, public areas and facilities.
