The building housing the Hotel Corpus Christi Bayfront was originally built as a "La Quinta Royale" in 1970.  It was built on the site of the Hotel Nueces.  In the early 1900s, leading Corpus Christi citizens realized that the city needed such a hotel to attract tourists and business and decided to build one downtown. They chose the site of Hopson's meat processing plant and the Anderson family salt mill, including the Andersons' two story house that also stood on the site. The six story hotel, built by Ayers & Ayers Architects during a spate of municipal improvements, was completed in 1913, occupying the block between Water Street and Chaparral Street and having its main entrance on Peoples Street. It was named the Nueces Hotel, also the name of a hotel in La Pryor, Texas. In 1919 wealthy rancher W. W. Jones (1858 - 1942), who in 1929 built the nearby and still extant Jones Building, bought out the other stockholders to become the sole owner. (Wikipedia.org.)

The La Quinta Royale underwent several name changes over the years, and became a low-end hotel with many major maintenance issues. 

The Markwardts acquired the property in November of 2008 and began a major renovation.  The image to the left is a "before" shot.  This renovation is ongoing, but approximately 1/3 of the hotel has been completed. 

Improvements such as a new roof and skylights, elevator and fire alarm repairs, the repair of many plumbing leaks, and complete sleeping room renovations have been completed or are ongoing.  See our rooms page for more information.

The hotel has 199 rooms and 17,000 square feet of meeting/banquet space.

Click Image for larger view.