Boutique Hotel Highlights PI Charm 

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Boutique Hotel Highlights PI Charm 

The Lighthouse Boutique Hotel is “coastal but subtle.”

It’s a description of the Port Isabel hotel as given by one of its owners, Ana Martha Diaz. The two-story, 8,000-square-foot building sits across the street from an 1850s-era lighthouse, providing a name and sense of place for the specialty hotel. It stands on the land that was the site of a military depot built during the U.S.-Mexican War of the mid-19th century.

Ana Martha Diaz and Gustavo Diaz have achieved their dream of running and owning a business together.
Ana Martha Diaz and Gustavo Diaz have achieved their dream of running and owning a business together.

“If you’re next to a landmark, there’s always value,” said Gustavo Diaz, who runs and owns the hotel with his wife, Ana. 

A Unique Vision

Gustavo Diaz spent years working in management positions at hotels on South Padre Island. He felt there was something missing among the concentration of Island hotels. Diaz envisioned a smaller but sufficiently sized hotel where event space was only steps away from guest rooms. There would be no need for guests to rush on elevators between floors to arrive at their events. Upscale convenience and a more intimate space for smaller groups to gather would be the premium offered. 

“This isn’t something that’s part of a big chain,” Gustavo Diaz said of the PI boutique hotel that is the manifestation of his dream. “This is something unique.”

Ana Diaz highlighted that point, speaking of their guests “having an experience when they’re here.”

Coastal but subtle is the feel Ana Martha Diaz was seeking for the Lighthouse Boutique Hotel.
Coastal but subtle is the feel Ana Martha Diaz was seeking for the Lighthouse Boutique Hotel.

“We didn’t want it to feel too beachy,” she said of the specialty hotel’s design. “We did want a coastal feel, with a classic look that will never go out of style. For us, that was very important because where we are is very historic.”

Getting Started

The Diaz couple purchased the hotel space in 2020 and got to work on a meticulous process to get its design and style just right. They took the time needed to get through various challenges and opened the hotel in July 2022.

The Lighthouse Hotel features an open design concept with lots of natural light streaming in through big windows all around. It has an airy and comfortable feel in walking through it with large pieces of artwork featuring coastal life hanging on its walls. 

There are seven rooms on the top floor and three on the ground floor. An upstairs events room with long tables and ornate vases filled with flowers looks out through large windows to the historic lighthouse. The room can accommodate up to 50 people and is in immediate proximity to the guest rooms. It recently hosted a meeting and luncheon between PI city officials and representatives from the Texas Historical Commission. The latter were in town to commemorate the lighthouse beaming with a new lens and shining for the first time in over 100 years. 

Port Isabel's new boutique hotel offers a view of the city's historic lighthouse from its second-floor events room.
Port Isabel’s new boutique hotel offers a view of the city’s historic lighthouse from its second-floor events room.

“It kept us busy,” Gustavo Diaz said of the excitement and buzz generated by the Lighthouse event in December. “The first six months we’ve been open have been great for us.”

Seeing PI Differently

Port Isabel for some years has taken a tourism backseat to its alluring and younger neighbor to the east over the Queen Isabella Memorial Bridge.

“A passing city to get to the Island,” Gustavo Diaz said of the common view of Port Isabel. 

Diaz and his wife – who are former Island residents – see it differently. Port Isabel has fine restaurants with shorter wait times than their counterparts on South Padre. Tourists can walk up and down Port Isabel sidewalks and it feels akin to a downtown. There are art galleries and eclectic shops that include jewelry, arts and crafts, a bookstore and full-fledged arts galleries. 

An events room at the Lighthouse Boutique Hotel can accommodate up to 50 people and is often used by hotel guests for celebrations and work-themed meetings.
An events room at the Lighthouse Boutique Hotel can accommodate up to 50 people and is often used by hotel guests for celebrations and work-themed meetings.

Fishing is readily available on the Laguna Madre that runs under the causeway with piers and guides that take clients out to premier sports fishing. There’s dolphin watching boat tours as well among the bevy of recreational choices Port Isabel offers. The community has a charm to it that the Island lacks, Ana Diaz said. She points out the historical aspects along with something else. 

“What’s charming about it is that everything here is local,” she said of Port Isabel. “It feels like an old neighborhood. You can walk everywhere, to fish, to go to a good restaurant, and to shop and look around.”

Now there’s a hotel to do all of that from, “a mini-getaway vacay with your event,” is how Ana Diaz put it. She mentioned a weekend in February that’s booked with a yoga group from McAllen that will combine workouts with leisure. In March, a wedding party is booking all of the rooms at the hotel to celebrate the event in style.

Ana Diaz is a registered nurse by training who specialized in pediatric care. She is now living a dream of working with her husband. They are partners in making the business Gustavo envisioned years ago become a reality with a boutique hotel that has a lighthouse view.

“This is less stressful than nursing but more consistent because with a business you can’t go home and forget about work,” she said. “I always saw myself doing something like this. We always wanted to do something together.”

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