"on the sand" hotel/motel/b&b on Texas Gulf coast.

Hi all,

Does anyone know of a real beachfront place in Texas outside of South Padre?
We're thinking of either the Corpus Christi area or Galveston area, but are
open to things we don't know about.

My wife's requirements (not mine): A room overlooking a beach, or at least
a hotel on a useable beach, not across the street, and not a block away.
She wants to go from the door to the beach with her beach things in hand,
and dressed for the beach. This is possible at most places in South Padre,
but a new place would be nice for a change. I've been poking around
Expedia, hotels.com, etc, and hotel names tend to lie a lot (ie. The
Beachcomber Inn is 3 blocks from the actual beach when you view the map)

We don't need fancy, but are prepared to pay for the beachfront location.

tia

Keith