Beach Recommendations

We were planning to visit Galveston for all of next week but none of the hotels in Galveston appeal to us. Reviews are mostly negative regarding cleanliness and how old the rooms are. What other areas should we be looking for? The kid probably wants to spend a couple of days at the beach and hit other attractions such as NASA. Are Galveston beaches the cleanest/suitable for kids or do I need to look at alternatives?