My son is on his way to the Connally Unit. I am pretty sure he will be in ad seg while there. I've tried posting in the Prison forum but there isn't much activity there so thought I would post here also.
How is visitation there? Food? Mail? Any and all comments welcomed. Thanks.
What is their reputaion like there...I have heard some not so good things.

My bf has been at Connally 10.5 yrs now. He is also in Ad Seg. My experience visiting there has always been positive. I do see a change from week to week depending on what warden is on duty. One week staff will be over the top friendly and accomodating...the next they are strict and sticking to the rules tightly. There is a visitors center..but I have never been there. I have seen people go there to get different clothes to wear when their outfits were not approved by the staff for visitation. This past month they have taken pictures every single weekend for $3 a piece. The vending machines are well stocked and have a variety of choices. Mail seems to get there pretty quickly...I live in Houston and it gets to my BF in 2 days usually. Prison food is just that...prison food. The portions are small and not high quality. They can purchase commissary food or extra stuff from the SSI. They eat b-fast at about 2-3am on Ad Seg...super early. The town of Kenedy where Connally sits is a quiet sleepy old town. If you have to spend the night there, go with the Days Inn...its $54 a night and is OK. The others are cheaper and YUCKY! Be sure get your $20 worth of quarters before you leave home because finding change in Kenedy is near impossible!! Hope this info is helpful. If you have any other questions, feel free to msg me!

I don't particularly like the unit (I had visited the Ferguson Unit before and it was super relaxed in comparison). Apparently, some inmates attempted to escape some years before, so you have to go through one or two signs that say "no hostages beyond this point" which are somewhat disconcerting. The way you enter the unit is rather inefficient. You wait in line in your car while a CO inspects (on occasion) your car, sometimes you have to get out, sometimes they just look under your hood and in your trunk. You give the CO the name and number of the person you are going to visit, then you go in and park. Then you wait in line again to go through a metal detector, and then there's another short line while you give your ID to someone behind a glass wall. Then the metal doors open, you walk through the metal fence, and then you walk to the building and hand your ID to yet another person, and you go through more metal doors and finally, you hand the slip of paper to a CO who assigns you a table. The female CO who is at the station where the metal detector is stationed is really nice, except she got a better job and is not going to be there past December. They're strict about dress code. No spaghetti straps at all, even for little kids. I've heard that for ad/seg there is a super long wait because there are only like 8 booths, so people start lining up way early. The Days Inn is OK, and the restaurant next to it has really good breakfast tacos for $1.50 (they're huge, too!) and coffee for $.75. Hope this helps! :)

I don't particularly like the unit (I had visited the Ferguson Unit before and it was super relaxed in comparison). Apparently, some inmates attempted to escape some years before, so you have to go through one or two signs that say "no hostages beyond this point" which are somewhat disconcerting. Take a visit inside the Walls. Look at the chow hall/education building, where the Carasco gang took the teachers hostage, then tried to escape using them as human shields. You can still see the pockmarks in the bricks and concrete where they were shot down, and if you get inside education, there is a big hole in the electrical panel from a bullet that came inside.
A couple of signs shouldn't disconcert you. That's the best insurance policy for freeworld people there is. Inmates won't take you hostage because they know it will just get them killed if they try it.

my brother is in the connally unit and he was there one hour and there were 4 or 5 men trying to jump him. He got is stuff stolen. The visitation sucks there are about 5 guards around at all times staring at you like you are a criminal. The guards are all hateful.