Stayed here for one night recently, and it's pretty much what I expected from the poor reviews.

+ Parking was easy and convenient, doesn't seem particularly "dangerous" or "shady" though it does look like they have a gate that they can close to prevent vehicles from entering/exiting? I didn't see it in use during my stay though.
+ Lobby area is nicer than expected, considering the rest of the hotel. Can't comment on breakfast, but the lobby area looked decently clean and well-managed.
+ Affordable (I was on a $90/night rate).
+ Elevators looked newer and recently remodeled.
+ Decent location - easy access to freeway. Not sure if they have an IAH airport shuttle though, didn't ask.
+ Proactively offered 2 waters a day for me and my guest.

- The hallways smelled pretty bad - just old and musty. Carpet was extremely torn up, both in the room and outside in the hallways.
- Bathroom is tiny, and has a very strange shower "half"-door...I didn't take a picture but it's the most unique thing I've seen in any shower, and not in a good way - this property has the exact same bathroom setup as the Hyatt Place in Sugar Land, which has shockingly good reviews for the tired product. The sink is outside the bathroom, and was relatively large which was nice. The toilet and shower area are just quite small and unpleasant to be in.
- AC unit is ancient. It worked decently, but made a loooot of strange sounds. No wall thermostat, it's all controlled by the actual unit.
- Not much in the immediate area, but Houston is generally a very car-centric city, so definitely recommend having a car if you're staying here.

Honestly not the worst place if you're trying to go for affordability, but the Hyatt Regency on the same road (about 2 blocks down) seems nicer in general and is also a category 1!