radioinstl

Just came back from a week stay at the Residence Inn/Courtyard downtown.

I will NEVER stay there again. I stayed on the Residence Inn side and my friends were on the Courtyard side. Staff was very nice at both. Pool and exercise room were nice for a non full service. Residence Inn had ok breakfast and different hot food in the evening with free beer and wine on half the days there.

Bad parts: Part of town. The block of the hotel was covered with homeless people and beggers. First night there, drunk homeless guy throws up in front of the entrance to the Residence Inn and 2nd guy proceeds to wash his hands in it. Homeless were constantly digging through the trash and the butt can out front. One guy was stalking out front for anyone to throw away a cig butt so he could have it.

My room had a TV that looked like it belonged in the TV show "That '70's Show" and the picture quality was about the same.

All parking is valet for both and is at the Courtyard.

If you do stay at the Residence Inn and valet, you do not have to go around to get to your hotel. All floors above 2 connect.

Clean up the area and update the rooms and I will think about going back.

alaneisen

Personally, I like the Renaissance Houston Greenway Plaza Hotel. I stayed there for serveral weeks on and off over the last few years. It's a little farther from the Galleria, but a nice location unless you are there on a Sunday. I believe it's been updated also since I stayed there last.

Alan

SkiAdcock

Tagging on to this thread rather than starting a new one. Is there a Marriott near the airport & anyone know how far away it is from the IAH Sheraton? I'm currently booked at Sheraton for StarMegaDo2/FT Travel Awards, but would prefer Marriott. All SMD2/FT activities start/end @ IAH Sheraton, so any Marriott property would need to be near there.

Cheers.

LabRat

There is a Marriott located on the property at IAH. Great for those early morning flights as all you have to do is take the underground tram to the terminal.

PointPerson

I travel to Houston every 4-6 weeks. I usually stay at the Residence Inn on McCue across from the Galleria. I was there last week and was given a completely remodeled room (1 bdrm). They have remodeled most of their 1 bdrms....not onto the 2 bdrm units yet. Yes, this property is not fancy, but the location is fwy. close, across the street from the Galleria and the staff is great. Parking is a breeze as well.

If you prefer Courtyards, I stay at the Courtyard, Westchase. While not as centrally located as the above, the atmosphere is relaxed and it is very close to the toll road.

Hope this helps.

Mackieman

Springhill Suites IAH is new and near the Sheraton IAH. I've booked it for the FT Awards (can't make the StarMegaDo ) as it was significantly cheaper than the Marriott IAH. The Marriott Greenspoint is nearby but this is a much, much older property that has not undergone renovations in anything except the lobby.

Joeinfl

Have you considered the Woodlands - it's 20 minutes north of IAH - there is a FS marriott there, and the Woodlands is a very nice area with lots of shops and bars and restaurants. It will probably take you about 40 minutes if you want to go into downtown - it's probably about the same time to the Galleria as well.

jazzhou

^ Great museum, designed by the same architect Renzo Piano of the Centre Pompidou in Paris and Kansai Airport in Osaka, with a very personal and exceptional collection of art from the antiquities to the contemporary, i.e. the personal taste of the de Menils is found in the similarities between the Cycladic figures and modern sculptures, between the Northwestern Indian head-dress and African masks. I especially love the paintings of the Surrealist artist Rene Magritte in the collection. A must see in Houston.

jnorman76

Any great suggestions for properties out in Houston's Energy Corridor? Stayed at the Marriott Energy Corridor last trip. Was pretty good! Nice upgrade, big room, nice people. But what else is out there?

SkiAdcock

Do you know if the EC property's exec lounge is open on the weekend? If not, do they offer brekkie coupons. If it's closed, is it key accessible for sodas? Do they have free wifi or i-net terminal in the lounge? Let me know & I'll update the exec lounge sticky.

Cheers.

Muerz

I'm looking to do a vacation in the Houston area in early november and have trouble deciding on a hotel. I haven't been to Houston before so I don't know which area the hotel should preferably be located in. This trip will mostly about shopping and the usual touristy sights as well as the coastal area around Galveston. Galleria looks like a good bet but is rather expensive. What about Energy Corridor or North Houston? Are those convenient or should I stick to the Galleria/Downtown area?
I'd be most interrested in full service properties or Courtyards. I'll have a rental car but I wouldn't want to be located in an area with unbearable traffic.
A question that is really important to me: which properties have in-room safes? This is really important to me since I don't like to store a laptop at the front desk and being there on vacation I don't want to take it along every day!
Thanks in advance for your help!

kbh1234

I would recommend the JW across from the Galleria. It is a great hotel in a nice area and it is easy to walk to the mall using the crosswalk next to the hotel. The interstate is easily accessible from the hotel. Traffic could be heavy at times but I have seen worse. I don't remember if they had self-parking or not or if it was valet only.

I would not recommend staying downtown. I have stayed at the Courtyard/Residence Inn downtown, and while it is a decent enough hotel, the area is not the best. There are some nice restaurants right next to the hotel, but other than that I did not venture out very much. Downtown kind of empties out after business hours and all you are left with is the large homeless population hitting you up for money. Also one night someone pulled the fire alarm at 1am and all of the hotel guests had to stand outside in the rain for an hour until the fire department determined that it was nothing.

cova

For better value - I stay at the West Loop Marriott - walking distance to the Galleria - just not across the street like the JW. Self parking for a fee - but on weekends the gates are open.

dayone

I'm a big fan of the West Loop Marriott but there is quite a difference between it and the JW. For a vacation, I'd opt for the JW.

jayer

DATED CONTENT WARNING

I used to stay at the Greenspoint (North Houston FS) frequently on business and found it quite hospitable, but would not recommend it (on other properties between I-45 and the big airport) for vacation purposes. Area is better than it once was but still past its prime and has its issues.

If you have a late arrival or early departure and want to cut a day off your rental car expense, I would recommend first or last night at the IAH Marriott. It was dated even when I was there last, and that was way before yesterday, but if you got in the old building that was supposed to look like a space station it was kind of funky. It had a good club and a rooftop restaurant where you could watch the airport.