The location, the hotel and staff were superb. Really helpful staff. Location is near the Galleria Center and I was able to walk to most of my appointments in the area.

When you wake up to find a dead cockroach in your living room, all other pluses and minuses become inconsequential. When you wake up the next morning to find that roach's mate scurrying about looking for his pal, it's all over folks.

We were staying there with two young kids who were all over the floors and one was even in a sleeping bag on the floor (yes, even after the roaches were discovered). You can imagine the kind of chill that puts down a parent's spine.

In general, the room (#1212) was extremely small (my sister's family actually moved to the J.W. Marriott down the street) and quite old and dirty. I can't say whether the room had been cleaned before our arrival, but even if it had, it just looked and felt crusty, dusty, and decrepit. We were fearful to look under couches or inside cupboards!

I told the manager about the roaches and to their credit, they immediately offered to move us to another room. Unfortunately, it was just bad timing as we had plans and couldn't pack up. When I checked out though, I asked what else they could do and they took one night's charge off the bill.

The location is excellent, walking distance to everything in the Galleria including Borders, an amazing indoor and very high-end mall (w/skating rink), several strip malls, and very good restaurants. The pool looked very nice and I did see maintenance guys checking the water daily.

Breakfast was plentiful, but that's about all the good I can say about it. It was mostly white breads, high-carb stuff and unattractive looking fruit and yogurt. They did have make-your-own-waffles, but again, the batter looked watery and sat unrefrigerated.

The hotel did offer free milk, juice, and sodas throughout the day (great for kids). The management and staff were very very friendly and helpful.

The rooms face an inner courtyard area and the parking lot. This design means that you will catch EVERY little noise that occurs with the other guests as they are walking to their rooms, parking their cars, etc. Think of luggage wheels rolling on cement. Think of car alarms. Think of a couple arguing about exactly where the heck their room is located. Or...as in our case...think of a huge wedding party that decides to hang out on the balconies, shout from room to room, and come and go in their cars until the wee hours of the night/morning. Indeed, when I went down to complain in the morning (could not leave sleeping newborn alone in the room to go take care of it at night!), there was vomit all over the elevator floor and other guests were at the desk complaining as well. The design of this building means that you are party to everything that happens outside your bedroom door - something you don't usually get when you're nestled in a larger building. It's really a shame, because the entire visit was ruined by this.

This hotel was obviously not originally constructed as a Residence Inn, but presumably converted from a previous life as apartments. The layout is unlike any Residence Inn I've stayed before, with most of the suites on the second, third, and fourth levels around the perimeter of the property over covered parking on the ground level, with a separate centrally-located building with more typical rooms, including the office, pool, exercise room, laundry room, and gatehouse/lobby (where breakfast is served).

PROS:
- Great location, less than a block from the Galleria Mall, so it's an easy walk to numerous dining and shopping spots, and ice skating if you are so inclined. I had a great seafood meal one night there at the Kona Grill, and a good Mexican meal for lunch another day at Ninfa's in the food court.
- Complete kitchen with full-size refrigerator with ice maker, dishwasher, sink, 2-burner stove, and microwave.
- Wall-mounted easy-to-use thermostat to control the central heat/AC unit. Much quieter than some hotels with a noisy window-style unit right next to the bed.
- Wonderful complimentary full breakfast (like all Residence Inns) with many selections that change from day-to-day to suit most anyone.

CONS:
- Suites with exterior doors opening to a balcony (typical for older hotels), however for enhanced security, a room key card is required to access the stairs or elevator to the upper rooms level.
- Odd suite layout with narrow living area adjacent to kitchen area in rear, with small sofa (convertible into a double bed) and side chair, and no room for a coffee table (nor is one included).
- Tiny dining table with room for two at most
- Work desk with hard-wired Internet connection is in the separate bedroom (apparently because of inadequate space in the living area), instead of being more conveniently located in the living area.
- No conventional oven in kitchen for pizza or more serious cooking

Overall, quite pleased with the accomodations, especially as a solo traveler, but if I had not stayed at many other Residence Inns before, I may have gotten the mistaken impression that this is the typical Residence Inn layout. And since the suite I was assigned is smaller than the typical one-bedroom suite at other Residence Inns, it really is adequate for no more than two adults, or two adults with a couple of small children.