I was very impressed with this hotel. Here's what I liked about it:

Location: It is right across the street from the Galleria and in a very convenient location next to the loop highway and really close to downtown via Westheimer Road. It was in a quite area that felt safe (which is good since I was traveling by myself). They were doing some construction in the area, but it never got in the way (all of Houston is a construction zone right now, anyway!). The hotel parking lot was easily accessible and never clogged up (not secured, but didn't feel it needed to be). You can easily walk to the Galleria, but in the 94 degree humid heat, I chose to drive - which was a right turn, thru a set of lights right into the underground parking lot of the Galleria. Very convenient! Also lots of restaurants in the area - lots of fast food down Westheimer and Post Oak.

Value: This hotel was CHEAP! I got a decent rate of $75. per night. Free parking, HUGE hot breakfast every morning, happy hour with food and drink from Sun-Thu, HUGE rooms with a kitchen in every room - WOW, what more can I say!

Rooms: My room was big, clean, quiet and new. There is an older building (not sure what those rooms are like) that I believe have the 1 bedroom suites. I think all the studios are located in the new building that surrounds the old building. The doors are all located outside - not my first pick in a hotel, but being up high still made me feel fairly safe. The TV was good (no in-room movies or MTV, but pretty much everything else) and all the appliances were new. AC worked great, too.

Amenities: I can't say enough about the breakfasts at this place. I've stayed at a lot of hotels that offer a free breakfast (probably over 100), and this is the best included breakfast I've ever had. Make your own waffels, scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits, potatoes every morning! Also included toast/bagels/english muffins, yogurts, fruit salad, OJ or Apple Juice, white or chocolate milk, Coffee, Tea, etc. Also some fresh fruit. I pigged out every single morning! Free parking, an internet room (with a supplied computer), a little snack store, vending machines, a pool, etc., made this a very convenient place to stay.

My only complaint: Parking is on the ground level (some spots are undercover) and sometimes some young groups hung out with their cars blaring music. My room was 3 floors up and the noise carried right up to my door - despite being quite soundproof. It didn't seem like the staff was very quick to break that up (It happened two nights in a row for at least a 1/2 - 1 hour each time). But, I was up late both nights (Fri and Sat) and completely tired, so I didn't complain right away (and I am like an old lady always complaining about noise!). I fell asleep before I could think of calling to break it up! The other 3 nights I stayed were dead quiet.

Personally, I wonder why anyone would want to stay anywhere else in Houston. This place has it all! I was truly impressed - possibly one of my best hotel stays ever.

E-mail me if you have any questions!

Enjoy!
Paula