I have stayed at, and reviewed, the Alden Hotel before, about a year ago. I rated it as acceptable at the time, because it is a great property with great beds in a great location- however I was disappointed with the cleanliness and especially the indifferent staff. The devil is in the details, and apparently things have gotten MUCH worse. I decided to try it out again as a colleague was staying there.
To make a long story short, here is what happened with my stay:
1) My room was on top of a ballroom hosting a conference. This "conference" turned into a late night dance party. The music was very loud and was still going strong as I was considering going to bed....
2) The room didn't have an alarm clock. Hello, the $49 Motel 6 has an alarm clock!
3) The room safe had been left locked by a previous guest and I could not use it. The front desk said they would fix it while I was out for dinner but I never heard anything about it again.
4) It was very cold in Houston this week (near freezing). Apparently, the AC/heater in the room was broken, and could only blow very cold air despite being set on 80 degrees. Since the maid had left it on since "cleaning", the room was an icebox. I could not warm it one single degree over the evening.
5) I was going to try and struggle through these other things (hey, I'm not a crybaby, right?) when I discovered my robe had a dirty smear across the front. OK, I won't put that on...
6) ...and there's the NASTY STAIN on the bedsheets.
At this point I gave up trying to "cope" and requested a new room ASAP. I received a room across the hall that was warm, away from the loud music, and apparently clean. Except that it smelled like the inside of a damp ash-tray. Ewww. Given that I wasn't going to ask for a THIRD room, I slept there over night and promptly checked out.
To their credit, the front desk staff was apologetic and sent me an apology in the form of food from room service, however the room(s) should not have been in that condition to begin with, especially for the price. I will NEVER stay here again, which is a shame- with good management, this could be the premier hotel in downtown Houston. Stay at the infinitely better Hotel Icon a few blocks away (and closer to the good restaurants and train).