We decided to stay at the Sam Houston based on the overwhelmingly great reviews on this site, but after our visit I am wondering if we were in the same hotel. First, let me say that the service was indeed very good. Everyone I encountered was as helpful and professional as could be. But the facility itself has some major problems. Because of an issue I'll describe later, we actually spent time in two different rooms (both double/doubles) and in both cases it seemed to me that they had just plunked down very comfortable beds in what can best be described as dorm rooms. While I am all for stylish minimalism and have stayed at many hotels that did it well, the decor in the rooms just seemed cheap and boring to me. For example, instead of drapes, they have only blinds in the rooms, and not the nice black-out kind. If you are at all sensitive to light waking you up in the morning, you'll have to figure out some way to drape a blanket or sheet over your window if you want to sleep in. As for the bathrooms, the first room we were in was apparently for handicapped visitors, so it probably wasn't a fair representation, but the second one we had was nicely done.

The biggest problem we encountered, however, was with the AC system which is obviously a must in Houston in August. The first room we were in had some sort of malfunctioning duct system which made a huge banging sound everytime the system shut off (about every 15 minutes). As we learned from a housekeeper, the hotel is fully aware that this is the case in several of the rooms. We thought we had figured out a way to fix the problem by resetting the system, but learned at about 1am that we were unsuccessful. After trying to sleep through it for about half an hour, we called down to the front desk attendant who offered "to send someone up to take a look at it." We explained that we were exhausted and not in the mood to wait to see if someone thought they could fix it, so we asked to be moved. To their credit, they were very quick to send someone up to get all of our stuff and move us to a new room. Again, this person confirmed that they knew of the problem with the system and he explained that it was due to the cheap system and poor quality of the parts used. Thankfully, the new room didn't appear to have this noise issue and we gladly tucked ourselves in for the night with the AC at 65 degrees (where the bellman had set it). However, at about 8am we woke up sweating. Turns out the system had shut itself completely OFF during the night. We told the staffmember who checked us out about this and she replied that "it's a digital system and does that sometimes." She again was very polite and apologetic and encouraged us to fill out a comment card for the management (which we will definitely do). But I am just amazed that a hotel that bills itself as the height of boutique luxury would be aware of such a major problem with something as important as its AC system and would do nothing to try to prevent the problem from inconveniencing its guests. Thankfully, we got a cheap internet rate, but I don't think the experience we had was worth even that discounted price. The Sam Houston has some great people working there, but they need to get the hotel up to those same standards as the service before I would consider staying there again.

We spent four nights at the Sam Houston. While we have stayed in hotels around the world, the Sam Houston was the best by far. From the moment we walked into the lobby we were treated like royalty. The service we received by all of the staff and management was exceptional. They anticipated our every need, including bringing a bucket of ice to our room during the evening hours. The rooms were beautifully appointed and serviced two to three times daily. We booked this hotel based on the reviews in the Tripadvisor and this hotel exceeded all of our expectations. We would recommend this hotel to anyone planning to go to Houston and we will most definitely stay there again. A true five star hotel!

We excitedly booked a room at the sam houston based on the rave reviews of tripadvisor, but unfortunately ran into several problems with the level of service provided by the hotel. The room did not have a flatscreen tv as advertised, the room service was extremely slow, we were qouted 45 minutes to an hour wait and the rate we were qouted online as well as via phone was not the rate we received on our bill at checkout.
An hour after we departed, I realized that I did not have my bracelet and phoned the hotel to see if they could check the room for us. We spoke with the three different individuals, all of whom told us that they would check the room and that we would receive a call back in 30 minutes or less. We received no return calls. I phoned again 5 days later and was told that the bracelet was found and that it would be sent to me immediately. 10 days later and no bracelet. So, today, two weeks after check-out, I phoned again was told that they would investigate the situation and phone back in 30 minutes or less. I received no return call, so I phoned again 8 hours later and was given a different phone number and was told to phone back in the morning.

We stayed at the Sam for a Thurs - Sun trip leisure trip in May and it was wonderful! While the neighborhood as you're coming to it is developing, there's no noise that detracts from the experience. It was only a couple of blocks walk to Minute Maid Park to see a game...The service at the Sam is 5-star all the way from the moment they hold open the door for you.. The smell of the free peaches is as inviting as the rooms. The hotel is decked out all in sepia-tones as you might expect of it's namesake but is FAR from drab. We stayed in a regular King-bed room and found plenty enough space for us two. The rooms really are geared towrds the "techie" crowd- everything is listed on the website... The bathroom: Oh.. My.. God! All marble tile, huge glassed-in shower, great towels, products, and overall modern decor... Let's not forget about the Bed! It's soooo comfy with the hypo-allergenic down comforter and cotton sheets, and against the wall there's padding :) ! The service deserves it's own distinction because the staff will go out of their way to accomodate your schedule and transportation needs with the free town car w/in the downtown area (~3 miles). My only gripe is with the mandatory valet service- The staff can get busy and sometimes you'd like to just be able to go and get your own car but that's really the only downside...

Stay at the Sam and you won't be disappointed- not even with the bill! It's very reasonable apparently on the weekend- just book through the hotel itself on their website. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!