I was so unimpressed with this hotel, especially given the rates they charge. I travel to Houston almost weekly for work, and would never consider this hotel again.

Upon check in, I had to pay $24 for valet parking, and he was rude, spelled my name wrong, and told me that I could not call ahead for my car the next morning. I asked if there were other places to park, and he said no, yet I found out later that the lot behind the Magnolia is $6 or free (depending on when you park there) as were the multiple street spots (free 7-7 each day).

The room was nice, but the trays in the bathroom had been dropped, chipped and cracked, and they looked awful. At breakfast the next day, I had to ask multiple times for a spoon to eat my cerael, and finally gave up after 10 minutes since my breakfast had turned into mush and there were still no spoons. I just went out for breakfast after that. Also, they had not bussed any tables, and there was no place to sit - I had to finally move dirty dishes just to sit down.

Downstairs, I waited almost 25 minutes to get my car from valet (by comparision, the Courtyard down the street takes less than 5!), and the valet told me that I should have called ahead, which I had been told the night before I could not do. This time did not include the 3 times I tried to hand him my ticket, and he just ignored me, and finally said "yeah, its coming" (which it was not!). As a result, I was late for a client meeting, and the whole valet staff was just rude - I utilized the lot the next two nights, then had to argue with the staff at check out because the charged me for 3 nights instead of the 1 night I actually used them. For $24, I would have expected better service, especially since they just take them around the corner to the "free" lot.

The second night, I arrived into my room to find that the hotel had left me no washcloths at all in the bathroom, and the chipped bowls were still there. The same thing happened the third night as well - not sure what was up there. The room was not cleaned very well either.

The "express" check out was a joke, too. I waited in line for 10 minutes, and there were only 2 people in front of me, then had to aruge about the invalid charges.

I will never stay here again - I have paid far less for hotels in Houston, and had FAR BETTER SERVICE! This hotel has a long way to go. They tout free cocktails and milk/cookie bar, probably to hope you overlook their terrible service. They should focus on that, and also implement a frequent guest program. So, for the money, go to any number of other hotels within 2 blocks of this one, and skip the Magnolia entirely.

Nephews wedding~ Group rate. Suites spacious. Clean and comfortable. Rooftop pool and gym clean and maintained.
Staff courteous and helpfull. I left my dress belt at home, consierge aided me with yahooo directions to nearest mens store. Nice panoramic view of Houston. Central to downtown
facilities. Valet or park yourself, garage parking.

Stayed here for my second trip to Houston (business) in a month - I had stayed at the Icon last time, and the Magnolia is much better value all around.

The good:

- Nice decor & atmosphere
- Good sized room (king sized bed with large desk area)
- Complete set of toiletries
- Toothbrush/shaver stand in the bathroom - that's a plus!
- Good continental breakfast time and loved the cookies & milk at night
- Good sized fitness facility - at least 8 cardio machines, free weights and a universal machine
- Great location for visiting downtown clients
- Free wired Internet in the room and wireless in the club area (where you have breakfast)

The not-so-good:

- The room's guide book is quite out of date. The cookies & milk are available 8-10 PM, but the book said 9-10 PM. It also indicates that printing costs at the business center is $1/page however it is actually free
- The bathroom tub could use a no-slip mat
- The shower head pressure was poor. The tub faucet itself was fine and had great pressure, so it must be something with the shower pipe itself

I stayed here one night for a business trip. The check-in was smooth. I did not partake in it’s 8-10pm nightly chocolate cookie and milk bar on the 2nd floor, but it sounds interesting. When I got to my room, I noticed the desk chair was missing (strange!). I called down to let them know, and they managed to bring one in 30 minutes; a slight nuisance, but not a big deal. The room service food is mediocre. Stay away from the Club Sandwich and the Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing, but the Quesadillas (I had mine with chicken) was great. The continental breakfast is so-so (small variety of pastries, juices, and fruits). However, the starbucks coffee is a plus! At one point, there was some sort of false alarm fire drill (not sure what it was, but there was a fire truck and everybody was outside). I did not evacuate the building because I did not hear anything from inside my room, but when I went downstairs to check out,
nobody was around; everybody had evacuated the building. If you are worried about emergency situations, this may worry you. Wireless internet is free; New York Times every morning (mine was a little wet and had a rip in it, but you can grab one at the front desk where there is a stack of them); and here is the best part: they have a valet shuttle service that will take you anywhere in the nearby downtown area! I used this service twice, and found it was convenient,
and the drivers friendly! A bathrobe is provided, and the bathroom is big and luxurious. I had a king bed, and the bed was very comfortable.
You can hear any noise that comes from the hallway, but there wasn’t that much. Also, when you switch the temperature in the room from cold to warm, you will get a little bit of that burning smell. The bathtub had one small crack in it where the surface had chipped off. Overall, I would recommend this restaurant for all travelers: business
and pleasure!