My best friend wanted to celebrate his birthday in Houston and stay at the Magnolia so I had no choice in what hotel to stay in. I wish I had gone with my instincts and stayed at another place. As soon as we got there, they took us to our "room" and it only had one bed. There were 4 of us that were going to stay and we had booked a suite with 2 beds. They took us to the wrong room and when the valet called down, the clerk told him to take us to another room. When we got to the second room, it only had 1 bed as well. By this time, we were very frustrated and 1 hour had passed. They finally took us to the correct room and it reminded me of a cheap hotel room you pay $69 a night for, not $200 a night. The next day we left the hotel and I made a HUGE mistake of leaving my brown suede Italian boots by the bed. I bought these boots in Lake Como, Italy, so it wasn't like I could easily replace them. I called the hotel the next day when I realized what had happened and left a message. No returned call. I called back 4 times until I got the Housekeeping Manager on the phone. When I told her what happened, she put me on hold for 2 minutes and returned and told me she didn't find anything. I wasn't satisfied so I asked to talk to the manager. He assured me that he would investigate it. After one day, he called back and said that no one had turned them in. I find it hard to believe that they disappeared into thin air. Right now, some housekeeper is walking around in a $400 pair of great boots...Of course, now with the Euro rates, they are almost twice as expensive to replace.

My husband and I spent Memorial Day weekend at the Magnolia and can say nothing bad about our entire stay. We arrived Friday and were greeted by the valets to park our car. Now some might try to save money on the valet parking, but the convenience of having the car there was more than enough to overcome the additional cost. The lobby had the air and feel of a boutique European hotel with a bit more Southern charm. The room was spacious and the bathroom was quite nice with lots of marble and tile. The hotel was conveniently located to both of our main attractions. We had tickets for an Astros game - and the Magnolia is just blocks away from Minute Maid Park. Then we had tickets for a show at the Alley Theatre and the hotel is just blocks in the other direction from the Alley. The free breakfast in the morning is fabulous as is the free happy hour. The milk and cookies at night may appeal more to those with children, but I snuck a cookie as well. All in all this was a great stay and I would highly recommend the Magnolia to anyone.

I stayed at the Magnolia for two nights during a weekend conference at the University of Houston, just south of downtown. This is third time I've stayed at the hotel in the last four years. I love it. It's in the middle of a surprisingly vibrant downtown scene, within easy walking to restaurants, Minute Maid Park, light rail, and the downtown government and business complexes. The hotel itself is relatively inexpensive ($120 a night). But it has a luxurious, stylish, and historical feel to the rooms and common spaces. Even though there are numerous restaurants suitable for all tastes just outside the front doors, you may never want to leave the second-floor Magnolia Club, which has a great bar menu (best calamari I've ever tasted). The club has live jazz on some nights and free "cookies and milk" on all nights. It also a free pool room tucked away in a corner. Great for business or a weekend getaway.

Not a bad place to stay. The rooms were big, bathroom big, but showing its age. There was a refrigerator in the room, but stock with mini bar supplies at high prices. This hotels tries to be a high end hotel, but falls short. The exercise room was a good size, but the pool area was small, but it did have a nice view. Parking for hotel $20 per night. They do offer a free happy hour from 5:30 to 6:30, you can get 2 drinks, either beer or wine. Free breakfast in the morning and offer cookies before bed time. Overall not a bad stay, some noise can be heard if on the lower floors.