I booked this hotel for my mother and her friends; they were visiting the big quilt show at the convention centre. My mother liked the hotel a lot.

Nice hotel. Lovely foyer. Lovely big rooms. Nice cookies and milk. Staff friendly. Valet boys very helpful. A few blocks from the GRB convention centre - walked in 15mins, $5 in a taxi.

I booked directly with the hotel and we had no problems.

I stayed for 10 nights in early October for business reason (which is very stressful). The hotel makes me feel good and relax after long working days. The room is well appointed and clean. The two complimentary drinks during the happy hours (5-7 pm) at the Magnolia club (2nd level) did help me wind-down. Free cookies and milk during 9-10 pm also help your bedtime more pleasant especially for traveller far away from home like me. They also serve free basic breakfast on the 2nd level in the morning. A very short walk from the Houston Astro's baseball stadium and some nice restaurants. In short, I recommend this hotel for your down-town stay in Houston.

I previously reviewed the Magnolia Hotel in Houston unfavorably. After being invited back by the GM, Mr. Jennings, my opinion has been changed. The service was much improved over my previous visit.

We stayed at The Magnolia on Friday, July 29, 2005. We arrived around 3:00 p.m. and were able to check in. We parked at the meters across the street when we checked in and brought up our bags. We came out and parked at a $5 lot on the side of the hotel around 5:00 p.m. rather than pay the $22 valet parking. The parking lot attendant said we could park there until 12:00 p.m. on Saturday but after that we would be charged because another company takes over for the weekend. We must have caught the $5 lot just in time because we passed by after we ate and saw that the $5 had been covered with a piece of paper and a new attendant was there probably charging more money for the weekend. The hotel pool was closed for maintenance which was disappointing. I wish the desk clerk had told us that when we were checking in. I would have considered moving to another hotel if I had known in advance. My three kids love to swim. We went to the 23rd floor roof where the pool is and saw that the entire pool was only 3 ft. deep and very tiny. Lots of people were walking to the roof and if everyone had gotten to swim, we would have been rubbing shoulders with people. The view is nice from the 23rd floor. The fitness center is big and we had fun using the equipment. We went to an Astros game and walked back to the hotel from Minute Maid Park - straight shot up Texas Avenue - in about 10 minutes to eat cookies and milk. We got there at 9:45 p.m. (cookies are served between 9:00 and 10:00) and there were only two kinds of cookies left and no milk. With about five minutes left, someone came and poured some milk, which went quickly by the time we all got some. It was nice to have the refreshments. The room was nice. I didn't know we had a choice in pillows as someone in another report said so we just used our regular pillows. We were on the 9th floor and my husband had to go to the 12th floor to get ice. I found the desk clerks do not smile and when I asked the guy about the parking meter and where a nearby convenience store was he told me to ask the valet guy like it was beneath him to help. When my husband asked the valet guy, the guy could not speak English plain enough for my husband to understand, although we felt like he probably could have been more easy to understand if my husband had a couple bucks in his hand. I think this hotel would be more for couples or people on business trips.