My husband booked one of the more expensive rooms at the Icon for an overnight stay after a concert. I loved it!! Being a fan of architecture I noticed mostly the old world "bank" details of the building, and the next thing I noticed were the interior design details. It was a little like Alice through the looking glass, very bright and plush fabrics. The look goes over better at night, because during the day it could be a little on the garish side if you didn't like the pinks, yellows, reds, and golds. Eclectic, and somehow had a calming effect, like all the patterns cancelled each other out and worked. Having lived in New York I must say it reminded me a little of some of the buildings there, so maybe I was biased. Loved the "taxi" the hotel keeps, it was very London. Staff was very helpful with directions and getting us where we needed to be, they also brought our car around several times and someone would always run around and open the door for me.

The bathroom was out of this world, but my review might have been colored by the fact I was expecting a roadside motel for a simple overnight, this was something special. For the price it could possibly use a tiny bit of freshening up, and my stay was slightly less than perfect because of the $4.77 a can charge for sodas- each, from the touch sensitive mini bar. But LOVED the bed, slept like a baby on the seventh floor, never felt claustrophobic, and soaked in the huge tub just for fun. Sooo, overall I would love to stay at the Icon again, but it would probably be in one of the deluxe rooms. Oh, one more thing, maybe it was because it was a Friday night, but my goodness the staff was young- like practically out of high school young.

Had heard a lot, over the years, about the ambience and lush "feel" to the place. But over-taxed service -- in the restaurant and at front desk -- made the place feel like an aging movie star, fallen on hard times.

Room was lovely but no real "give aways." They provided designer water @ $5.00 a bottle, and lots of other temptations in a weight-calibrated cooler. (Whatever you move or take, you get billed for.) Only two pillows per full-size bed; took over 30 minutes (at 10:30pm) to get 2 more.

The cocktails in the bar cost more for bar stock than Sambuca (two blocks away) charged for call brands. Food in the restaurant, for breakfast, arrived cold. (In part because kitchen is one floor below.) Frazzled staff gave the restaurant a less than luxurious feel -- particularly in relation to the meal price. Had to practically tackle someone for coffee refills.

The small single really was -- as a business traveller, I'd be claustrophobic after a day or two. As a couple on a weekend getaway, we were tripping over each other -- in a non-romantic, irksome way.

No luggage rack for our bags -- what's up with that?

Final warning: unless you book one of the specials on the hotel's Web site, they'll try to charge you $25.00 for parking. Even with a special, staff tends to "forget" to comp it -- I overheard two others also having to request bill adjustment. For the price of these rooms, even on the weekend, this is a little offensive.

The Icon is located in an old bank building in Downtown Houston and has retained much of it's historical charm.

After reading reviews re the noisy location I requested a quiet room and was situated on the 10th floor. I can honestly say I never heard any noise disturbance during my stay.

The room was compact and quite dark but comfortable for my 4 night stay and the bathroom with it's huge walk in shower was great.

I never ate in the restaurant but did have a sneaky cocktail in the Whiskey Bar which was hotel pricey but enjoyable!

The hotel is very elegant. The staff was very courteous and helpful. The bathroom and shower were out of this world, huge.
The only pitfall was the downtown nightlife waking me up around 2 and 3 in the morning. Probably best to visit during week, I would imagine. For the money, this hotel was worth it.