Great location to stay in downtown Houston. Very quiet, very elegant. Bathrooms were really nice. Bathtub was enlarged in the pictures to appear larger than they actually are. Rooms also appear larger in the pictures when in fact, they're very small. Tastefully decorated, beds are very comfortable, lines very soft & cozy. However, we did not anticipate having to pay $25.00 to park our car. Unless you want to try & find a parking space on the busy Houston roads, be prepared to pay to park. I felt like my spending $200.00 to stay for 1 night should entitle me to park my car. You are treated like anyone else coming to Houston. No special rate for hotel residents. You pay the full price to park. I totally disagree with this hyprocrisy. More than likely will never return. Crowne Plaza doesn't charge their hotel residents to park!

I had a very good one-night stay at the Icon. Valet service and check-in were fast and courteous. My king room was quite large, and the bathroom was really big and beautifully appointed. No bathtub, but the shower was oversized and had a cool double-showerhead, with one shower head directly overhead. Haven't seen that anywhere else!! Bathroom truly was over-sized, with a long vanity counter and very good lighting. The bed was very comfortable, and the room had large windows that let in lots of light. I was on the 8th floor and had a great view of downtown Houston. Internet access via ethernet (no wireless access) was free, very easy to set up, and was high-speed. Good working desk, with good lighting. Two nice, comfy sitting chairs with matching ottomans. Overall, the decor is somewhat dark, with lots of dark reds. Obviously, the building is a former bank, and the lobby/restaurant is a little strange in that it still strongly resembles a bank lobby. Food at the hotel's Bank restaurant was quite good. The exercise facility was very good, tucked away on a lower level the hotel's day spa. It has an extensive set of Nautilus weight-lifting equipment plus about six treadmills, step machines, and one stationary bike. Overall, this hotel has a lot to offer if you want to be in downtown Houston and don't want to stay at a large chain hotel.

Hotel Icon in my eyes is not an Icon. When we called for directions people answered the phone with "hello" The valet guy was not the nicest guy either. He stood looking at me waiting for a tip. I had to tell him hold on let me put my bags down and you will get a tip. We were on the 11th floor facing downtown, big mistake! All night long all we heard were sirens from cop cars, and people yelling and cars honking! If you want the feel of downtown NYC then stay here, if you want a quiet romantic hotel, go somewhere else. Bathrooms were nice, the rooms reminded me of my 4 year stay in a college dorm. It is not worth the money, I would look to stay somewhere else.

Stayed in the hotel Icon two nights for a business meeting in mid-December. The hotel is located in down town Houston which I am not very familiar with. All in all it was a good stay but there were a few interesting events....

Our meeting took place on the second floor in the conference rooms. During a morning break I found a homeless person asleep in one of the stalls in the ladies room. I called the front desk and they escorted him out. There are stairs from the main lobby that anyone could take to get up to the second floor. The elevators require a room key to go higher than floor 2.

One of the nights we were there my colleagues were disturbed by hotel guests in the next room that were ingaging in loud adult relations. It was so loud my colleagues had to call the front desk to ask them to contact the room and tell them to be quiet.

When we returned to our rooms one day after our meeting my manager's door was left open (by the maids?) with the door stop. Thankfully nothing was taken.

All in all it is a nice hotel. The food at BANK was excellent. We dined there for breakfast & lunch and were very impressed. The hotel bar used to be a Whiskey Bar, but the investors pulled out and now its just know as the Icon Bar. Its a nice bar but I think the cocktail waitresses outfits are a little bit sleazy.

The rooms were very nice and on the 5th floor it was quiet.

Service from hotel staff was friendly & helpful. They drove all 8 of us to dinner (they have a Cadillac & English Taxi) both nights that we were there. They were also able to locate some DVD's for us to watch.