I recently booked a Saturday night at the hotel when my husband and I were to attend a wedding in Houston. We greatly looked forward to the inn since my husband is a huge baseball fan. Unfortunately, I had to cancel when the bride became deathly ill the Friday before the wedding. I called immediately that Friday afternoon, but I was informed that it was too late to cancel the charge to my card. I asked the reservations person to state the cancellation policy. She explained the following:
- The hotel required cancellations to be made 36-hours before the scheduled stay.
- Had I requested an email confirmation when I made the reservation, the email would have stated that cancellations must be made 24 hours in advance. I unfortunately had not requested an email confirmation.

After she explained this, I asked her,"So if I had requested an email confirmation, I could have cancelled today, but since I hadn't, I was required to cancel 36 hours before?" She replied, "Yes". I thought that was completely ridiculous and had never heard of such a thing.

I then called again and asked to speak to a manager. I was connected to the General Manager Shelly Guerra. I explained to her the situation. She placed me on hold to research what I had been told. When she came back, she explained that what the reservations person had explained was false. She explained that cancellations required 36 hours and that the email confirmation system was actually broken. Although my card would be charged, she stated that she might be able to compensate me for my loss considering that my situation might be considered an exception. She took my name and phone and said that she would call back shortly.

It will be 2 weeks tomorrow and no returned call. I called last week and left a message with my phone number, but still no returned call.

I personally would not ever book here again. The bad customer service is not worth the risk to me when Houston has so many other wonderful luxury hotels available. If you choose to stay here, then take my advice, request in writing or email a copy of the cancellation policy. You never know when you will need it.

This place is the greatest! We stay alot in the downtown Houston area. We've visited many hotels but Inn at the Ballpark was absolutely the best! We were so impressed with the employees and the rooms were so nice and big and the ONE thing I told my husband I didn't like about most hotels is that there is no light in the ceiling, guess what Inn at the Ballpark had a light in the ceiling and the double vanity was off the charts cool! We were so impressed and we'd love to go back and even pay full price for our stay! We were so impressed with how cozy it was. We were on the 3rd floor and being so close to the street view it was fantastic! Thanks to the staff at Inn at the Ballpark! We had such fun there! Oh and the shuttle was super convenient!
Dawn Jackson

Well, I really tried to like this hotel. It is in a great location and is beautifully decorated. It is not a corporate hotel, but I think people get that idea because it is very masculine/sport lounge feeling in a tasteful way. Lots of leather and wood, very nice. It is certainly fine to bring your kids with you.

However the service during our stay (and we are still here for one more night) has been atrocious.

We drove in our rental car from IAH and pulled up in the valet registration area. The valet came, took the key, and got our bags out. Then he loudly yelled across the top of our car what our room number would be -- very tacky and somewhat unsafe. Next, he went in with us and dropped our bags on the floor at the front desk. We were never offered bellman service or even a luggage cart.

This morning we took the hotel shuttle to the aquarium without incident. However, it took 35 minutes and 2 phone calls to get picked up. When we got back to our room at 2 PM, it had not yet been cleaned.

I called the valet desk to bring around our car at 4 PM, as we were going to meet friends for an early dinner. He assured me it was on the way. We went downstairs and waited......and waited. I watched the valets park many cars (the hotel has $20 valet parking for Astros games) and bring out a car for other hotel guests who had been waiting for a long time. Finally, I went over to the valet stand to ask if my car was indeed on the way. He looked in the key box and assured me it was. About 10 minutes later, he tried to slip our key to an assistant valet. I saw him and called him on it. Then he yelled (in Spanish) for the assistant to hurry and get the car, that he would deal with me. I guess he didn't know I speak Spanish. All in all, we waited 40 minutes for our car. Ugh.

When we came back from dinner, I didn't use the valet, but parked in a paid lot down the street. We needed to change clothes and leave again quickly, and I couldn't afford another 40 minutes. When we got up to the room, it still had not been cleaned. I went to the manager and talked to him about all these problems. He apologized and said he would bring it up with the GM.

Tonight I have parked in a metered spot around the corner. As we walked in, I noticed several people waiting for their cars.

It's too bad that the service here is so poor. It could really be a wonderful hotel. I think if you are only coming here for the Astros game and don't need to go anywhere else, then this hotel would be fine for you. The bar is nice, the rooms are great, the location is unbeatable., and there is free wi-fi.

However, if you need to do anything else in Houston (or if you want your room cleaned), then look at other hotels -- The Magnolia, The Icon, The Marriott, The Four Seasons.

We flew up to Houston for a baseball weekend. Fun hotel, especially if you are baseball fans. It is directly across the street from the ballpark. We were able to walk to several Italian restaurants. Excellent room ~ very clean, ceiling fan, in-room safe to keep things secure, room-darkening blinds, coffee maker. Another feature to consider would be a small refrig. We had a non-smoking room. The free internet is nice; but it should be WiFi, so you are not "shackled" to the desk.

The only real negative we encountered was the fact that people could smoke at the small bar near the lobby. Since everything is open, the smoke travels, of course, to the opposite end of the room, into the non-smoking area! It is a shame that 3 or 4 people smoking can ruin it for everyone else. We had our wine and after-dinner drinks elsewhere.