I was met with a really apathetic greeting from the valets. Once I pulled up no one budged to assist my wife and myself with our bags. In fact they patiently waited for us to become situated and one we were ready to walk inside the hotel; then and only then did they approach with a "May I help you?”

Check in was a breeze, fewer than two minutes flat and off to my room.

The room was average size for this chain; it was very clean and neat. The view was lacking, I got to look directly into a big hole but, this was not a big factor. The room was booked for proximity to a scenic view. It's downtown Houston so the hole just about sums up the view if I actually had one.

I was very disappointed with the "quing" size bed. It was TWO double beds pushed together. This made for a very uncomfortable sleeping arrangement for my wife and myself.

Later that evening we returned from dinner to see a couple of ambulances and police activity in front of the hotel. We didn't see any bodies lying around so we suspected someone had a heart attack or something of that nature.

Upon returning to the room, I had to venture down from the 8th floor to the lobby to pick up a couple of needed items.
Once the elevator door opened I saw the activity that was outside the hotel had inside. Apparently, someone was trapped in the elevator. The fire emergency crews had huge crowbars in an attempt to get them out. After retrieving my needed items I was forced to walk up 8th flights of stairs to my room.

Check out was swift although the desk clerk” Nancy" was a little cold and rude, I will say the day shift valets were much better.

In comparison to the individual(s) who was stuck in the elevator my stay was pretty good.

my company booked rooms for us for a conference. I was a little scared because of the reviews but I found the complaints to be a little overkill. This is an old hotel that was renovated. The character of the old hotel is still in the lobby with the detail in the crown molding, and the ambiance. It was nice. The rooms are small, like back in the old days, but they are renovated. The hotel overall is decorated very well, and the bed, pillows, towels, and decor is all newer and comfortable. Yes, there is a guest closet that houses a number of irons and ironing boards. You can also help yourself to extra coffee and condiments. The water on every floor was nice, also. I really liked that feature.

The staff was helpful whenever we needed anything. The bathrooms are small but there was plenty of counter space for all of my stuff, and I had hot water the whole time.

The parking situation is typical for any major downtown area. It is best to valet park whenever possible, and the cost is about average and compares to that of other hotels I have been to in major cities.

The tv does change channels too slowly, but it wasn't a major annoyance. I found the size of the tv to be in proportion to the size of the room so the size was fine.

Overall, it was a good place to stay for hundreds less than the nearby hotels, and was pleased with the location and everthing else.

I stayed here for a business trip and was immediately greeted by a very helpful and courteous front desk person. Expect to make more than one trip down to the front desk when you check in since the key cards rarely work the first time you try them on your room. When I went back down and told the front desk this, they reacted as if this happens to a lot of guests. The first room I was checked into was actually already occupied so they gave me the key to the room next door (I should add that this happened to everyone in my party also). Other than that small mishap that was corrected promptly, this is a nice hotel. The air conditioning in my room didn't work properly, no matter what temperature I set the theromastat at, the room was almost always at 73 or 74 degrees. The room itself is fairly small, but if you only have one person staying in the room, you really don't need much more space. The bathroom is very tiny and the shower has very weak water pressure although it does stay hot for a long amount of time. The beds are also nice but the comforter is so heavy and uncomfortable, so I ended up just pulling it off. Housekeeping was always prompt and I always had clean towels and sheets.

The location is fairly close to the convention center and Minute Maid Park (about a 10-15 minute walk) and I felt safe walking around the city. Be forewarned though, there are many abandoned buildings around the property and they all house "squatters" so the area in general smells really bad and looks deserted. There's not many places to eat around the hotel (at least that stay open past 3pm), but the best place we found was called the Flying Saucer, which is a beer house that serves pretty decent food. I wouldn't advise eating in the hotel's "restaurant" since it's very overpriced for a simple breakfast. A better bet would be to just go to some of the shops in the neighborhood.

Overall, the hotel was above average but there's room for improvement.

I stayed in this hotel for 3 days in november 2007. It was an awful experience. The room is too small. The breakfast cost 12 US per person and it was of very poor variety and quality. The food was really undercooked (scrambled eggs were almost liquified) and they never bothered to bring more bacon or sausages to the buffet once the first batch was over. I arrived ONE hour before the breakfast time was over and only found eggs and bread to eat. Definitely a terrible deal for 12 US per person...the breakfast was a waste of money. I would NOT stay here ever again.