My wife and I were lucky enough to stumble across the Modern B and B near the Montrose area of Houston. Liza is a charming hostess that will change the way that you see Houston for the better. She is located within walking distance of some of the best restaurants that Houston has to offer. The b and b is centrally located to downtown, the museum district, the Galleria area (famous shopping area), Greenway area. Close to freeway. The architecture of the b and b is enough to merit a stay. In addition, Liza has notable original art in the common areas that has been the subject of local art tours. Claire, the breakfast master, assures that breakfast will be memorable. Liza is likely to drag her guests off to eat with her or to meet with her buddies from Rice U for a beer or two. All in all, a very inviting experience that should not be missed.

If you go on the website of this B&B or you talk to the owner, you'll think you have just discovered a gem. Supposedly the place will be featured in Southern Living, which leads me to believe that they have lower standards than I expected.
Upon staying in the place, I would tell a different story. Two townhouses are joined to create this bed and breakfast. Lots of stairs (some on the outside), of course nobody to help with luggage or to welcome us, the car stays parked in the street (in a city with major auto burglary issues). The bed was uncomfortable, the linens had some small holes. Imagine my surprise upon returning the second day when I found out that the bed had not been made. The amenities in the bathroom were very limited and the cleanliness marginal. Breakfast is supposed to be a special affair at the communal table. The first day I could not get scrambled eggs because they did not have the right pan, the second day the orange juice had gone bad. I don't think that for the money this place represents value--there are lots of hotels in Houston that are more convenient and offer a better experience. I would not stay here again.

It's an okay place to stay. We wanted a room with a private entrance so we could come and go -- we are late night people. Our room was under the kitchen and it was loud in the morning. Our sheets were not clean upon arrival and we requested clean ones. It was an awkward moment but they changed the sheets. Kinda odd place in general but the location is great. We wanted a place near Montrose, galleries and the museums so you can't really beat it for that. If you are a picky person, it's probably not the place for you. I was thinking it would have better decor too.

Usually when someone is rude to their maid, it’s a pretty good indication about what kind of person they are. This should have been my first insight into the nature of the owners of the Modern BB. At the time I figured a bed and breakfast owner wouldn’t be snotty and pretentious to paying guests who had reserved their room for two nights, weeks in advance. This assumption turned out to be a very large mistake.

My boyfriend and I live in different cities, only getting to spend weekends together. We were meeting up in Houston on Friday at Modern BB to celebrate Valentine’s Day and attend the wedding of a close friend of mine. This weekend was very important to us.

Although we both have a youthful appearance, we are both professionals with extensive degrees and many years of working experience. Assuming that we were students, Lisa, the owner, made several snide remarks during breakfast alluding to the stereotype she had assigned to us and bragging about the lawyers and doctors that had arrived.

We let the snide comments go and left on Saturday afternoon to attend the wedding. As we drove up to the parking lot for the wedding, I received a phone call from Lisa, wanting to know why we had not checked out of our room. I told her that our reservation was for two nights. She told me I was wrong, so I apologized and told her I would call back when I had an opportunity to look at our confirmation document. Upon finding the document 15 minutes later, I returned her call to inform her that we had indeed reserved the room for two nights. She promised that she would figure it out, but little did I know that prior to even checking to see if she had made a booking mistake, she had already ordered the maid to pack up our belongings.

I spent the rest of the entire evening on the phone with Lisa. I was unable to enjoy my friend’s wedding or the company of my boyfriend. Although Lisa did extend a feeble attempt at an apology, she blamed the incident on me, telling me that she had only charged my credit card for one night and that it was my fault for not telling her at that time that we were reserved for two nights. This is preposterous to me as most hotels charge the full amount of your stay at the end of your visit as to include any and all incidentals.

Lisa informed me that she was giving the room to her other guests, citing her reasons that they were older than us. I have never worked in the hotel industry, but as far as I understand, standard policy generally dictates that a guest already staying in the room would have priority over newly arriving guests, so I am baffled by this decision.

We were left for the evening without our luggage. We had no clothes or toiletries and we stayed in a cheap motel for the evening. We had one car between the two of us, which my boyfriend had to use for an early morning appointment. I pulled some strings and was able to get someone to drive me 45 minutes to go pick up my car and our jumbled belongings.

After spending the entire evening and the wedding sorting out the Modern BB’s mistake, the real clincher was the unapologetic and nonchalant attitude I received when I arrived to collect my belongings. It was obvious that the management perceived the incident as not their problem or responsibility.

I will never stay at the Modern BB again and unless you enjoy a nightmare double booking in the middle of a concrete forest with rude and pretentious hosts, I would encourage you not to stay there either.