Reading these reviews, I was very concerned about my Mon-Fri stay. But this is a solid four star hotel. My very quiet room was large, had a great view, and had a fine desk, chair, armoire, blackout curtains, and a king size bed in great shape. Lots of nice touches, like two terrycloth robes, about 10 towels of various sizes, a CD clock radio, a retractable clothesline in the shower, and a full size ironing board and an iron with a long cord. Staff were very respectful and helpful.

There are two LONG pools for lap swim, one is heated and the other isn’t. The fitness center is excellent, lots of machines; all the ones I used were in working order.

Minor quibble #1: The 24 hour fitness center won’t accept your room key between 10pm and 6AM, so you go to the front desk and they let you in. Why can’t they fix this? Also, the phone rings regularly in the fitness center when people want wake up calls and such. This is not a big deal, but irritating.

Minor quibble #2: The bath/shower is fully functional but a bit aged. Fixtures are isolated from other rooms so you’re never scorched (which is more important for me) and hot water is plentiful. But the tile and fixtures have an 80s look and feel.

Upon check in, I had an emotional meltdown from being an evacuee. I had been in Dallas for about a week, partially at the Omni at Park West and the other part of the time at the Anatole. I am a select guest member with Omni. I asked before reserving a room if there was a FEMA discount in effect for Rita. Reservations told me yes. I arrived in Houston to find they had not been told to discount for Rita yet! i pitched a fit and cried. After about 20 minutes, they produced "the list" with the zip codes of disaster areas in Texas. They then checked me in. Service was wonderful, including room service. Bread pudding is to die for! Restaurant is all about the fru fru, but just a hotel restaurant with inflated prices. Order room service and the menu is varied. The business center has two computers that are available for usage 24-7 (i believe). The conceriges are the most polite, as well as the doormen. The resident manager managed to get me a reduced rate after my employer discontinued paying the residual of what FEMA didn't pay. I was grateful for that! As far as other posters talking about "walking distance," unless you're handicapped or just plain lazy, there's nothing out of the ordinary about the walking distance from the parking garage to the facilities. This facility accomodated evacuees from Katrina AND Rita all at once, when the Hilton and Westin said, "We aren't participating in FEMA." I have always enjoyed my stays at the Omni. And another bonus was after I had checked out of the Omni Park West in Dallas, they refunded my credit card for my stay, and billed FEMA! Hats off to all the Omnis!

I booked a room at the Omni Houston when I saw an ad for a "special promotion" on Travel Zoo's Top 20. My sister lives in Houston and I had been planning to visit, so I saw it as an opportunity to stay at a nice hotel for a great rate - $79 per night. I booked the room through the Omni Website (linked out from Travel Zoo) and reserved with a credit card. I requested a king non-smoking, which showed as availabe, and I printed my confirmation page (from omnihotels) which lists a confirmation number for a DELUXE KING NONSMOKING. I called the Omni as I drove from Dallas and confirmed late check-in, and was told my room would be reserved until midnight. But when I arrived at approximately 10:30, I was greeted by a snooty receptionist and told that the only room available was a double smoking room. When I insisted that I had a reservation for a non-smoking room, she immediatly became defensive and rude and told me that if I really wanted to book a room, I should have called the hotel directly. She stated that booking "through Travel Zoo" or any other agency for that matter was not sufficient to hold the room and that it was merely a "request" for a room. I pointed out to her that the room was booked through Omni Hotels and that I had guaranteed it with a credit card, to which she arrogantly replied that there was just nothing she could do. I was then approached by a gentleman working in the lobby who apologized profusely for what had happened and asked if I wanted to use the phone in the lobby to try to find another hotel. It almost appeared as though his job was to console guests whose rooms had been given away. In light of the situation, his behavior was nothing short of creepy and, in any event, pathetic. When I requested that my reservation be cancelled, I was informed that they could not guarantee that I wouldn't be charged for the room because I had not given 24 hours' cancellation notice! Their position was that they did have a room available and therefore were not "turning me away" as I claimed. I'm sure most of the people who read this appreciate the difference between a non-smoking and a smoking room (although I'm not sure the receptionist did). I was offended beyond all belief at their casual treatment of the situation. After about a two-hour ordeal, I ended up staying at the Hilton down the street and paying over $100. The Hilton was fabulous, and the price difference wasn't what bothered me - it was arriving in Houston late at night with the expectation that the room I had reserved would be there and then being treated like the scum of the earth because I had tried to take advantage of a promotion. There is no doubt in my mind that my room was given to someone who dropped in and had to pay full price. I call that false advertising. I'm sure it works well for them to advertise promotions and fill up their reservations, only to leave people who take advantage of them high and dry if a guest is willing to pay full price. I will never stay at (or attempt to stay at) an Omni Hotel again. I would advise anyone to stay at the Hilton on Post Oak. The room was lovely and the customer service even better. And from what I read about the Omni here, it doesn't sound like I was missing much anyway!

From the champangne poured at check-in at the front desk, to Dillard and Brian the conceirge, to Modesto the driver of the complimentary limo, we were made to feel as very welcome guests.