Stay Report: Houston Marriott North, IAH Airport (Houston, Texas - April 2015)

Stay Report: Houston Marriott North, IAH Airport
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photo courtesy of Booking.com

We were flying in and out of Intercontinental Airport (IAH) so needed to find a hotel near the airport that also provided parking.  There are many hotels around the airport and previously I had stayed at the Hilton Houston North (review here). It was an enjoyable experience but I wanted to try another option and choose the Houston Marriott North (both the Hilton and Marriott share the shuttle to the airport).  The hotel itself covers a massive property about 10-15 minutes from the airport and is surrounded by many other hotels.  Even though this area has many hotels, there are not a lot of services in terms of restaurants or stores within the area (especially within walking distance, but this is Texas so who walks).  

The hotel has a massive lobby that includes a restaurant, sitting area, and check-in desks all the way in one corner.  While the open and big lobby is nice, it does make it a bit hard to navigate to the check-in desks.  The customer service at the check-in was lacking (it was lacking all over the hotel, but more on that later) as when I checked in I was not greeted as an Elite Marriott Rewards member nor was I given information about the amenities of the hotel.  I took my keys and proceeded to the elevator which took to my room.  The elevators are located at one end of the hallway with the rooms located in the hallway.  There is only one set of elevators so if your room is at the middle or end of the hallway, it is a long walk to the room.  


The room itself was a standard room but the oversized furniture made the room feel smaller.  As you entered the room, there was a hallway with the the bathroom on the left side and a closet on the right.  The bathroom had standard facilities of a toilet, sink, and bathtub and was a decent size - not too small where it was confined but not large either.  There were nice bathroom toiletries available and an abundance of towels also available (in various sizes as well).  The closet contained a place to hang your clothes as well as a iron and ironing board.  The hallway leads into the main part of the room, where the beds are against one wall and other furniture across from it.  The beds were comfortable and provided a decent nights sleep, and in between the beds was a shared nightstand.  Across from the beds was a chest with the TV on top and drawers on the bottom, and right next to that was the large desk.  In between the bed and the window was a chair and a footstool.  While all the furniture was appreciated, it was too many items and too large of items to fit comfortably in the small room - it made the room feel small and cramped.    

In terms of customer service - there is nothing negative to say but then there is nothing positive to say.  I was not greeted as a Marriott Rewards customer upon check-in and during another instance, we had requested to stay beyond check-out time.  Check-out time is 12pm with late check-out being 2p, and we wanted to check out at 4pm or 6pm and was told that this would cost me 1/2 day rate of the rate I paid for the hotel; Starwood hotels provides a 4pm or later check-out for all its Starwood members so for Marriott to be this stingy is not a good business model.  At the time of the booking and stay I was a Marriott Rewards Elite member and no concessions and no additional service were provided.  Even if I did not have this experience, I still would have rated the customer service as average to poor and needed improvement.  

The hotel is a full-service so there are many facilities for the guests to enjoy.  These include wifi, a fitness center, meeting rooms, restaurants, a pool, a business center, and a shuttle to the airport.  The fitness center was massive and was very nice; the fitness center provided free apples and water which was a nice addition.  The hotel also offers a laundry facility where guests can wash their clothes (although the facility looked a bit dated).  The wifi was complimentary and was of decent speed; fast enough to load videos and check email.  The shuttle is one that is shared with other local hotels and mainly transports guests to and from the airport.  

Overall the Marriott provided a decent room and nice hotel amenities - such as computers and printer services in the lobby, a really nice and expansive fitness center as well as a nice pool area. Some of the negatives include a smaller room - it seemed a bit compact - and not great customer service.  There are many hotels in the area, so given the choice I would not choose to come back to the Marriott as surrounding hotels have equal room size (or bigger) and more importantly better customer service.  

Trip Report: American Airlines, New Orleans to Havana via Miami (November 2018)

Trip Report: American Airlines, New Orleans to Havana
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Cuba has always been on my list of travel destinations, but as an American-passport holder that possibility has only recently opened up.  The possibility of traveling to Cuba from America keeps ebbing and flowing, so I wanted to travel to the island while it was still possible.  There are no direct flights from New Orleans to Havana, so I was looking at the range of connection possibilities.  Most of my connections were through Florida - jetBlue had me overnight in Fort Lauderdale as did Southwest (but I flew to Mexico on Southwest and they can't seem to figure out how to connect their international and domestic passengers).  I had miles on American so I looked at the award availability and two months prior to departure there were plenty of seats and options available.  The award was 25,000 miles per person (roundtrip) plus taxes and fees so that came up to 50,000 miles plus $175 for two passengers.  

Booking through American's website was very easy and efficient.  I was able to see the award

availability, able to see the various options, and easily book a flight.  While you cannot book award flights through the app, once the flight is booked you can manage the flight on the app.  Our routing was New Orleans to Havana via Miami, and the same on the return.  We were scheduled to depart New Orleans at 6:13am, connect in Miami with 1hr20min layover, and arrive into Havana at 11:50am.  While booking the flight, and afterwards through managing your reservation, you are able to preselect your seats.  American has Main Cabin Extra with extra legroom seats, for a price and near the front of the cabin; followed by Main Cabin which are standard seats just at the front of the plane, again for a price; and then more Main Cabin seats which can be selected for free.  My free preselected seat was an aisle at the back of the plane, about 4th row from the back - I do know of other passengers who wait and do not preselect a seat; its a gamble as sometimes they get stuck in the middle while other times they are given the extra legroom seats for free.  The flight from New Orleans to Miami was scheduled at 1hr53min so given the short flight time and the layover period in Miami, I was not that concerned about seats.

24-hours prior to the flight I tried to check-in online but I needed to go to the airport to scan my passport to complete the check-in process.  I was able to do through the kiosk and it was very interesting that I went through the entire process without interacting with any airline employee.  It was a full flight to Miami and boarding started about 30minutes prior to departure.  American has up to 9 boarding groups (way too many in my opinion) with Boarding Groups 1-4 being priority and 5-9 being in Main Cabin.  I was in Boarding Group 7, and the boarding groups went by pretty quickly so we were seated and on the plane ready for an on-time departure.  The plane was in a 3-3 seat layout and the seat pitch was decent.  The seat width was a bit narrow and the seat was also low to the ground (which made my knees hit the tray table).  The seat itself was very plain as it was a plain seat with a tray table and a pocket for magazines and safety cards below it.  Video screens dropped from above the cabin to display the safety video and we pushed back for our departure.  Taxi time at New Orleans is generally short and quickly we were airborne and destined for Miami.  Once we reached cruising altitude, the attendants started their inflight service.  Complimentary soft drinks and tea/coffee were available as well as a small snack (biscoff cookies and/or pretzels).  A lot of people have been talking about American's service, or lack there of, but the service on this flight was was good and decent given the short flight duration.  After the inflight service was finished, most passengers spent the rest of their time on the entertainment system.  While there were no PTVs, American did provide movies and television shows accessible through the wifi and through your own personal device.  The system was fast and the selection was pretty good, there was enough to keep you entertained for a decent amount of time.  After a bit, the captain announced we were starting our decent into Miami and the cabin was prepared for landing.  We landed in Miami on time, taxied to our gate, and exited the aircraft. 

I had about an hour to switch terminals in Miami and the time was needed as the distances between gates are great.  Miami is easy to navigate, but there are not many food options available in the airport and that is a big negative.  We finally got to our gate, and it was very chaotic.  In addition to the check-in desks, there was also the 'Cuba Visa Desk' which basically was a guy with a rolling cart.  This is where you could purchase Cuban visas (at an additional costs) and also where the visa needed to be stamped if you had prepurchased the visa (after you book your ticket, American sends you a link to a site to pre-purchase your Cuban visa; the process is simple but the processing fee is almost as much as the visa and this is something that varies among airlines).  As I said, it was chaotic at the boarding gate so announcements were not being made, including the one to stamp your visa prior to boarding (we found this out at boarding time).  Boarding started on time around 10am, but there were a lot of passengers with multiple hand carry's and the gate agents definitely seemed overwhelmed.  Boarding went through the 9 groups, and multiple times the gate agents had to reinforce the announcement to only board with your boarding group.  With all the chaos and commotion, boarding took a while and we were still on the ground with the doors open at our departure time.  Finally, around 15minutes after our departure time the boarding door closed and we were ready to depart to Havana.

The operating aircraft for this flight, as well as the return flight, was again a Boeing 737-800 in a 3-3 seat configuration.  The seat had no PTV and instead had a plain seatback with a tray table and a pocket for magazines underneath it.  You could access entertainment through your American's wifi and your own personal device.  The seat pitch was decent (except for if you are tall then the tray table hits exactly where your knees are) but the seat width was narrow and the seat comfort was minimal.  The flight time from Miami to Havana was only 50minutes, so given the short flight duration minimal beverage service was only available; this meant that only water or juice plus pretzels were handed out.  After the inflight service, it was time for most passengers to complete immigration forms prior to landing.  We started our descent into Havana and landed about an hour behind schedule, and after a quick taxiway we deplaned and proceeded to immigration.

The return flights were similar to the outbound flights, as the flight times and operating aircrafts were the same.  The only difference was that the operating aircraft from Miami to New Orleans, again a Boeing 737-800, had PTVs on each individual seat.  For a while American had decided to install PTVs on each seat in their fleet, but then they decided to go with entertainment through your own personal device; this meant some planes have PTVs while others.  The PTVs are very nice, has a USB port and headphone jack underneath them, are very responsive, and have a decent selection of movies and tv shows.  Other than the PTVs, the service, operating aircraft, and overall experience for the return flights was similar to the outbound flights.  

Overall, it was a decent flight with American.  I had heard some negative experiences fliers had with American regarding delayed flights and poor service so I was expecting the worst; what I got was a decent airline with decent service and decent planes.  I have flown with United recently and my experience on American was similar to that of United - basic service and basic amenities.  While American would not be my first choice, I would not go out of my way to avoid them either; if the fare and schedule fits, then I would choose them again. 

Stay Report: Sheraton Suites Houston Near The Galleria (Houston, Texas - January 2015)

Stay Report: Sheraton Suites Houston Near the Galleria
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I frequently travel to Houston, specifically to the Galleria area, and am constantly on the search to find a decent hotel in the area.  There are lots of hotels in the area, and more keep coming.  This time I decided to try out the Sheraton Suites near The Galleria.  Overall, the Sheraton Suites is a nice hotel with comfortable rooms and good customer service, but this is not my definition of suites and access to the hotel can be difficult.  

The hotel is located within the Galleria area and is either a 2 minute drive or a 3 minute walk to the Galleria – so it is very convenient in that sense.  What is not convenient is the entrance – there is only one entrance to the hotel and that is in the middle of the highway service road so you have to make a very long u-turn and then wait into traffic to get to the entrance of the hotel while competing with the drivers that want to turn onto the main street to access the Galleria - not very relaxing.  Parking is available behind the hotel and it costs $19 for in/out privileges and there are plenty of spaces. I checked in and was given my key as well as a detailed explanation of the hotel and its services.  


I had requested a suite with 2 double beds and the layout of my room was as follows.   As you entered into the room, on your right was the bathroom which had a long sink and counter space.  On the other side of the sink was a double closet and next to the sink was the door to the bathroom which contained a toilet and a shower.  You could also access the bathroom directly from the bedroom.  The bedroom itself contained two double beds, which were both spacious and comfortable.  In addition to the beds, the room also contained a dresser with a  TV on top and drawers on the bottom.  In between the two beds was a nightstand with lamps and plugs.  The room was a decent size so even though there was a lot of stuff in the room, the room did not feel too claustrophobic and only felt a bit snug.

Across from the beds was a door that led to the sitting room and this room contained a couch that could double as a sofa bed, an armoire that contained the TV, as well as a chair and a table.  Right next to the couch was a desk that faced towards the couch and behind the desk was a nook that housed a fridge, a coffee maker, and a sink.  I had said earlier that this was not my definition of a suite, because usually a suite has a more defined kitchen area with a larger fridge and microwave as well as dining table; this hotel had none of that.  While overall it was a pleasant and comfortable room, it just was not my definition of what a suite looked like (there are other hotels within the Galleria area that bill themselves as 'suites' and those are proper suites; see Doubletree Suites Houston Galleria review here).

There are many amenities for the guests to enjoy including a restaurant/bar, a very nice and spacious fitness center, a business center (with computers and printers), shuttle service to transport guests around the neighborhood, as well as wifi.  Since I was only here for one night I only got to experience the wifi which was complimentary and decent enough to stream videos.  

In the end, the positives of the hotel are the close proximity to the Galleria, the hotel has good customer service, and the room is divided between the sitting area and the bedroom.  Negatives include the lack of a full suite, lack of complimentary parking, and odd entrance to the hotel.

Stay Report: Marriott Sydney Hyde Park, now Pullman Hyde Park (Sydney, Australia - April 2012)

Stay Report: Marriott Sydney Hyde Park
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Photo courtesy of Pullman Sydney Hyde Park

In looking for a hotel in Sydney, I was looking for a comfortable room that had easy access to transportation and was not too far away from the city center.  In doing research, I came across the Marriott Sydney Hyde Park (which has become the Pullman Hyde Park).  This hotel overlooks Hyde Park and provides a nice, comfortable room in a location that is quiet but is connected to transportation and services. 

The hotel is located directly across from Hyde Park – there is an entrance to the underground (Museum Station) on one side of the park, and on the other side of the park is the entrance to the hotel.  It’s a 2-minute walk across the park as the park is not wide.  Depending on how high your room is located, you can see the entrance to the underground from your room.  The hotel entrance faces the park, and as you enter into the hotel you pass by two lounges to get to the check-in desk straight ahead of you.  On either side of the entrance, they have small lounges where you can sit and relax and enjoy the nice park views.  Further up the stairs, on one side is the bar/restaurant while on the other side is a larger relaxing area/lounge and in between is the check-in desk.  The lobby is large and open and feels relaxing.  Check-in was efficient and I proceeded to my room.  The elevators are located to the left of the check-in desk, behind the large relaxing area. 

photo courtesy of Pullman Sydney Hyde Park

The rooms of the hotel are very large and spacious, and the view of the park adds to the comfort of the room.  As you enter the room, on the right hand side is the bathroom while on the left is the closet and storage area.  As you enter into the room, on the right hand side is the TV with storage underneath and a fridge and next to that is a desk.  On the other side are the two double beds with a desk on either side of the bed.  The beds are very spacious and comfortable, and provide a nice sleep.  Across the wall is a large window which allows for nice views over Hyde Park.  The room is nicely sized and allows for decent movement, it’s not too big but you are not cramped in.  The bathroom is very spacious and allows for a lot of room.  The bathroom contained a nice jacuzzi tub, a toilet, a sink and a shower.  It was extremely spacious and felt more like an apartment bathroom versus a hotel bathroom.  Both the bathroom and the room were nicely decorated, but did not look updated.  While the rooms did not look old or worn out, they were not updated either so it was in the middle.  Overall, it was a comfortable room to stay in.

photo courtesy of Pullman Sydney Hyde Park

The hotel provides a couple of facilities that I was able to take advantage of.  On the second floor of the garage, they have laundry facilities available where you can do your own washing.  This was very convenient, especially for long-term travelers.  There was also free wifi – both in the room and better wifi in the lobby – which was decent speed as well as a decent fitness facility.  The hotel also provided a restaurant and a pool, but I was unable to try these.

Overall, it was a nice stay at the Marriott Sydney Hyde Park (now the Pullman Hyde Park).  The hotel provided a spacious room, with comfortable beds, a nice view of the park, and good customer service.  I liked the area because it was quieter and more relaxed but still had easy access to transportation services and was within walking distance to restaurants and services.  The only negative was that the hotel looked a bit older so could benefit from an upgrade (while the rooms looked older, the furniture and other items within the rooms had been updated).    

Stay Report: Renaissance Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia - March 2011)

Stay Report: Renaissance Hotel Kuala Lumpur
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We were going to spend a couple of days in Kuala Lumpur, so I was looking for a nice hotel that was close to the sights and had easy access to transportation.  After some research, I found the Renaissance Marriott and decided to check it out since I have never stayed at a Renaissance property before.  Overall, it was a nice property that was very large and very accessible, but the rooms were average and so was the customer service. 

From the outside, the property looks very grand with a middle building and two towers on either side.  From the street, you walk up steps into the middle building into a very large lobby.  As you enter, on either side there are small sitting areas where guests can sit and relax.  You walk up additional stairs and into the main lobby and on the left are the many check-in desks, while on the right is the hotel’s restaurant and dining room.   In between the check-in desk and the restaurant is a hallway leading to the elevators to the guest room (for one tower).  Our reservation included complimentary breakfast, and this was served in the vast dining room on the first floor.  The breakfast was nice and had a large spread and provided a nice meal in the morning, but the staff seemed overwhelmed at times.

The average customer service started at check-in, which took longer than expected and was neither warm nor

Photo Courtesy of Renaissance Kuala Lumpur

friendly.  After we received our keys, we went up to our room located in the first tower.  Overall, the rooms were a decent size but did not feel updated; rather they looked and felt older and a bit used.  As you enter into the room, on the right was the bathroom and the left was the closet plus storage.  The bathroom was a decent size and contained a bathtub, sink, toilet, as well as bathroom toiletries but like the room it needed to be updated.  As you entered into the room, on the right were the two double beds while against the wall were the TV, some additional storage, and a desk.  Straight ahead was a window which looked out onto the pool and so provided nice views and good sunlight into the room.  The room size was decent, not grand but definitely not squished together.  The beds were decent, not too comfortable but not too uncomfortable, but did feel a bit older.  The overall décor of the room felt in need of an update. 

Photo courtesy of Renaissance Kuala Lumpur

I was traveling within the region so my stay at the hotel was broken into two short stays.  Because of this, I was not able to experience the other amenities of the hotel including the outdoor pool, fitness center, and spa.  Our room did face the outdoor pool and it looked nice, a bit small given the two towers, but it was definitely being utilized as we always saw people in or around the pool.  

The hotel did allow us to leave our luggage at the hotel, both while we were out of Kuala Lumpur as well as on our last day as our check-out was earlier than our scheduled flight.   The customer service on the check-out was also average, neither friendly nor warm.  One aspect of the customer service which was not good happened to us on our last day - we had left our checked out of our room and had spent the entire day walking around.  As we were heading back to our hotel, it started to rain really hard so we got soaking wet.  When we entered into hotel, we went to the check-in desk, indicated that we had been guests there and were picking up luggage, and asked for a towel to help us dry off.  The representative, at first, just looked at us and then after explaining the situation again, reluctantly gave us one small hand towel.  This hand towel was definitely not going to help as we were completely drenched so I asked for a bigger towel, to which I received the response of ‘we cannot provide anything bigger than this’ and walked away.  The service was not customer-friendly.

Photo Courtesy of Renaissance Kuala Lumpur

Overall, the location of the hotel is good as you are close to the sights and have easy access to transportation; however, the outdated rooms and the lack of customer service did not make this a pleasant stay.  What made the situation even more apparent is that the hotel we stayed in Singapore – also a Marriott property (see review here) – was updated, pleasant, and had amazing customer service even though we were only there for a short period of time.  The hotel where we had stayed longer – this hotel – did not provide the same level of service and thus made our stay not as pleasant. 

Stay Report: Houston Marriott West Loop by The Galleria (Houston, Texas - October 2018)

Stay Report: Houston Marriott West Loop by The Galleria
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I have been to Houston many times and my favorite place to stay is in The Galleria area.  This area is close to many restaurants, shops, and services and has a wide selections of hotels.  I have stayed in many of them (you can see the reviews on my blog) and am still trying to find the best one.  I recently traveled to Houston and stayed at the Houston Marriott West Loop.  I had previously stayed here, in May 2015, and had a pretty decent stay so decided to book the hotel again.  

The hotel itself is on the backside of the Galleria, faces the highway, and shares its space with an office building.  There is a parking garage attached to the hotel, and walking from the garage entrance to the lobby is the only time you actually see the office building.  The entrance to the hotel in the parking garage is on the 2nd floor, and from here you can either walk down the stairs or take the elevator to the first floor where you walk past the meeting rooms into a hallway.  This hallway connects the hotel with the office space so you have to turn right to enter into the hotel.  As you enter into the hotel, you pass the restaurant, the bar, a sitting area, and the stairs to the gym before getting to the check-in desks.  Check-in was fairly quick and efficient, I received my key and proceeded to the elevator to go up to my room.

The room itself was a decent size - smaller than the Westin rooms but bigger than other hotels - as

was a standard hotel room.  As you entered, on the left side was the closet while on the right was the bathroom.  The closet contained hangers, a shelf for storage, and the iron and ironing board.  The bathroom contained a sink, a toilet, and shower tub - while it was a standard bathroom, the bathroom toiletries that Marriott provides are really nice.  The hallway also contained a little nook, next to the closet, which housed the fridge on the bottom and the coffee maker on top.  Further into the room, the beds were on the right hand side with one table in between.  The beds were comfortable enough and provided a decent night's sleep.  Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top.  The top of the chest was connected and led into the desk, and against the wall of the desk was the panel to connect multiple devices and electronics to the TV.  There were also plugs available in this outlet to charge your devices.  There was a large window which provided nice natural light but the view was very bad (either of a highway or parking garage).  In between the beds and the window were sitting chairs and some additional free space to place your luggage or the ironing board.  Overall, it was spacious hotel room with decent beds and plugs throughout the room (there were also plugs near the beds as well).

As the hotel is full service, there are many amenities for the guests.  These include a gym, a pool, a washer and dryer, a restaurant, a bar, parking garage, meeting rooms, a business center, and wifi.  The wifi was complimentary for Marriott Rewards members and allowed upto 6 devices to be connected at no charge (which is great as others cap it at 4 devices).  The speed and connectivity were decent for emails and videos.  The gym is nice and a decent size and is located next to the pool and washer/dryer.  While all of these are connected, their location is a bit odd; they are located on the 2nd floor right across from hotel rooms.  The gym is accessible 24hrs so if your room is right in front of the gym, you could potentially hear noise throughout the night.  Also, the pool is an indoor pool located on the 2nd floor next to an open meeting area/hall and the entrance to this is either from the elevator on the 2nd floor or through the stairs on the 1st floor - again an odd layout.  If you walk down the stairs from the pool and hall, you are in the lobby where the restaurant, bar, and 'business center' are located.  If you leave the lobby of the hotel and go through walkway to the office building, this is where the meeting rooms are located and you walk past the meeting rooms to get to the parking garage.  While all the amenities are really nice and spacious, the layout is a bit strange.


Overall, it was a nice stay at the Marriott West Loop by the Galleria.  The rooms are spacious, their somewhat updated, and the fitness center is nice.  The negatives are the odd layout of the hotel, the long walk from the parking garage to the hotel lobby, and the high price for parking ($24/night for self-parking and the spots are limited).  

Stay Report: Courtyard Houston by The Galleria (Houston, Texas - December 2014)

Stay Report: Courtyard Houston by the Galleria

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photo courtesy of Hotels.com

Even though there are many hotels within the Galleria area - some good and others not - new hotels are being built in the area and I like to try them to find the best hotel in the area.  The Courtyard Houston Galleria is located a block of Westheimer and is near the Galleria Mall, about a 5-10 minute walk.  The hotel and the Homewood Suites share the same building, which takes up the entire width of the block.  The hotel itself as zero curb appeal as the entrance to the building looks like an alley way that is open on both sides.  On one side of the alleyway is the entrance to the Courtyard while the Homewood Suites entrance is on the other side of the alleyway.  On the main level is the entrance to the parking garage as well as the lobby; the lobby is located underneath the garage and rooms so its looks more like a basement lobby.  

photo courtesy of Priceline.com

As you enter the lobby, on the right side is the check-in desk while on the left side is a really big restaurant and sitting area.  The restaurants serves breakfast (complimentary depending on which rate you booked), lunch and dinner.  Courtyard has partnered with many sports teams so there is a big TV in the lobby surrounding by coaches so guests can watch the games.  The lobby also contains the 'open' business center which contains 3 computers and a printer tucked on one side of the restaurant.  While the computers were quite slow, the availability of the computers and the printer is a nice addition.  Beyond the check-in desks was a lobby that contained other facilities such as the entrance to the parking garage (which has a daily charge) and the entrance to the pool and gym.  On the other side of the lobby was another hallway that led ot the meeting rooms.  The elevators to the rooms were located in the middle, and in front of the elevators was a table which contained scented-water and cookies on Sunday (chocolate, oatmeal and macadamia).


Check-in was efficient and I quickly received my key and proceeded to the room.  The room itself was pretty decent in term of size and comfort, it was just dark.  As you enter into the room, you enter in a corridor which leads to the bedroom area.  In the corridor, on the left is the bathroom which contains a toilet, a sink, and a shower.  The bathroom also contained the rooms only mirrors, which is a bit inconvenient as if someone is using the bathroom then no one can utilize the mirrors.  In between the bathroom and the room area was a little nook which contained a fridge on the bottom and a coffee maker on top.  The nook was built to look like a mini bar as there were shelves above the nook which contained the glasses.

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor

The bedroom area itself was open and wide,  This room had two double beds with a shared nightstand in the middle.  The beds were spacious, comfortable, and provided a good nights sleep.  The lamps on the shared nightstand had plugs on the bottom making charging devices very easy.  On the other side of the wall, across from the beds, was an armoire which contained storage space as well as an iron and ironing board.  The closet was big, only partially opened up, and did not seem like the best use of the space.  Next to the armoire was a desk that contained the TV, the telephone, another lamp with more plugs (additional plugs were located underneath the desk, and a pull out table.  In between the second bed and the window was sitting chair, and there was enough room to put the pullout table in this area with half the people sitting on the bed and the other half on chairs.  Overall, te room was spacious, modern, and clean but very dark as there was not enough light (especially at night in which the lack of light and the dark furniture made the room even darker and hard to see.)

As I said earlier, both hotels shared facilities between each other and these facilities included a pool and a

photo courtesy of Hotels.com

gym.  Each hotel also had their own restaurant, their own complimentary wifi, their own meeting rooms, and own business center.  The wifi was complimentary and the speeds were decent enough.  Even though they shared the fitness center and pool, both were very small as the pool looked like an oversized hot tub and the gym had two treadmills and a stairmaster (not enough for one hotel let alone two hotels to share).  The business center was 3 computers in the open lobby, but the availability of the computers and printer was helpful.  The hotel also provided complimentary water and coffee in the lobby, which a nice gesture of service.  Lastly, the two hotels shared a parking garage which was not complimentary.  The costs (at the time of the stay in 2014) was $16/day which was lower than some in the area but still not complimentary.

Overall, it was a decent hotel near the Galleria mall.  The plus points of the hotel included an updated, clean, and spacious room with decent service and a good location.  The negatives were the paid parking, the small gym and pool, and the lack of lighting in both the hallway and the room.  The hotel also does not have a lot of curb appeal, and while that something I really do not care about I do know others who do as 'it does not feel like we have pulled up to a hotel; rather to a bland apartment building.  

Stay Report: Hotel Indigo Houston at the Galleria (Houston, Texas - May 2016)

Stay Report: Hotel Indigo Houston at the Galleria
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I wanted to try Hotel Indigo near the Houston Galleria for a while.  I had heard a lot about the 'boutique hotel' within IHG's portfolio and had stayed at a Hotel Indigo in Canada about 5 years earlier and was intrigued by it.  From my understanding, Hotel Indigo was supposed to be a boutique hotel, one that was modern and funky, and mostly in urban settings - similar to Aloft but more business/boutique.  That is what I was expecting as I found something similar in Canada (see my review here); however, at the Hotel Indigo by the Galleria I found something different.  The hotel was a cross between Aloft and Hilton Garden Inn/Hampton Inn - it was an interesting combination.

The entrance to the hotel parking lot is on the backside of the Galleria, next to Nordstrom's Garage.  You enter into the long driveway which takes you to the back where the hotel is located.  From the outside, the hotel looks more like a Hilton Garden Inn or a Hampton Inn versus what I expect a boutique hotel to look like.  There is ample free parking available though.  When you walk into the hotel, there is circular, open-desk in the middle that is where check-in takes place and the elevators to the room are in front of the desks.  To the right of the entrance is the sitting/lounge area plus the business center and fitness center.  On the other side of the check-in desk is the restaurant and coffee bar.  Overall, the lobby looks funky and modern and has a nice color scheme with the light blue.  This look, plus the open check-in desk, made it feel like a boutique hotel but the attendants and the layout of the hotel made it feel more like Hilton Garden Inn.

Check-in was quick and we took the elevator to our room - the elevator continued the nice color scheme.  The hotel itself is not that big and only has 6 floors - our room was on the 2nd floor.  Our room was at the end of the hallway, and the hallway itself was very wide and also incorporated the nice color scheme as well.  We opened the door to our room, and although the room continued the color scheme, the layout and the design of the room made it feel more like Hampton Inn.

As you open the door, you enter into the hallway of your room.  On the left hand side is the entrance to the bathroom, while ahead on your right is a table with the coffee stand and ice bucket.  The bathroom itself was very wide - it had a nice wide sink with some storage underneath.  There was a toilet (which looked more like a Hilton Garden Inn toilet) and then a small table in front of the toilet that held additional towels and the bathroom amenities.  The shower was interesting, as even though the bathroom was large the shower was very long but narrow so it was difficult to manage.  Also, the design of the shower was very odd as the drain was far away from the shower so the water just stayed there, and the shower itself was alright.  Again the bathroom was an odd mixture of boutique and leisure.

The room design was more Hampton Inn than boutique, but the bed quality was very nice.  As you entered into the room, on the left hand side were the two double beds with a night stand in the middle.  The beds were very high and extremely comfortable, providing a nice and restful night sleep.  Across from the beds was a standing closet that had places to hang your clothes, an iron and an ironing board, as well as a safe.  On one side of the closet was the TV stand that was on top of a dresser with drawers underneath - there was also a fridge in the dresser as well.  On the other side of the closet was the desk to do some work.  There were a lot of amenities in the room including a safe, a fridge, and many outlets and USB ports to plug in your electronics.  The amenities were nice, but again the design and the layout of the room felt more like Hilton Garden Inn.  

There was wifi in the room and you needed to login to access the wifi - while the wifi was free, the login would not stick and sometimes the wifi would drop.  While the wifi was on the speed was decent, but the constant checking to ensure the wifi was on was a bit annoying.  Additional amenities of the hotel including a business center as well as a fitness center.  The business center was not an enclosed area but rather was an open business center that housed mostly desktop computers.  If you are doing standing surfing and printing then its fine, but there were some business men who were conducting a skype-meeting in the business center and the volume echoed throughout the open hallway.  The fitness center was nice, while basic it provided the facilities needed for a good workout.

Overall, I was a bit confused by my stay at the Hotel Indigo.  After my stay I was not sure what the hotel was going for - are they trying to be a boutique leisure hotel, a modern, funky leisure hotel, or  just a leisure hotel?  Who is their competition - Aloft, Hilton Garden Inn, Hampton, or another brand.  While the stay was comfortable, the price for the hotel consistently remains high and after my stay I was not sure why the high price since I can get a similar stay and a competition for a much lower rate.  Still, an interesting experience at the Hotel Indigo.

Stay Report: Maru Maru Hotel (Zanzibar, Tanzania - January 2014)

Stay Report: Maru Maru Hotel
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Just steps from the Fordhani Gardens, seaside, and the Fort is a great boutique hotel - Maru Maru. The hotel is situated next to Fordhani Gardens and the Fort and the hotel is centrally located to walk anywhere around Stone Town from here.  I found the hotel through my search for places to stay in Zanzibar, and it was very easy to book the hotel online.  After booking, I communicated with the general manager via email who was very responsive and nice. I had also booked an airport transfer from hotel, and the car was there when we landed.  It was a nice and smooth transfer to the hotel.

The only negative aspect about the hotel is the location, as it is located down a street but a little off the main road.  During the day it is fine, but at night it can be a bit tricky to walk from the street to the hotel.  The hotel looks updated but it is an older building in Stone Town so the lobby is a bit narrow.  The lobby contains a small waiting area, the check-in desks, as well as stairs to access the upper floors.  Check-in went smoothly and we were shown to our room.

As I was traveling in a group, I had booked 2 rooms – and the rooms were available either had 2 twin or 1 Queen bed; I had booked one of each.  Both rooms were nice and a good size, but the room with the 2 twin beds was a little bigger.  The rooms were centered around an open courtyard so it was nice to have an inside/outside feel.  For the room with the Queen bed, as you entered the room the bed was to the right while to the left was a chest with a TV on top.  There were nightstands on either side of the bed and a mosquito net on top of the bed.  Further into the room, you stepped up and on the right was the bathroom while on the left was the armoire/closet.  The bathroom was nice, modern and updated and had nice toiletries that were made by a local women’s group.  The room was nice but it was a bit compact so while it easily fit two people, it felt cramped when more people were in the room.

The room with the twin beds was laid out differently and had significantly more space.  As you entered into the room, in front of you were the two twin beds, with a nightstand on each side and each had a mosquito net.  Against one wall was the armoire/closet, while next to the door was the chest with the TV on top.  Further along this wall was the entrance to the bathroom, which contained a sink, a toilet, and a shower – all were modern and nice, and again toiletries were made by a local women’s group. 

Breakfast was included and that is served on the rooftop lounge/restaurant which had amazing views of Stone Town and the ocean.  The lounge was also open in the evening so you could enjoy an amazing sunset – the only downside at night is that there is not enough lamps/candles/light so its pretty dark up there.  Breakfast was standard cereals and toast, with fruits and an egg station.  Coffee, and hot chocolate, were made by a machine.  In addition to the breakfast, another amenity provided by the hotel was wifi.  The complimentary wifi was available in the room and it had good speed. 

Overall, it was a nice stay at the Maru Maru.  The hotel is nice and modern, the service is very good and attentive, and the location is very good.  As I said, the hotel is located only a couple of steps away from Fordhani Gardens and the only negative thing about the hotel is the entrance/lobby. To get from the seaside/Fordhani Gardens to the hotel, you have to walk up a road that a night is dimly light (during the day, this is where all the taxis hang out so creates easier access to taxis). There are plenty of people walking and we never had a security issue, but it is something to consider. The lobby is right off the street so there is no major entrance nor a big sitting area; not a big deal to me but some in my group cared about that.  If you can overlook that, you can enjoy a really nice boutique hotel in Zanzibar.