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.