Stay Report: Hampton Inn Houston-Near The Galleria (Houston, Texas - January 2015)

Stay Report: Hampton Inn Houston - near the Galleria

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photo courtesy of TripAdvisor

I have been trying various hotels in and around the Houston Galleria area trying to find one that has a decent quality of sleep as well as a decent price.  I had seen the Hampton Inn in my previous researches and this time decided to try it out.  Overall, it was a nice and updated Hampton Inn which provided a spacious room, with comfortable beds, and good customer service.  The negatives were odd location of fitness center, lack of lighting in the parking lot, as well as the price --- the price was a bit high for what I would normally expect from a Hampton (i.e. I paid the same amount here as I have previously paid at the Doubletree or Hilton); and a comparable hotel in the area, the Courtyard, was less expensive.
The Hampton Inn is located about 10 minutes away from the Galleria – so not walking distance but a quick drive away.  There are two entrances – either from the Highway side road or from the main road.  Both of the entrances are not clearly marked but you can see the hotel before the entrance.  Parking is available in the front of the hotel or you can go to a gated section next to the hotel – both are paid parking and both need additional lighting as it was rather dark and dim at night. 

photo courtesy of Yelp.com

When you enter the hotel, on the right is the check-in desk while on the left is the dining room/lounge area where complimentary breakfast is served.  We had e-checked in through the app and just needed to pick up our key (in my opinion, Hilton needs to introduce a computer or something else to allow those who e-check-in to just pick up their key and go).  The staff were very friendly and nice and warm – this touch of customer service was appreciated. 

As you walk down the hallway towards the elevator, you pass an open business center - with two computers and a printer - as well as meeting rooms.  The layout of the first floor and elevators is odd – you have to walk almost ¾ down hallway from the lobby to get to the elevators and you pass many guest rooms to get there.  Midway down the hallway is an entrance to the parking lot, but that is not connected to the elevators and if you enter through this entrance you have to continue to walk past guest rooms to get to the elevators; the elevators are located in the middle of the hallway and across from guest rooms.  The fitness center is located at the end of the hallways, in the middle of the hallway between guest rooms – it looks like they took out one room and made it into a fitness center; not the best idea.

We had requested and chosen a room with two double beds and our room was a standard Hampton room.  As you opened the door, on your right was the bathroom.  The bathroom was standard with a tub, a sink, a toilet, as well as toiletries - the size was also standard, not too big but not too small.  Next to the bathroom was a huge door covered with a mirror (nice touch) and it was a swinging door that opened up to the closet.  Beyond that was the two double beds – both of which were comfortable but a bit on the small side.  In between the beds was a nightstand and across from the beds were a microwave, fridge, a chest with 3 drawers on the bottom and the TV on top, as well as a desk.  Overall, the room was decent, spacious enough and comfortable but not overly spacious. 
In addition to the fitness center and business center, other amenities the hotel provided were complimentary breakfast, complimentary wifi, and paid parking.  The complimentary breakfast was standard and decent, and the wifi was fast enough to check email and watch videos.  Overall, it was a decent stay at the Hampton Inn.  The hotel was updated and provided standard Hampton amenities.  The negatives of the hotel included the lack of lighting in the parking lot, the odd location of the fitness center, and the costs which seemed a bit high for a Hampton (it seems they were pricing for the area rather than for the product).