Stay Report: Hilton Garden Inn Houston/Galleria Area (Houston, Texas - November 2012)

Stay Report: Hilton Garden Inn Houston/Galleria Area

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picture courtesy of Booking.com

I am always on the lookout for good, quality hotels within the Houston Galleria area.  I have previously stayed at other Hilton Garden Inn’s so when they opened up a property near the Galleria, we were excited to try out the product.  The hotel is located right behind the Galleria – the Galleria is located on the main street Westheimer and from there you go down a side street and 2 blocks later is where the HGI is located.  There are a lot of other hotels in the area, including a new Homewood Suites, a new Courtyard, and an older hotel that used to be the Staybridge Suites.  The location and the surrounding hotels are the positive about the location – the negative about the location is that the hotel is located right next to a gentleman’s/strip club.  By next door I mean the two businesses share a wall; they are that close.  While you cannot hear the noise from the club inside the hotel, it is still a little odd that you are pulling up to a hotel next to a strip club.

The hotel itself is the standard HGI – there is nothing fancy about it but the hotel provides a good HGI experience.  The hotel's entrance is situated close to the street so that the main entrance is right off of the street and the parking area is behind the hotel; there is plenty of parking available, but the hotel does charge for the parking.  Inside the lobby of the hotel is a restaurant, the check-in desks and the guest waiting area.  The waiting area has seats for guests to lounge in as well as additional seating area to do work and/or eat.  Once check-in was done, we received our keys and took the elevators up to the room.

The rooms were standard HGI rooms; a decent size so it did not feel too cramped but did provide enough room to more around.  We had chosen a room with 2 double beds so as you entered the room, on the left hand side was the bathroom and on the right hand side was the closet.  The bathroom contained a sink, a toilet, a shower, as well as bathroom toiletries.  Again, the bathroom was a decent size so not too small but also not grand.  The closet was also decent in size and had a place to hang your clothes, a shelf on top, as well as an iron and ironing board.  In the main area of the room, on the left were the 2 double beds with a nightstand in between.  In between the beds and the window (which faced out onto the parking lot) was a sitting chair.  Against the opposite wall was a desk and a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV stand on top.  All the furniture and decorations were modern and up to do date HGI furnishings so the hotel did not look old.  The beds were comfortable and provided enough room for a comfortable sleep.

The hotel provides certain amenities for the guests to enjoy including wifi, parking, a restaurant, a pool, a fitness center, a business center, and meeting rooms.  Since I was there only for a short period, I was only able to enjoy the wifi (which was complimentary) and the parking (which had a costs).  The restaurant was available in the mornings and there are certain rooms/rates in which breakfast is complimentary but generally breakfast is not included.  The wifi was complimentary and the speeds were decent enough for email and videos.  Overall, the hotel provides a comfortable stay near the Galleria – nothing fancy but a good stay.  The only negative would be the location of the strip club next door, as that does not elicit a family-friendly atmosphere for the hotel.