Stay Report: Hilton Houston North, IAH Airport (Houston, Texas - December 2014)

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

We were flying in and out of Intercontinental Airport (IAH) so needed to find a nice, clean hotel that also provided easy access to the hotel.  We found a great hotel in the Hilton Houston North which provided great airport hotel (though not connected to the airport).  The Hilton Houston North is located about 15-20 minutes away from the airport and is situated between a business park and a mall. The property is very large, has ample parking with security around it, and is able to handle large crowds (many flight staff were staying at the hotel and many large holiday parties from the surrounding businesses were also taking place at the hotel)

As you enter into the lobby, the first thing you notice is how large it is.  Straight ahead is the restaurant and coffee area while to right are the check-in desks and waiting area as well as the elevators to the guest rooms (meeting rooms are to the left).  As the hotel is designed to handle large groups, check-in was smooth and efficient so we received our key and went to the room.  

The rooms are spacious and looked modern and updated with new Hilton amenities. We had a room with

photo courtesy of Booking.com

2 double beds so as you entered there was a bathroom to the right and a closet to the left.  The closet was standard and contained a shelf, hangers to hang your clothes, an iron and ironing board, as well additional blanket and pillow.  The bathroom contained a toilet, an updated sink and tub as well as bathroom toiletries but the bathroom had nod been renovated as much as the main room but it was still large and pleasant.  Further into the room on the right side were the two double beds with a nightstand in the middle while across from this was a chest with drawers on the bottom and the TV stand and coffee stand on top and a mini refrigerator as part of the chest.  Next to the chest was a desk with a chair and between the bed and window, which faced out onto the parking lot, was a chair and a lamp.  The room was spacious and comfortable enough for an overnights sleep. 

photo courtesy of TripAdvisor.com

As a full-service hotel there are many amenities for the guests including a fitness center, a pool, meeting rooms, a business center, parking and wifi.  The wifi was complimentary and it had decent speeds, enough to check email and watch videos.  The business center was located next to the meeting rooms on the first floor and contained 4 computers - 2 macs and 2 windows - which provided access to internet and office documents and could easily print out materials.  The hotel also offered late night dining (when we arrived around 11pm - both a cafe and room service were still available) as well as a breakfast buffet. There is a Starbucks in the lobby, but it was closed the morning we were there.  Self parking was available at no charge and there were plenty of spaces available as well.  The hotel did provide a shuttle to the airport, there were lots of shuttles, but this shuttle was combined with other hotels in the area (the Hilton, the Marriott, and the airport) but as I said the shuttles were plenty and ran often.

Overall, it was a nice stay at Hilton Houston IAH Airport.  I was traveling a lot to Houston during this December and I enjoyed my stay so much that I had rebooked the hotel for my other stays as well.  The positives are the spacious rooms, the complimentary self parking, complimentary wifi, and frequent shuttles.  The negatives are the distance away from the airports and the hotel easily sells out.

Stay Report: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Houston Intercontinental Airport (Texas - September 2019)

Stay Report: Fairfield Inn Houston IAH Airport

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I fly out of Houston Intercontinental a lot, especially for long-haul travel, so usually when I travel I like to arrive the day before my flight to get a proper rest and ensure that I am ready for my flight.  There are many hotels in and around IAH airport and I have tried many of them trying to find a good one that I can consistently use.  I am looking for a nice and clean hotel that has good rooms, decent service, usually allows a later checkout (since the flights are later in the afternoon/evening) and free parking; complimentary breakfast is a bonus.  While this list is basic, it has been a struggle finding a decent hotel that fits this criteria (you can see reviews of my previous stays on this blog).  I was traveling internationally in September out of Houston so needed a hotel, and all the places that I have normally stayed were either sold out or ridiculously expensive.  The only decent hotel that was affordable was the Fairfield Inn Houston IAH Airport.  I have stayed at Fairfield Inn's before and they are a mixed bag - some of them are nice but some of them look like upgraded motels and that is what I am looking for - so based on this I was hesitant to stay but it was only one night so I went ahead and booked it.

Booking and managing the hotel was very easy through the Marriott website and the Marriott app.  The morning of my arrival I was offered the chance to check into my room through the app, but I decided to wait until I got to the hotel.  The hotel is located off the same road as the airport, but on the other side and is set a bit back from the street so it is a bit secluded (and surrounded by trees, so does not look all that safe especially at night).  The hotel shares a parking lot and compound with a TownePlace Suites (also by Marriott) and it was a bit confusing as to which way the Fairfield Inn was and where the main entrance to the hotel was.  As soon as you entered the hotel, you can tell that the hotel had been updated and modernized as everything look updated and new.  As you entered into the lobby, on your right was the sitting area for lounging as well as the sitting area for the breakfast in the morning.  Further ahead on the left was the check-in counter, and then continuing down was the business center on the right and the elevators to the left.  Like I said, the lobby looked updated and modern and fresh so it gave a nice first impression to the hotel.  Check-in was quick, I received my key and took the elevator up to my room.

The hallway to my room was very long so it seemed like the hotel is very large and expansive.  After I finally got to my room and opened the door, there was a bathroom on right hand side and a closet on the left.  The bathroom was standard with a sink, a toilet and a tub but the size was large and it was spacious.  The bathroom also had towels and bathroom toiletries from Paul Mitchell.  The closet was spacious and had options to hang or shelves to store the items, and there was an iron and ironing board in the closet as well.  Further into the room, there were two double beds on side of the room with a nightstand in the middle.   Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top, as well as safe on the bottom.  There was a desk next to the chest and then next to the desk was a stand with the fridge at the bottom and microwave and coffee maker on top.  The room provided a lot of amenities for the guests to enjoy, it was spacious, the beds were large and comfortable to sleep in, and overall it was a nice and comfortable room. 

Fairfield Inn has some standard amenities for the guests to enjoy at all its hotels including complimentary parking, complimentary wifi, complimentary breakfast, and a fitness center.  This hotel had all that plus a business center, with complimentary printing, as well as meeting rooms.  The fitness center was in an odd location, right next to guest rooms, but was spacious and had tons of equipment and room to work out.  The parking was vast (although you may not want to park right next to the forest); the wifi was complimentary and fast enough to stream videos and check email; and the breakfast was a standard complimentary hotel breakfast which means it was not fantastic but had decent options for an average breakfast.  As my expectations were low, the quantity and quality of amenities that the hotel had far exceeded my expectations and I was pleasantly surprised.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by my stay at the Fairfield Inn IAH Airport.  Based on my previous experiences with the brand, I was not sure what to expect so I kept my expectations low; however, my expectations were far exceeded by the hotel.  The spacious rooms, the updated decor, the comfortable beds, the decent breakfast, and the location right next to the airport were all pleasant aspects; and I cannot think of a negative aspect of the hotel.  I will definitely stay here again and hopefully I have the same great experience as I did this time.

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.  

Stay Report: Sheraton North Houston at IAH Airport

Stay Report: Sheraton North Houston at IAH Airport
comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I have stayed at many places near Houston Bush Airport (IAH) and some places have been better than others.  Most places have been away from the airport, but I was looking for something that was closer so decided to try the Sheraton Houston Airport North.  I had also choose Sheraton because of the following benefit: most Sheratons allow a 4p checkout for SPG members.

There are many hotels near Houston Bush Airport, some of them are farther away while others are on the main airport road; the Sheraton is on the main airport road.  From the outside, the hotel looks big but not new.  There is plenty of free parking situated around the hotel.  I had pulled up to the lobby and went in to check in.

As you enter the hotel, on the right are the checkin desks while to the left are the

meeting rooms as well coffee shop.  Straight ahead are both the restaurant and bar.  I proceeded to the checkin desks and checked in; this is where one issue happened as I had to request the late checkout but it very difficult to get and the checkin staff was not very helpful.  I checked in, got my key and proceeded to the 8^th floor to my room.

There are 4 elevators located in the hotel and they quickly came each time we called the elevator.  The hotel is somewhat large and so that makes the hallways leading to the room very long.   We had to go down one hallway completely and then half the other hallway before we got to our room.  The room was located on the front side so it overlooked the front entrance and main airport road.  Even though the airport was close by, you could only hear the airplane noise in the parking lot and not in the rooms.

Our room was at the beginning of the second hallway – there was the initial hallway outside the elevator and that lead to the second hallway.  The room was a standard Sheraton room with two double beds.  As you opened the door, you entered into the hallway in which the closet were on the right and the bathroom on the left.  The bathroom was standard with a sink, a tub and a toilet and was a decent size.  The closet was also decent and came with a safe, an iron, and ironing board.  As you entered further into the room, on the left were the two double beds and on the right was the chest with TV on top.  Next to the chest was the desk which lead to the window, and there was also an armchair next to the window.  The beds themselves were decent, Sheraton style beds and provided a comfortable enough sleep.  While the room did not look modern, it looked like the fixtures had been updated.  There was a USB port adapter on the desk, but there were a lack of plugs in the room. 

The hotel is full service meaning they have a lot of amenities including a restaurant, a

bar, fitness center, a pool, free WiFi, conference rooms, and free parking.  Due to the short stay I was only able to try the free WiFi, which was decent but sometime slowed a bit.  The fitness center looked really nice and big, and the bar was definitely packed the night I was there.  The pool look underutilized and it seemed that there was a large outdoor space with a small pool.

Overall, it was an average stay at the Sheraton Houston Airport North.  While proximity to the airport was a convenience, the hotel did not impress me enough to make me want to stay there again.  There are other options at a lower cost that provide either the same or more standard of service, and with better service.