My bf and I stayed over the holidays while visiting family in the area--the house was full up. It started with the discovery that the road in front of the hotel was a construction zone. Then, once we checked in, I thought I would hook up to the hotel internet to take care of some last minute Christmas stuff.

Within minutes after accessing the internet, my laptop was hit by a malware, which consisted of a popup from Security Shield, indicating that my hard drive is under assault by 300+ viruses and that I needed to purchase the Security Shield software. Despite my panic, I had the presence of mind to try a system scan with my own anti-virus software. No dice. So I called my tech savvy brother, who advised me to shut down my computer, especially as every keystroke prompted the warning and the request for a credit card number. Luckily, my brother found a malware that removed the malware, and I reinstalled my anti-virus software tyour he next day.

As if the malware wasn't bad enough, when I called to complain about the infection of my computer, the front desk said this was the first time they had heard of this issue and that the earliest resolution will be on Mon., when the IT people will arrive. They did indicate that their network was unsecured, and I told them that even the Best Western where I had stayed two weeks before for a business trip had secure internet access.

Other indicators of "bad service" include printers that would not work at the complimentary internet station downstairs, the bad TV reception in the room, the toilets that leaked toilet tank water, and the breakfast service that ended an hour earlier than usual because it was "the holidays."

All these "inconveniences" DO detract from the acceptable bed and the friendly (if unhelpful) reception. I would not recommend this hotel, unless you're hard up for a room. (That said, there is a Sheraton close by--highly recommended by a Budget rental representative, and the breakfast buffet ($15/person) offered both good food and good service.)

Brief Intro:
Upon arriving at the hotel you will be greeted with an older looking hotel from the outside. When entering the facility immediately inside the doors is the front desk, literally 10 feet from the door. This can become an issue when a lot of travelers are checking into the hotel at the same time and causes a huge back up out the door to the outside as there isn't much room to "wrap around" the check-in area.

Hotel Location:
The hotel itself is situated in a "questionable" part of Houston, its not quite on the outskirts but its also not in city limits. The other problem is the lack of food/restaurants established. There are two smaller restaurants in walking distance, a Mexican restaurant called Juanita and a sandwich shop called Antone's. I had the luxury of eating at both locations and I must say that Antone's was the best and was actually a halfway decent sandwich shop that wasn't over priced. The Mexican restaurant itself wasn't as good and the service wasn't great. For example, I ordered a Margarita, regular, on the rocks and it took me to ask the waiter twice where my drink was.

Hotel Facility:
It is fairly obvious that the hotel facility itself is on the older side of hotels but not horribly out of date. It seems like the entrance, lobby, main food and meeting areas were recently refreshed and are very nice contemporary style atmosphere about it. However, once you leave these areas you will quickly find out that this refresh stopped there! The carpeting throughout the hotel needs to be replaced including the rooms. The bathrooms also could use a refreshment but aren't absolutely horrible. The hotel does have a pool that was operational when I was there and was very clean. The hotel was clean and organized and my room was always cleaned and made up well when returning from a long day. There was also a small work out gym with a few gym items including a treadmill and bike.

Hotel Bar/Food/Breakfast/:
The hotel did have a fairly decent breakfast selection and eating area which was staffed by a very nice staff and provided requested items very quickly and efficiently. There is free coffee (barista bold, no free Starbucks, sorry) which is "drinkable" coffee but the bar area provides a semi full Starbucks coffee menu along with the steep prices that come with it. I ordered a mocha latte one day and it was very well made and met my standards. I also ate breakfast here every morning and I must say, for hotel food, it made my top ten! I think mostly this was due to the very friendly and caring staff that were always friendly no matter how early it was or how tired I looked!

Final Words: Watch the Area...and your car!!

Upon leaving the hotel on the last morning that I was there I walked out of the side door of the facility to go to my rental car. To my surprise, right outside the door to the right I notice a car on cinder blocks!! No joke! So I am thinking, ok from my angle maybe they had two flat tires? No way! I walked around the car and I see all four tires are on cinder blocks!! Amazing. This occurred during a full hotel occupancy, right outside multiple rooms of the first and second floors AND right outside an exit door. I felt bad for whoever the car belonged too, let alone this happening in a HOTEL PARKING LOT! I strongly recommend parking your car on the other side of the hotel near the road where it can be seen by passing traffic at least.

Other then some improvements that can definitely be made the hotel is "acceptable" however, if you have the ability to stay at a hotel closer to the city I would recommend that option. I rate this hotel a 5.5/10 on my hotel review scale, and please, if you do stay at this location in the future, please make sure you don't leave ANY valuables in your car.

When we first pulled up at the Brookhollow Courtyard by Marriott, my first impression was that it was old and needed a facelift. But thank goodness when we got inside it was much cleaner and nicer. The front desk staff was very nice and they assisted our group with checking in quickly and efficiently. My room was adequate, but somewhat out of date. At least it was clean. The bathroom was extremely small. If you opened and closed the door, it actually brushed the end of the toilet. And when you flushed the toilet, pieces of toilet paper came back up, so that was kinda gross. Lots of hallway noise...you could see light around the door and under it, so it's not surprising that I could hear everything going on outside my room. Luckily that didn't last very late into the evening. The bed was either really comfortable or I was just really tired. I slept like a rock and my back didn't hurt the next morning. The water pressure in the shower was perfect...that's always a big deal to me. Breakfast in their new bistro area was pretty good, but a little pricy for what it was. Service was slow, but the food was cooked fresh and was hot. This was a decent hotel, but wouldn't be a top choice for my next stay in Houston.

The front-desk staff here is cheery, friendly, crisp and professional. The reception area is decorated in a nice, modern way and I love the seating nooks in the cafe area.

The guest hallways and rooms are in need of renovation, however. (Per management, major guest area renovations are on their way.). The hallways have a strange, sour smell in places. The rooms are small and showing their age and the bathrooms are downright clostrophobic!

This Courtyard is a friendly, reliable workhorse that gets the job done.