After another week-long stay at the Houstonian I am quite frankly needing a rest. After being shown to a concierge-level room that had 2 queen beds (we had reserved and guaranteed a King), we were moved to a 3rd floor room overlooking the old hotel pool. Yes, the one right outside the windows where there are frequent water exercise classes for adults and frequent swim lessons for children. Not the best location as it can be noisy at times but close to the gym and spa. Our room also stared right at a very large roof of a beautiful home, but not at all the tree lined vista that you usually have at The Houstonian.

The problem back there, and in fact for most of the property, including the lobby, concierge lounge, and the pools, is that there is virtually no WiFi connection and almost no cell phone service. According to hotel staff, the only wireless carrier that has a decent signal in the area is Verizon, and I can verify that AT&T delivered "No Service" to my iPhone. The funny part was when calling the front desk, to at least report the lack of technology available or maybe get some help, I was transferred to "technical support" which turned out to be Comcast Cable. So, we were constantly walking around searching for signals, wifi or cell, with no consistency from place to place.

This property is sort of Texas traditional with somewhat of a hunting lodge feel. I do think it's quite comfortable, we saw a few babies, few children, and refreshingly no dogs. It's definitely set-up for meetings, banquets, weddings, corporate outings, etc., and the adjacent Manor House is quite nice for larger, private parties. We found the hotel to be quiet at times and noisy at others, depending upon the number of meetings and their break times.

Rooms are somewhat average in size, although suites are larger, but the bathrooms are incredibly small, quite frankly ok but dated. Once in the rooms, it's quiet, the doors don't slam like in newer hotels, and with carpet covering all the surfaces (excluding bathrooms) the rooms and the hallways are quiet as well.

Apparently the hotel has invested in some TV technology, Lodgenet I believe, that adds some functionality to viewing choices, such as viewing your bill, movies, etc. Not wanting to sit in a room and watch TV, I would gladly exchange that for decent internet access.

Lastly, the gym, locker rooms, sauna, are all in good shape and well equipped with a lot of cardio and weight-lifting equipment. The showers have very tired dated tiles, but the rest of the locker room is clean and well serviced. In fact, it's one of my favorite gyms and guests are made to feel quite welcome. There's a good cafe in the club as well and you can easily fit right in with the local members.

We checked in on a Friday afternoon and were dang reluctant to leave Saturday morning, even after a cozy room-service breakfast. From the L’Occitane toiletries, which captured my manly guy, to the comfortable bed, to the warm lobby fireplace, our stay was perfect. We can understand now why The Houstonian gets rave reviews -- and we can't wait to return.

I visited the Houstonian for a conference and I was happy with my room and the service I received. The rooms are clean and comfortable, though the HVAC was loud (one of my pet peeves).
The hotel has a nice spa and walking trails on the property. There is a really nice running trail about a mile and a half off the property that loops around Memorial Park.
Since this hotel is not in the core of the city, I was not happy about paying $13 a day to park my rental car there. I understand paying for parking when you are in a highly urban area, but this hotel is not in one. The hotel has its own parking garage. Irritating.

This is a well-managed property with a well trained and dedicated staff. Little things like the person who is assigned to greet people as they arrive to help them find the right meeting room or restaurant...nice touches. The lounge is warm and comfortable with a impressive fireplace. The rooms are traditional in design but things are relatively new and in good repair. The only issue is the hotel is a bit sprawling with long room corridors heading off in one direction, and long meeting room corridors going in the other direction. It took a solid 5 minutes to get from my room to the meeting rooms, including elevators, etc. Food was good both in the restaurant and in convention food service. Overall, a good experience and a memorable hotel.