Situated in a great location in the heart of the city in Downtown Houston with convenient access to the MetroLine Rail which is less than a 5 mins walking distance (Red line from Main Street and Green and Purple lines from Rusk Street). I was able to move around the city fairly easy.
For hotel facilities, I liked that there was a gym with free access, which included TV entertainment and a free-access laundry room with both washing machines and tumble dryers. There were drinking water fountains on each floor corridor for guests to refill on water and keep hydrated instead of requesting for more water bottles in their rooms. There were also vending machines available if preferred.
I was a little underwhelmed with the appearance of my first room. The weren't clean from the outside which affected my view. The bathroom mirrors were stained and the room space felt small even as a single guest. There was no mini fridge which I've found to be a hotel room standard and it would've been practical for storing cool drinks and snacks especially in the Texas summer heat. However, there was manually controlled air conditioning which helped. There was also no safe in my room for me to store my valuables and important travel documents which I found puzzling. Hence I requested a room change which the staff assisted me with. The second room was much better as it was a larger space which included an additional arm chair along with a small kitchenette (mini fridge, microwave and a wash-hand basin). The room was cleaner, however there was still no safe. When I enquired about it, I learnt that only some of the rooms have safes which is odd to not to be a feature in all the rooms, so I shared this feedback. Overall, the room decor was simplistic and suited towards business trip/travellers which I didn't mind. However, the rooms could be refurbished to look more modern and minimalist.
The staff were okay. They were helpful in assisting me with a room change when I wasn't happy but I didn't feel like I received exceptional customer service from any particular individual. Upon arriving, I didn't feel properly welcomed and informed about the facilities and a few staff members came across a little nonchalant in addressing queries and issues. For example, I requested a mini fridge to be added to my first room on day 1 which was meant to arrive the same day but instead arrived at my new room the following day when I made the room request showing a slow response time for when I actually needed it. Also my checkout process was very quick and I was informed that my deposit would return to my original payment card within 5 working days which did not happen and I had to follow up with manager who said he would email me to check in on the progress of the refund but I never received any further communication. I had to raise the issue with card provider who told me the the payment was marked as a pending refundable deposit and should the hotel not confirm my refund, then it would automatically be refunded back to my account after 30 days. It was extremely frustrating having to wait an entire month to receive a deposit, when I stayed in other hotels during my time in Texas whereby the deposit refund was instant upon me checking out. Needless to say that my overall experience was okay but could've been better, especially if I was staying there for the entirety of my trip. A few days staying there was enough and I would rate it a 3* rather than a 4* hotel realistically.
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