Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston-Dwtn Conv Ctr by IHG — Hotel in Houston

I have stayed at this property several times over the last 13 years. I attend an annual industry event that rotates through three metro areas, one of which is Houston and the George R Brown.  I will think twice before booking this property again.

Currently, there is heavy construction in the area. This isn't a big deal for getting to the hotel itself; however, getting to the convention center is an issue as side walks are blocked by the construction. I know the hotel has no control over the city of Houston. It is something to consider if you plan to walk to the convention center, which is a perk of this hotel. Parking is free at the hotel, which is a huge perk! That perk is less when you are facing waking an extra couple blocks or paying for parking while at the convention center.

Next up is the fact that the hotel is under construction as well. This is disclosed on the property's website. What the website fails to mention is that the front entrance is blocked and it is practically impossible to get into the lobby, which you can access between the hotel exterior wall and a chain link fence around the portico that normally allows guests to pull up, check-in, unload, then move. The parking lot is a horrible situation. When I arrived, there was a food delivery driver parked behind vehicles that were properly parked. This restricted movement in the parking lot almost completely.

The clerk working the desk was fabulous! He handled check-in quickly and efficiently.

Again, much grace was given because there is signage that the hotel is under construction. While sitting in bed the first night, my companion noticed a bug crawling on the outer wall. It was killed and disposed of. We checked for signs of an infestation, there were none. We go off to sleep chalking it up to construction disturbing nature. The next morning, another one crawled out of the shower drain. This one was killed and preserved to be shown to staff. Bug was discreetly shown to front desk staff. The clerk was as appalled as my companion and I. If it were not for the location and that there would be very little time to relocate before attending the convention, we would have checked out that morning. The clerk offered to allow us to move rooms or have cleaning staff "deep" clean our rooms. She also agreed to refund for the previous night for one room. I requested a full refund for my room for both nights. She agreed to discuss it with the General Manager. We pulled all our things so that staff could come in and clean, per the discussion with the clerk about what we needed to do to prepare for a "deep" and clean. We left feeling pretty good about the decision to continue our stay.

When we returned to our rooms after a long day, we found that nothing had in fact been cleaned. There was a note stating that I would be refunded points for one night in my room only. My room smelled of bug spray and the other room, had not been cleaned nor sprayed. I brought this lack of cleaning and pesticide smell to the attention of the clerk on duty. He asked if I had requested the room to be cleaned the night before and if I was given a sheet to request the cleaning. I had to re-explain the situation and asked again for the room to be cleaned. He stated that maybe there was still housekeeping staff on property and he would see if they could come clean the room. Housekeeping staff did come and refreshed the room. There was no "deep" cleaning. They never touched the other room.

We did not see any other bugs during the duration of our stay. Our party checked out on the second morning without eating breakfast. I doubt that I will stay at this property again. While I did receive a refund of one nights worth of points, this experience and lackluster approach to following through with the remedy has soured my love for this property.

Lastly, I would like to address breakfast. The overly watered gravy, cardboard turkey sausage, and bitter coffee made the free breakfast not even...

During my recent attendance at the Gas Tech Conference and Exposition, I stayed at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Downtown Houston Convention Center. The experience was adequate at best. ||Arrival and Check-In||Arrival and check-in were convenient and timely for me, although the manager was not available all week, and issues with a colleague’s reservation could not be corrected, resulting in additional charges that should have been avoidable. The main lobby has been renovated and looks nice, with sufficient air conditioning for the Houston environment. However, the hallways for the rooms on floors 2-4 and the elevators were really humid, stuffy, and quite hot, with sustained temperatures in the 80s-90s Fahrenheit.||The Room||The room was sufficient, though much was desired. The bed was comfortable, and the furnishings were adequate and recently updated, though modest. The air conditioning was sufficient to keep the room at a reasonable temperature, but the humidity never seemed to be reduced, making it seem overly stuffy and adding to the mostly unpleasant atmosphere. Despite what appeared to be a renovation or refreshing, the room showed its age, and there were many details that did not have proper attention paid during the renovation. For example, paint on the bathroom door kept it from being able to close, the lock mechanism on the door to the room did not work and honestly wouldn’t prevent anyone who really wanted to force their way into the room from entering, and grout for the new tile was spotty with holes and gaps visible. Paint on the walls was rushed with many visible brush strokes, fixtures being painted as well, which looked amateurish and unprofessional. There were unfinished items in the main part of the room, with outlet covers missing and dirty/stained curtains and lampshades making the environment less inviting. The shower pressure was not constant and disruptions during showers were common as the water pressure decreased to nothing and then started up again. The sinks also experienced some air pockets and pressure issues, making getting water difficult at times. I also observed and took care of many tiny red ants that constantly appeared to be looking for food, and I was on the fourth floor!||Amenities and Facilities||The fitness center falls into the category of: “At Least There is a Gym” as there were two treadmills, an elliptical machine, and a recumbent bike. There were a few free weights with 10s, 15s, 20s, 25s, and 30s available. There is no bench, but there were pads, an Ab Ball, and a half Bosu Ball that could be used, so I was able to modify most of my workouts with what was available. The room gets warm without air movement, especially if there are people using the treadmills, which generate heat. Breakfast was quite good for being a continental-style buffet, with prompt service, refills, and very clean conditions. The internet was adequate for business work and proved reliable. While this hotel was close to the George R. Brown Convention Center, that was its most defining characteristic. ||Overall Experience||My stay at the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Downtown Houston Convention Center during the Gas Tech Conference and Exposition was a mixed experience. While the proximity to the George R. Brown Convention Center was convenient, the overall quality of the hotel left much to be desired. The combination of inadequate air conditioning in certain areas, subpar room conditions, and unresolved reservation issues overshadowed the positive aspects of the service and amenities. I would not recommend the Holiday Inn Express and Suites Downtown Houston Convention Center for future stays, as it does not meet the expected standards for...

I was extremely disappointed upon my arrival. I had a concert at the House of Blues. I made my reservation on Expedia and drove down from San Antonio. As I arrived I realized that the photos are either old or doctored as there is no green park view of the city buildings. The overhang where you would normally load and unload was blocked off with parts of it torn away (either hurricane damage or under going repairs, although there wasn't anyone there doing any repair work.) I went in an processed my reservation, unable to get a Veteran discount because I ordered through Expedia and they can't add a discount code. Then I went to head up to the room. Next to the elevator is the pool, which was a let down on its size as viewed in the amenities photos, it was a ton smaller than it looked. The elevator smelled of formaldehyde from the combination of cleaning products. The room smelled of three day old wet laundry. When I went to the front desk to try to see about getting another room I was informed that there wasn't one. I was told that management would "definitely" provide me with a discount for this even though they refused to provide with one earlier. At this time another customer came down and was calmly discussing why the building had no water (apparently it was out all day and undergoing repairs). The customer remained calm yet the customer service employee started to get hot headed, raising her voice and after about 4-5mins of this, stormed off stating she couldn't handle it any more. Her co-worker stepped in for a moment and said that we all would receive a discount for our trouble but could not say how much as the Manager was no longer present on the property (had already been gone for some time apparently) and the ETA was unknown. It was a male maintenance worker that came and spoke to all of us calmly. He regretted the situation and gave us an ETA for the plumbing repairs at approximately a hour. The maintenance man also explained that the room was power cleaned/carpet washed and while there had been a fan in the room, with the lights off, doors and windows closed, it had not been properly ventilated to dry the room properly, thus resulting in the stench (I wasn't given a reason for it needing to be cleaned). After waiting for the manager for about another 30 mins or so we had no choice but to leave. We needed to find other accommodations as my party needed to shower before the concert. We requested a refund and I was then issued a billing statement showing my refund and a $0 statement. I was also told that the she sent the hold release authorization.

I had to call today and requested to speak with the manager as I knew the customer service lady who picked up the phone was the one who caused issues yesterday with her inappropriate conduct, however the call was terminated mid-transfer while routing to the general manager. I called again and decided to discuss the matter with the customer service desk employee from before. She then "released" the authorization for the hold on my account. Apparently they rely on the system to do it automatically at 3am but for some reason it failed to do so today. They do not verify it happens unless a customer calls and complains. I was explained this in a rather gruff/rude manner reminiscent of yesterday's issues with her.

Needless to say, I will not stay at this hotel again and I strongly recommend a change in staff, proper training and management remain on site during...