Residence Inn by Marriott Houston by The Galleria — Hotel in Houston

I travel on business multiple times per month and have stayed at Marriott properties routinely. I have been a Gold Status member for multiple years and platinum status in years prior. Following my "semi-stay" at the Residence Inn Marriott in The Galleria Houston I can almost guarantee I will be taking my business to Hilton, Hyatt or any other hotel for that matter going forward. As a Gold Status member, one of the benefits is an upgraded room each time I stay at a Marriott hotel. Upon arrival, I was told this was not going to happen due to the hotel being completely booked. I am not unreasonably, and went on with the check in. On these trips, my team travels in pairs for client meetings and thus the lack of an upgrade led to us needing to utilize the pull-out sofa. Given the nature of the sleeping arrangement, we pulled out the sofa and turned on our "bed bug app" to check for any signs of activity. The bed was covered in bed bugs and bed bug larva. The bag containing sheets and blankets for the pull-out also contained bugs and the sheets were covered in yellow stains and dirt. As any guest would be I was completely grossed out and knew I needed to get out of the room. While this experience was very bad from a room cleanliness and safety standpoint, it was nothing compared to the customer service or lack there or from the multiple Marriott representatives I dealt with following. The front desk representative's initial response was "I am sorry but we are booked, I can refund the money." Seeing that we were on business and needed a place to stay we began the process of calling other Marriott properties. The consistent answer we received was that every room was booked and there was nothing they could do. After calling 4 properties, I called Marriotts customer service center to get assistance (at this point it was 10:00pm). After being on hold for 20 minutes the rep on the phone said that the front desk had found a room for us and would take care of everything at the front desk. We packed everything up and headed to the front desk only to find that there was not a room booked anywhere else. The front desk rep again showed no sign of sympathy and was the opposite of apologetic. As I was standing at the desk I also noticed 5 or 6 centipedes crawling on the welcome rug. I notified the rep of this and she replied "yeah I know, they come in from outside." Given what we were going through this response perturbed me even more. We finally found a Hilton that had a room available and went there.

As a team, we cumulatively stay at Marriott properties between 125-150 nights per year. To date, we have received no apologetic call from the properties management, no offer to pay for our room at the Hilton, and nothing in good faith to retain our business. The entire time going through this, we received a continuous lack of care to the situation and a nonchalant attitude in rectifying the situation. If this is the type of service extended to a Gold or Platinum Status member I can only imagine the horrific experience everybody else received by Marriott. We will not he staying at Marriotts going forward and will make sure we are actively advising our network to look...

This particular Residence Inn by Marriott, tucked snugly in the midst of tony Galleria condo towers does not reflect the quality of the neighborhood or the Residence Inn brand. First, the property was originally built in the 1970s as an apartment complex; the type of Texas apartment buildings where the unit entrance faces outdoors onto a concrete catwalk with painted metal railings...5 stories high. There is just one elevator in each corner of the U-shaped "hotel" on the FAR side of the asphalt parking lot from the building housing the front desk where the luggage carts are kept. Now, imagine checking-in to this property on a typical spring day in Houston where the temperature is 88° F and the humidity at 98%. Exactly.

Because the property was not designed to be an expensive MOTEL, everything about the place is awkward, odd, and often barely functional. There are not enough parking spots to accommodate all guests should the property be fully booked [$16/night to self-park]. The closed gates in front, with excessive + confusing signage deter guests from parking in the lot since they appear locked. Delivery people make a similar assumption. The pools area is quaintly vintage...and tiny. The lobby and desk area also feel cramped and dim.

Each room is literally a one-bedroom apartment with standard Residence In decor and amenities...except slightly smaller, with lower ceilings and windows facing the outdoor walkway. Not only does this architectural feature force you to choose between privacy and daylight, the windows provide two additional entry points to every room on every floor of the three largest buildings. Although a room card-key is required to access guest floors, the open hall layout makes it easy for a non-guest with no key to follow a guest into the elevator and gain access. The corner location of the elevators feels both cramped and a bit sketchy.

The complementary breakfast buffet was well-done, tasty, and well staffed. Desk staff was friendly and helpful though not particularly efficient. Housekeeping staff was LOUD + RUDE. My room door lacked a Do not disturb sign so the maid barged in at 10:30a on a Sat. Although the room only cost $72+taxes/night through the Hotel Tonight app, that was BARELY a fair value given I felt like I was staying at a Super 8 Motel instead of a Marriott property.

In sum, a great location, but no bargain even at $72/night and not at all worth the $129/ night list price. Will avoid this unfortunate location...

First let me say the staff at this hotel was amazing! From the lady who answered my calls prior to my arrival and assisted me in my special requests ( Her name was blessing ) to the other lady who checked me in and breakfast attendant who was amazingly friendly and an asset to the hotel . Everyone was amazingly friendly and helpful. hotel is an old style more like an apartment building complex ,very safe and secure as gated and although different buildings however some of the building doors are protected by the key lock entry .very nice location close to galleria mall and pretty much in a nice area in Houston .it is pretty far from airport though but as I had friends living close to hotel with access to a car it was fine by me ,but took about 30 minutes driving from airport to hotel. This hotel lacks amenities though compared to Canadian residence inn hotels .breakfast was great lots of selections and good options ,did not use the dining room as me and my friend took our breakfast to our room, very convenient with disposable plates/containers for easy carrying to room. Coffee and tea offered free of charge 24 hours in the lobby and I must say good varieties of tea options. Tuesdays and Wednesdays they have the residence inn mix which is amazing offering free snacks /foods + soft drinks from 6:00 pm-7 only negative feedback I have is I stayed at this hotel for 3 days and the next day I asked for my room to be cleaned as I was welcoming some friends visiting in my suite .when I returned my room was not cleaned properly ,bathroom was not even touched other than taking out the soiled towels ,and second night when I pulled out the sofa bed to use for a friend we found a small used men's perfume in between which obviously was overlooked by housekeeping ,I have reported it to blessing at front desk and even gave her what I have found in there .I was somehow disappointed as my room was not cleaned based on...