Candlewood Suites Houston Medical Center by IHG

Jessica at the front desk was the one good part of this stay. She was kind, and I got the sense she’d handled complaints and on the spot refunds like this before. The beds weren’t clean, and the main beds didn’t even have hotel standard mattresses. The whole property smelled moldy and mildewy, like it had been underwater at some point. I wouldn’t recommend staying here. We got a refund and paid about the same for another hotel. IHG properties are usually decent, but this one didn’t meet the standards I’d expect from the brand. IHG really needs to look into it.

The pool was closed, and the sign on its door looked like it said “closed by order of the city,” not just temporarily shut. The windows were cloudy, too. When I left, a fight was going on beside the elevator. A woman was shouting at some men, and the only part I could make out was her asking if they were smoking crack in there. One of them, barely coherent, answered, “We found it in your pocket.” It went on for at least 10 minutes while I carried my things to the car. I took the stairwell to avoid them. It smelled wet and musty, with garbage and burn marks on the carpet, plus a pile of room trash at the bottom, including a chair and a flat screen. The smell hit me as soon as I entered the hotel. It seemed like marijuana and was all through the building, especially on the third floor where my room was. I wasn’t aware Texas had medical or recreational marijuana, and the place seemed like it was openly allowing an opium den. In my room, someone had stuffed a paper towel into the security peephole, apparently to stop people looking in. I locked the door and deadbolt and stayed put for the night. The room was freezing, with the AC set to 16 degrees Celsius and running. When I turned it down, the hallway stench came back in. Parts of the bathroom and door were grimy, including a spot where shower water hit the wall because the curtain was too short. After my shower, I saw a tiny roach climbing up the wall and squished it. Choosing the cheapest room for reward points without looking was clearly a bad move. Zero out of ten. Would not recommend.

I left before spending even one night there. After we returned from dinner, I couldn’t stand the smell or the roaches in the AC unit and walls any longer, so I checked out immediately. The non-smoking room smelled of cigarettes and mustiness, and there were roaches. The sofa bed was filthy and uncomfortable. My son asked downstairs for a pillow and extra blankets, but they said they had no blankets and gave him just one pillow. The parking lot didn’t feel safe either. The staff were friendly at check-in, but when I left, they wouldn’t give me a receipt or written checkout confirmation, saying they’d email one. I still haven’t received it. I was very disappointed.

We stayed one night before picking someone up from the hospital the next day. The area felt sketchy and unsafe, and the elevator smelled like weed. The rooms were below average. In the morning, I found a smashed window on my truck. They already knew cars had been vandalized, but when we asked for help vacuuming the glass and finding a garbage bag, we were told they had no tape and we’d need to go to a store. Eventually they got maintenance to tape the window. The bag tore halfway home, and we had to stop at a truck stop where someone kindly helped us. 10/10 would not recommend. Save yourself the trouble and pay a few dollars more for somewhere near the hospitals with secure parking or a garage.