Homewood Suites by Hilton Houston Near the Galleria

The hotel was old and musty, and the breakfast was bad. More troubling, the staff and management under Miss Tenisha weren’t friendly and ignored basic international hotel protocols. On three occasions, including once after 9 p.m., a maintenance man tried to enter our room while the DO NOT ENTER sign was on the door. It made us fear for our safety. One maintenance worker came into my room while my husband wasn’t there, tried to flirt with me, and later did the same in the elevator. I felt completely vulnerable. The DoubleTree across the street is much better.

The location worked well for us, with the Galleria Mall nearby for plenty of places to eat, and having a kitchen in the room was useful. Parking at $23 per night also felt steep, though. We had chosen a 14th-floor room when booking to get away from traffic noise, but a fraud alert from our bank caused the reservation to drop when the hotel charged our card. We were given a 7th-floor room facing the main road instead. We ran the AC and bedroom fan all night to cover the noise, and still had a lot of trouble sleeping because the beds were uncomfortable and the pillows very flat. The room listing said it slept 4, but the pullout sofa barely fit our very petite 14-year-old. Its mattress was about an inch thick, so I asked for extra blankets to put between it and the springs. The desk said they had no extra pillows, and we had to take one from a bed for the sofa. Breakfast was disappointing. We tried it once, then went to the grocery store for the rest of our stay. The powdered eggs and paper-thin bacon weren't the start to the day we wanted, and the main lobby always smelled like bacon. The hotel itself felt rundown. After checkout, our card got fraud alerts for several charges while we were waiting for our departure flight. The bank caught them right away. I can't prove the charges came from the hotel, but we'd only used that card there on this trip, nowhere else. Just something to be aware of. It gave us somewhere to stay, but the beds meant plenty of tossing and turning. We were hoping for a more pleasant visit and likely won't return.

We stayed four nights and really liked having a full kitchen, with the bedroom separate from the living area. The room was very clean, the sheets felt soft, and the bed was comfortable. There was a minor problem with the bathtub faucet. They responded quickly and sent maintenance to take care of it. One thing I hadn't realized when I booked: parking costs $29 a night, and it's the only onsite option. It includes access to a garage, so the car is protected, but it was an expense I hadn't planned on.

The bed was soft and really comfortable, and the staff were friendly and knew their stuff. The pool was closed, though, and the rest of the place felt like a budget inn. There were water marks on the ceiling, chipped paint throughout, and questionable stains on the furniture. The hall carpet smelled like pet mess, and the hotel felt old and musty. It all needs renovation. At the very least, they should upgrade to smart TVs.