A last minute beckon to Houston and limited availability got me two nights’ stay at the Hilton Garden Inn Houston Westbelt. Hilton Garden Inn is still one of the more consistently good hotel chains I’ve been in. This hotel went into service in the last year.

The full-size bed (I had a double bed room :( ), was new and soft. It also sat quite high. The pillows were of average firmness with no bunching.

The room came with a microwave and fridge. Internet access was provided with a wire to the wall, but service went out a couple of times. The power flickered once and then went out for a couple of minutes about 10pm the first night; heavy construction on a new 8-story building next door may have been a factor.

Room service was quick. The torilla soup didn’t have much tortilla or chicken in it. The nachos were laid out flat, each with a jalapeno slice for good presentation. The next night, my chicken tender salad had fresh lettuce and tasted good. One slip: they forgot the sweet-and-sour sauce for my eggrolls. :)

TV channels were sparse, when it was working. I would get 15 channels until power knocked out the satellite. It went down for good late last night and was out this morning.

Water pressure was good in the shower, and the hot water took no time to heat up. The shower controls required more effort than necessary, and I thought I was going to pull the faucet off of the wall. The caulking was already failing. The toilet paper roll was tucked under the sink, so it looked like they had left something out. :)

I didn’t get to work out in the fitness room, but it looked pretty cramped with two treadmills, a bike, and a TV.

The hotel sits on a long highway feeder, which meant from work I had to drive all the way down the feeder on the other side, take the Texas U-turn under Beltway 8, and come back. The entrance is large, but it’s not well marked. The hotel sits off of the road, so it’s easy to miss. Parking was hampered due to the neighbor’s construction.

The staff was friendly and professional. Upon check-in they told me the restaurant special (filet mignon). Check-out was also quick.

We get a corporate rate of $99/night here. The hotel is nice and closer to my work, but I’m not sure that it’s $30/night nicer than the Holiday Inn Southwest. Perhaps if I were here longer I could check out more of the amenities. They’ll have to work out the Internet and the satellite issues, which were out at different times than the power outages.