I work in the oil business (or as it's called by some, the 'Awl Bidness'), and I travel. A lot. All of this means that I spend an inordinate amount of time in the North American oil capital; Houston, Texas. Now the Bayou City can be a fascinating town to visit -- it has a broad array of museums and other cultural venues (I heartily suggest NASA's complex in nearby Clear Lake). It offers a selection of restaurants that can leave you several pounds heavier at the end of your visit, and there are some impressive shopping sites (try Rice Village or the Galleria, for instance). All this, however, pre-supposes that you actually have the time to get touristy.

But when I'm sitting in a darkened room in the client's office for 10-12 hours every day, I tend to be more interested in Houston's vast selection of hotels. Unfortunately, I've been working downtown a lot lately, and there is a paucity of hotels in downtown Houston -- bad enough that I get a room within walking distance of the office about once every third week.

That means that over the past couple of months, I've had the opportunity to stay in not one, not two, but three different Holiday Inns in Houston. And I'm here to tell you that not all Inns are created equal!


The players:

Holiday Inn Hotels & Suites, Houston Medical Center (three nights, $79 per night plus taxes for a king suite -- AAA rate). It's about four miles from downtown, thirteen to Hobby Airport, and nearly thirty to Houston Intergalactic, errr, Bush).

This one's a twelve-story hotel at the corner of Holcombe and Main near the Houston Medical Center and Rice University. The hotel boasts a cocktail lounge and a restaurant (which to me looked suspiciously like the same small, dingy room). I was given a suite, meaning I had a small kitchenette with microwave and 'fridge to go along with the bed and television. The neighborhood's given almost entirely to medical facilities and residential, so there are few restaurants in easy walking distance (excluding a Pizza Hut and a fast-food burger joint). A corner of Rice University is about 1/2 mile away, but all the fun restaurants and shopping are on the far side of the campus -- a mile away in Rice Village (try Miss Saigon for Vietnamese, Thai Village for Thai, and the Ginger Man for a good time).

There is surface parking (quite crowded) which requires a hang-tag because of the nearby hospitals and university. The hotel claims to have an exercise facility, though I never saw one. Rice boasts a running track, and there's golf and tennis at nearby Hermann Park (horseback riding, too).

The Medical Center location was the oldest and shabbiest hotel of the three, though my room and the hall were scrupulously clean. The hotel bar is very small, though there is a game room with a pool table or two and some video games. The restaurant, unfortunately, does not look very inviting. Oh, and if you visit, all those signs printed in an unfamiliar language? It's Turkish.

Overall, it's a pretty average stay: while silly me goes out at night, I would advise Ms scmrak to stay off the streets in the area. The hotel is a bit noisy, and the elevators are old and creaky. There are lots of people visiting sick relatives in the several hospitals of the medical center, and the atmosphere can get just a little dismal at times.



Holiday Inn Select, Houston Greenway Plaza (two nights one week, two nights the next; $99 per night plus taxes for a single room, $115 plus taxes for a suite -- corporate rates). It's about two miles to downtown, sixteen to Hobby, and twenty-seven to IAH)

The Greenway Plaza hotel is a relatively new 18-story facility with attached garage that sits at the corner of US 59 (Southwest Freeway) and Kirby. Rice Village (referenced above) is about a mile south on Kirby; there are also several restaurants north on Kirby and on the first cross street, Richmond. The Pappas Brothers have a Tex-Mex restaurant (Pappasito's) and a cajun restaurant (Pappadeaux) on Richmond -- that is, if you trust a Greek family to cook good Tex-Mex or Cajun (I don't, personally). The local fun spot is the Mucky Duck, a live music hangout on Portsmouth just east of Kirby. The Montrose neighborhood and most museum district are nearby as well.

The hotel offers a single facility that serves as both bar and restaurant, plus numerous meeting rooms, a smallish gift shop, and covered parking in the attached 4-story garage. There is a small exercise facility, swimming pool, and jacuzzi. Both times I was there, I received a suite (they had no non-smoking rooms left the first time). The suite is, however, two rooms connected by an archway, two televisions, a hideaway bed, a bath and a half, and a smallish fridge (but no microwave -- I missed my popcorn!) The big advantage of the suite is soundproofing -- there was a full room and a 180-degree bend between the bed and the hallway; a blessing since the room across the hall was chucky-jam full of teenage girls in town for a cheerleading clinic.

The location is convenient to Rice University and downtown Houston, plus the Galleria shopping Mall is a hop, skip, and jump down 59. There's plenty of good eating nearby; plenty of good shoppping at Rice Village and the Galleria; and lots to do in the area.


Holiday Inn Select, Park 10 (three nights, $76 per night plus taxes for a king-size room --- corporate rate). This hotel is well out in the western suburbs at I-10 (Katy Freeway) and Texas Highway 6. It's 16 miles to downtown [don't even think of commuting], and thirty-three miles to either IAH or Hobby. Sugarland Airport is closer, but that's basically a who cares thing.

I've stayed at the Park 10 location four or five times over the past four years. This most recent time, I was struck by how much the hotel needs a facelift (at least on the inside). The hallway carpet is oldish and dirty; the furniture is starting to get scarred; the plumbing is creaky in places. The 20-story hotel boasts a small to medium-sized exercise area including pool and jacuzzi, a wide array of meeting rooms, and a separate bar and restaurant. I could never get service in the bar (I know I don't look that young), but the service in the restaurant is friendly and efficient (ask for Dee at breakfast). Unfortunately, the food is quite undistinguished -- bad, even, as Snagglepuss might say.

Nearby amenities are rather scarce -- there's a Cattle Guard restaurant next door and Lupe's Tortillas is just on the other side of the freeway. I'd suggest that you try Mata Hari for Indonesian (at Dairy Ashford and Westheimer), otherwise I just head to Kroger and hit the salad bar -- or go into town. There's a large new shopping mall two miles away at Westheimer and 6 (Deer Creek, maybe) and Katy Mills is about six miles west on I-10.


The overall view

I'd have to take my shoes off to count the number of Holiday Inns I've stayed in over the past twenty years. They're everywhere (I've been in one in Glasgow, Scotland, and one in Tyler, TX). The chain must be doing something right -- and I'll bet that's providing a decent room for a kind of middle of the road rate. Nope, there isn't any fruit basket on the nightstand when you check in (there are apples at the front desk, sometimes). Nope, they don't offer free video games or free movies (though they do have free HBO, if you can get anything beside "The Sopranos" and "Oz"). They're clean, convenient, and usually pretty quiet. And though I've stayed in some pretty luxurious hotels (Soffitel Paris Le Defense? Captain Cook Anchorage? Gene Autry Resort Palm Springs?) the Holiday Inn offers what I need the most after a hard day's work slaving over a hot keyboard: a cozy bed. Unfortunately, they also have alarm clocks...




Recommended: Yes