Nice Hotel, Nice Location: Comfort Inn & Suites Westchase
Written: May 23 '08 (Updated May 23 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: access to any kind of food you could ever want; clean, quiet, and comfy
Cons: long way from downtown, airports
The Bottom Line: This is one Comfort Inn that lives up to its name!
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| scmrak's Full Review: Comfort Suites Westchase |
My contact tells me he’s made a reservation to put me up at the “nice hotel” across the street from his office. Google maps tells me it’s the Comfort Inn and Suites Westchase (that’s in Houston), so I’m not expecting much: my experience with hotels in the chain has been pretty unimpressive. But what the heck – someone else is buying…
Westchase is a section of Houston out on the west end (duh…) around where Westheimer and Richmond cross Wilcrest, a section of town that’s sometimes called the energy corridor because of all the oil companies and related industry quartered in the neighborhood. That probably explains why, as my cab motored in (a sixty-six dollar ride from Bush Intergalactic), I passed at least half a dozen hotels I’d already stayed in at one time or another. But, again, someone else was paying… The Comfort Inn and Suites sits a block or two south of the intersection of Westheimer and Wilcrest, less than half a mile west of Beltway 8 (Sam Houston Tollway). The neighborhood’s mostly offices and retail, with apartments and scattered enclaves of middle- to upper-class homes. Houston is famous for its restaurants, and this section perhaps more than most: within easy walking distance of the hotel I saw Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Mexican, and Cajun restaurants plus plenty of American restaurants – a Jason’s Deli, a J. Alexander’s, a Beck’s Prime, a Le Peep, a Marble Slab Creamery… one could easily gorge oneself to the point of having to roll back to the hotel. Oh, and there are also a Whole Foods and a Randall’s Supermarket within easy reach – the Whole Foods is right next door…
The Inn itself’s a three-story building of faux stucco over wood frame, sitting amidst its parking lots on the west side of Wilcrest. There’s a Conoco C-Store (for beer!) and a Firestone shop on the south side. The centrally-located lobby opens up to a breakfast room on the side opposite the desk, with other public spaces at the rear. Besides a smallish meeting room, this includes a fitness center, business center, and guest laundry. Guest rooms are in the wings to right and left. A second guest laundry is located on the third floor; a small pool and whirlpool are outside at the east end (between the hotel and the street entrance). The fitness center is small – a little room with treadmill, stepper, bike, and universal – as is the business center, which has a single computer, a printer, and a fax machine.
In case you don’t want to go restaurant-hopping, continental breakfast is served each morning in the lobby. Besides the usual cold cereal and bagels, there was also some hot food the morning I was there.
The guest rooms are entered from a single hall that runs the length of the building, with regular rooms on one side and suites on the other. The carpet’s clean and thick enough to muffle the noise; there are stairs at both ends and a single elevator near the middle. All entrances (including business and fitness centers) require card key for entry, outside doors are locked after 10:00PM for security.
My room’s a suite (oooh-la-la): a single, large room that’s divided, visually at least, into two sections by short walls near the center. The king-size bed sits in one end, along with the obligatory bureau/TV stand. One corner’s filled by a built-out closet, which is where the iron and board live. A decent-quality AM-FM clock radio sits on the nightstand; it even has a jack that can plug into an MP3 player. Out in the other half of the room are the usual table/desk and office-style chair, a loveseat (foldout) and coffee table. In an alcove near the bathroom is the “kitchen,” a minifridge, microwave, and the coffee service. In the bathroom you’ll find the usual toiletries, a tub/shower with “bow” curtain, and hair dryer.
There are several table and floor lamps around the room. Towel count is four – large, medium thickness – and pillow count is four, all fiberfill. There is free highspeed wireless in every room, both wireless and wired (bring your own Ethernet cable). There are also plenty of plugs around the room, and in one corner an in-room safe for that bling you brought along.
I found the Comfort Inn and Suites Westchase clean, quiet, and comfortable, which kind of surprised me. The furnishings were vintage motel room – an admixture of modern office and faux Early American (I almost expected to find a giant eagle carved into the headboard). The hotel, like many at its price point, isn’t well-made – joints in the doorjambs are misaligned, the carpet has been installed slightly crooked, and the like. The furnishings proved mainly wood veneer over chipboard, but they hadn’t yet been beaten to a pulp by visiting youth soccer teams.
The hotel’s in a location that’s convenient to almost any form of consumerism, especially in the realm of food; and very convenient to many offices and businesses. It’s a long way from downtown, the Museum district, the hospital district, and the airports – all of’em. All in all, a good location, though, and my contact was right – it is a nice hotel.
Recommended:
Yes
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