The Doubletree Houston Allen Center is located in the downtown area of Houston in close proximity to the Texaco Oil Building.

It has the standard sort of Doubletree Rooms with nice beds, standard amenities, and of course, the cookies. I've decided that the cookies are the best aspect of this particular hotel, if you stay there, make sure you get one. The rooms in which I've stayed have all been double rooms, which were adequately sized and provided with a desk and dresser. The beds and bed linens were acceptable, but not exceptional. The bathroom was adequately sized (big enough for 2), the towels were thick and nice, but smelled strangely. The room was very clean, but didn't have an institutional smell.

I hate to report bad news about a hotel, but every time I've stayed there recently (twice in the last six months), I've experienced long wait times to check in, along with surly unhelpful desk staff. That has not been my experience elsewhere in Houston, so I can only conclude that it is a problem at this particular hotel.

The hotel offers a regular happy hour with free appetizers and drink specials, which is very nice. The hotel also has an on-site restaurant off the lobby which serves a breakfast buffet (very comprehensive with nice Mexican-style scrambled eggs, hash browns, grits, and several breakfast meat choices in addition to the standard elements) for around $11 with coffee and OJ. The restaurant also features a lunch buffet or salad bar/soup, which is reasonably priced ($10 for buffet, $8 for soup and salad). When I ate there last (7/17/03), the salad bar featured several nice mixed salads, including a black bean and a very good shrimp and fresh vegetable salad. The soup, however, left something to be desired. And, the items on the buffet looked as if they'd been sitting out far too long. The service was adequate, but quicker than in the rest of the hotel.

The health "club" is pathetic. That's the best I can say. Very small, cramped, hot, and very few machines. You'd do better to walk in the evenings outside (or during the daytime when it's not unspeakably hot, as it often is during much of the year in Houston).

You cannot self park your car, so you'll have to use valet parking, so be prepared, as elsewhere in the hotel, for a nice long wait. Also, avoid eating at the Mama Ninfas restaurant in the Allen Center. It is nothing like the original version in the East End of Houston. And, there isn't much else within walking distance of the hotel.

There are other, better, hotel choices in the downtown area for the same amount of money. The new Courtyard downtown which opened in July, 2003, is much nicer.

Recommended: No