Galleria Garden

Don’t let the star-​rating confuse you, this is officially my favorite hotel in Houston,
I live in San Francisco and work in Houston, this means I have to stay 1 week out of the month in Houston, next to the galleria. I like to eat healthy so I much prefer properties with Kitchen where I can cook my own organic food.
I have traditionally stayed in Extended Stay America, and one nearest to Galleria with Pool is 30 min away in traffic. Comparing with other hotels in the area this is an excellent value for money and my favorite hotel
1) Price is comparable to Extended Stay.
2) Free Parking (some other hotels near galleria charges $ 20+ per night for parking).
3) Pool is open 24×7×365, there is nothing like going into the pool after a long day even if it is after 10pm. Some hotels close the pool at 8:00pm or even 6:00pm — This is awesome.
4) Full Kitchen, Unlike Extended Stay, pots and pans, plates and utensils are in the kitchen when I arrive, No waiting for up to 1 hour for the plates to arrive so that I can eat my take out.
5) All the little things: When was the last time you saw a Kitchen Roll or a Dishwasher in your hotel room?
6) The Cabinets are new, there is 2 Walk in closets, a working desk for my computer AND a dining table with 4 chairs.
7) Kitchen has everything, real knives, Coffeemaker, toaster, microwave oven, Good Range with full-​size oven, fridge and freezer — did I mention the Dishwasher?
8) Living room with Kitchen, full bathroom and separate bedroom.
9) Quiet central Air conditioning (No noisy under the window units)
10) Quiet at night, all tenants are very quiet and Sam the owner is on premise and takes personal care of everyone. Example: I was laying at the pool and unprompted he brought me an extra towel and a cold bottle of water.
11) Free internet and Comcast selection of Cable channels on the large flat screen TV.
12) There are 3 restaurants (Argentinian, Greek and Mexican) on the same block, literally 1 – 2 min. walk.
13) Dry cleaners are next to the restaurants and very friendly and reasonably priced.
14) Hot water works, the bed linens and sheets are clean.
15) You have to drive down a narrow alley to get to the parking garage, and I missed the alley entry first time I drove past, but no biggie, I can find it every time now.
16) 2 – 3 minutes walking distance to Nordstroem and the Galleria
17) Employees are very helpful and friendly and offered to carry my suitcase to the room.
18) I had to call the night concierge as I arrived after midnight.

I stayed here for one night while traveling alone for some early morning business nearby. I do not recommend this hotel to single travelers who can pay a little more per night.
My room was huge (2 bedrooms) and outdated. I am not as fazed by the out-​dated decors as by the bedsheets (on all three beds in both rooms!). They had multiple large stains (Just to clarify, these do not look like unwashed stains, just really old bedsheets that need desperately to be replaced) and ALOT of holes in them. I was in a non smoking room but they could have been cigarette holes or a cat went berzerk in them. I have no idea why they don’t just get new sheets, but because of it, I turned the heat up to 75 and slept with all of my clothes on over the comforter.
In the bathroom, the toilet was unflushed from a previous user. I seriously suspected the sink had dirt/​poop smeared in it until I realized it was cheap yellow countertop material with brown swirls.
There is an iron gate taking you to the back parking lot but the gate is never locked. I had to go to my rental car twice after sun-​down to get stuff out of it and I was slightly worried for my safety as the garage was small, tucked away, and not well lit, basically not a place you want to be seen as a single female. It is also tricky driving into it. The lane is only wide enough for one car and there is no indication whether it was an one way or not. Of the three times I pulled in and out of that drive onto the road, I had a close run in with a truck backing up and another car waiting to come in… really bad configuration.
The whole experience, even weeks later, gave me uncomfortable goose bumps. The stay was uncomfortable (sleeping with clothes on is uncool) and actually depressed me quite a bit on my last stop in Houston before heading home. Even though the front desk people were very nice, I advice anyone to pay $ 40 more and stay at the Hilton Garden Inn next door.

Motel looks a little creepy from the outside, but inside you’ll find a gigantic space akin to Embassy Suites: separate bedroom, full kitchen, eating area, living area, etc. It’s pretty clean and well kept, not gorgeous.
It’s $ 99 /​night right next to Houston Galleria. Great price.
Front desk is very cordial. I guess the housekeepers are, too, as I specifically asked for no service and put the «no thank you» hanger on the door, but came back to find housekeeper leaving room.
Little oddities like dual remotes for TV and cable box make this place a little annoying, but if you want space and you want to be near the Galleria, not bad. Not bad at all.