Sam Houston Hotel, Houston

Located within 10 mins walk of Houston Center, anyone looking into the reception area, with its straight lines, muted furnishings and lighting mutters "cool". Bedrooms are contemporary modern in style, with the usual mod cons, minus tea/coffee-making facilities. The only downside to these is the size. Smaller than the Houston standard, these are more comparable to European standard hotel room sizes, although they are certainly big enough ...
...designs and only including furniture that's really necessary, good use of space is achieved. And even better, one of the big hotel bug-bears I have was crushed: wi-fi was free 24-hrs, so make sure you factor-in the usual charges when comparing per night accommodation prices with other hotels.

Bathrooms are a generous size, with a walk-in shower. Aveda products were a pleasant surprise and it was a refreshing change to find that you ... more

Located within 10 mins walk of Houston Center, anyone looking into the reception area, with its straight lines, muted furnishings and lighting mutters "cool". Bedrooms are contemporary modern in style, with the usual mod cons, minus tea/coffee-making facilities. The only downside to these is the size. Smaller than the Houston standard, these are more comparable to European standard hotel room sizes, although they are certainly big enough to accommodate the single business traveller. With clever desk designs and only including furniture that's really necessary, good use of space is achieved. And even better, one of the big hotel bug-bears I have was crushed: wi-fi was free 24-hrs, so make sure you factor-in the usual charges when comparing per night accommodation prices with other hotels.

Bathrooms are a generous size, with a walk-in shower. Aveda products were a pleasant surprise and it was a refreshing change to find that you are actually allowed to use up products and towels rather than find absolutely everything renewed every day. Even though the Alden is priced in towards the US premium range, don't forget this is half the price of the equivalent in Geneva.

I first encountered 17 when it was recommended as a place to dine by another hotel nearby. It's a gem and people quite rightly come here to treat themselves to top quality food and service. Do not come here expecting major portion sizes and the menu is a reflection of the chef choosing exactly what he wants to offer and executing his dishes very well indeed. The wine list focuses upon Napa Valley offerings, but does extend its international footprint to include some of the major champagne labels. Overall, the food and wine menu is supplemented with the 5-course tasting menu, priced at a very reasonable $75 per head ($115 including wines). If you aren't looking for a full meal, the bar "a+" across the corridor offers a snack menu, many of the items for which you'll recognise from the room service menu. This is one of the bonuses of staying in a hotel with a decent restaurant: you aren't subjected to mediocre food by default.

Although there's a 24-hr fitness room, this is limited to a couple of treadmills, a bike and a weights bench. Having said that on the mornings/evenings I used the room, it never had more than a couple of people in it, so there was enough equipment to go around. Added to this is the lack of spa facilities, which is a shame: eliminating a few bedrooms to dedicate to pampering would be very cool indeed because then I wouldn't have had to trudge to another hotel or day spa.

Staff are impeccably helpful, with a fast turnaround on any kind of request, whether it's room service, housekeeping, or something a little more unusual, like "can you please arrange for my boots to be repaired?". This is made easier by the fact that the hotel is relatively small compared to corporate hotel standards so service levels can remain personal and of a high standard throughout.

I've stayed in Houston on a number of business trips and if I had my way, I'd take the hotel style, bar/restaurant and service of the Alden and put it together with the fitness and spa facilities of the Hilton Americas. This stay was 8 days long and I don't regret being based here. I came because it was cheaper than other hotels for the week and I could walk wherever I needed to meet people for drinks in the evening, and across to the theatre district if looking to chill out in the cinema. If I couldn't be bothered to exert myself, the hotel shuttle was available to take me to downtown locations and where I crossed the boundary, a cab was ordered to arrive within 5 mins of asking.

People often think hotels are just a matter of having a bed to crash onto during business trips and I couldn't disagree more. If I applied the same logic to my home, I'd be living in a shack and eating tins of beans for breaksfast, lunch and dinner. It matters when you're housed in a staid, dull bedroom and fed limp lettuce in the caeser salad you'll be charged $15 for and why should your company be ripped off in that way, if they're paying the bill and you end up miserable and underperforming during your stay?

Unfortunately, you can't have everything all of the time in this town, so be aware of what you're comprising with on the fifth star. If you want something a bit more up-to-date and fresh, you'll struggle to find it anywhere else. I've become a member of the Preferred Group and if the Alden is a good indicator of the standards this hotel group has to offer, then I am looking forward to my stay in Chicago in a month's time, which will be coming out of my own pocket. 

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