If you have an upcoming stay in Downtown Houston and are looking for a nice luxury property to stay at you may want to seriously consider the Westin Downtown Houston. The hotel has a great staff, facilities, and is conveniently located to several quality restaurants and attractions. In this article, I’ll cover everything about the hotel from my recent stay and give you a sense of what to expect if you end up booking with the Westin Downtown Houston.
Table of Contents
Booking the Westin Downtown Houston
On a recent trip back to Texas, we decided to stay one night in downtown — our former place of residence before we moved to Arizona. I initially thought about using two free night certificates for this booking as the room rates were going for a little over $200 per night for two nights (with taxes).
However, we started to plan out a fall trip with a couple of nights in DC and I quickly saw that I could get close to $500 in value per night with the free night certificates and we decided to just stay one night in downtown Houston so I ended up just paying cash.
I paid $175 for one night and used a suite night award and received confirmation that we were being bumped up to the corner suite, which was going for about $275 a night.
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Location overview
The Westin Downtown Houston is in a fantastic location for downtown Houston.
Specifically, it is great if you plan on being on the east side of downtown where you can find attractions like Minute Maid Park, the George R Brown Convention Center, Discovery Green, and others. If you are headed to Houston for an Astros game this is one of the best hotels. There are also a lot of great nearby restaurants including Vic and Anthony’s, Osso, and many others.
The hotel is also located just a block away from the Marriott Marquis. If you need to head to the other side of downtown, it is only about a 10 minute walk to get there.
Check-in (early check-in granted)
Check in went very smoothly and from the moment we arrived the staff was great. They were very conversational at check-in and allowed us to check in a bit early at noon, perhaps due to my Platinum Status.
The level of service throughout the entire stay was about as good as you could expect and I would put it on par with my experience at the St. Regis Houston.
For example, there was one time where my key card was not working and I went downstairs to get it resolved. Due to the key card malfunctioning, I actually thought I was trapped in the elevator for a short while so (as someone who is quite claustrophobic) I probably looked a little on edge as I approached the front desk.
A manager then came across me and was on it very promptly and very apologetic about the situation. The way he handled it was reminiscent of the way I would expect a top luxury hotel to handle it and it really stuck out to me as great service.
Anyway, the hotel lobby is beautiful and houses a restaurant and bar. As you make your way through the lobby you’ll no doubt notice the luxury hotel scent pumping through the venue. It was definitely one of my favorites.
The room (King Corner Suite)
We checked in around noon and made our way up to the sixth floor into our King Corner Suite. I’m not sure about the square footage but this was a very spacious suite.
As soon as you enter the room, there is a large and wide entry way area with a full-length mirror and two-door closet. (By the door there are controls for the main fan and light in the bedroom which was a little confusing to me at first because I did not see them and I was searching for a way to turn the lights off for wayyy too long.)
The large windows make it easy to allow in all the natural light you need for a well-lit bedroom.
The views from the six floor are pretty nice. We used to live on the 23rd floor in Houston so being six stories up does not feel quite as good of a vantage point as I’m used to but there were still some cool views of Minute Maid Park.
There is a nice desk with an ergonomic office chair located directly by one of the windows so you can get some work done with a nice little view behind you. The desk does come equipped with a power outlet but my MacBook power adapter would not fit so I had to use the wall outlet nearby.
Like most Westin properties I have stayed at, the bedding was exceptionally comfortable. There were outlets on both sides of the bed along with the lamps and an alarm clock.
There was a nice sofa and seating area just to the right of the bed.
The room came equipped with a coffee maker and coffee bags and teabags. There is also a small mini fridge located underneath the TV.
Just like the rest of the suite, the bathroom is also nice and spacious. Something interesting about the bathroom is that it comes with two showers — a standup shower and also a bath with shower head. The standup shower was a little bit small in terms of a couple’s shower but the water pressure and temperature were on point.
One thing I like is that the bathroom came stocked with extra towels. We must’ve had about five towels for a one night stay. With the gym visit and walking around in humid downtown Houston multiple showers were needed so I really liked that they honored my preference of extra towels.
Tip: Be sure to utilize the ultra-soft bath robe!
They had shampoo and conditioner but no body wash so you had to use the bar soap.
Gym
There is no pool at this Westin property but there is a nice gym that is located in the basement. I was able to get down there for a workout and had the gym to myself. You’ll find a full arrangement of cardio equipment, free weights, and some nice machines down there as well as a water machine and dry and wet towels.
Dining facilities
The hotel is home to the Ball Park Café which is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You can also get late night snacks from them up to midnight. I was not able to give them a try during my stay but I did see them serving up some burgers that looked pretty good. (There is also the Ball Park Bar.)
If you need coffee or some other type of morning snacks you can also stop by the coffee bar (Bean and Bread) which is found right in front of the elevators.
Final word
I really can’t say enough positive things about this stay. Throughout my time living in Houston I wanted to stay at this hotel but just never got around to it. It definitely exceeded expectations in terms of the facilities and especially the service. I would gladly return to this hotel and recommend it to anybody looking to stay in the area.
Related Hotel Review Articles:
- St. Regis Houston Review
- Hyatt Regency Houston (Downtown) Review
- Hilton Americas-Houston Review
- Review: JW Marriott Houston Galleria
- Review: The Marriott Marquis in Downtown Houston
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.