Mrs.BurtonRW and I will be in Houston for a few days in mid-April and I’d appreciate some guidance on where (not) to stay.

Activities will be pretty much in the middle of downtown with probably a day trip down to Galveston, just because we’ve never been.

There’s a cluster of hotels by Hobby airport, but “South Houston” makes me think of South Baltimore, which gives me all sorts of bad vibes. Could be the best part of town, of course, but I don’t know which is why I’m here asking.

Haven’t decided between hotel vs. vacation rental yet.

Thanks.

-Rob

Greenspoint [north side, BW8 & I45] avoid
Area around Hobby I'd also say avoid.

I know we have some S Houston members, that can likely chime in for that side of town.

Midtown, Heights, Montrose; probably not bad. But I don't venture downtown often enough to give any solid recommendations.

I'm far enough north, that I'm not even in Harris County [about 75 miles from the end of I45 in Galveston]

Yes, stay away from Greenspoint, also affectionately known as Gunspoint.

Also avoid: 610 North, East and South (where Hobby is nearby)

Good: 610 West (where Uptown/The Galleria is), Clear Lake (further South of Houston and closest to Galveston), The Woodlands (North Houston, I-45)

May not be relevant for you but when I go to Houston, I usually stay a bit north of IAH - up towards 99 @ 45

It's usually uneventful - not much there but nothing bad happens either. I've never been uncomfortable; but I usually only stay 2-3 days.

quote:

stay a bit north of IAH - up towards 99 @ 45

That would be about Spring, just a little South of The Woodlands. Not a bad area.

I've always had good dinners in the area too. Can't remember the restaurant names (local's choice). But it's always been great.

We always stayed in the Galleria area of Houston, mainly because it was close to our clients and many good places to eat, and safe.

Doubletree was our base.

Link Doubletree

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:

quote:

stay a bit north of IAH - up towards 99 @ 45

That would be about Spring, just a little South of The Woodlands. Not a bad area.

That's my neck of the woods [and a few other members].
A bit of a drive to get back into town, but likely a bit cheaper than staying inside the 610 loop. Move up toward the Woodlands & lots of good dining options.

Galleria isn't the geographic center of Houston, but it's the things to do center of Houston. Most visitors stay here and it's a good part of town.

Downtown is the geographic center of Houston but a little dull. I only go there for Astros games and conferences/conventions. Hotels around Minute Maid stadium and Convention Center are best part of downtown, and I've recently stayed in Hyatt Place and Westin. Dining nearby.

I am biased towards northern suburbs as it's where I live, it's nice, and it's safe. It's like a bubble and I very rarely venture further south than Bush airport. Woodlands Waterway has good hotels (Westin and Marriott) and lots of restaurants/bars in walking distance. We also have two Top 10 BBQ joints in State of Texas.

Bad parts of town:

As others have mentioned both airports are in bad parts of town. Area around Bush is colloquially called Gunspoint and area around Hobby is rough too. My employer used to have an office in Aldine (adjacent to Gunspoint) which is so rough the locals stole our fence (lots of other things too but more normal).

Most of 610 is bad except Galleria and Heights (not many hotels in Heights).

In Southwest, Sharpstown is bad

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Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Galleria isn't the geographic center of Houston, but it's the things to do center of Houston. Most visitors stay here and it's a good part of town.

Downtown is the geographic center of Houston but a little dull. I only go there for Astros games and conferences/conventions. Hotels around Minute Maid stadium and Convention Center are best part of downtown, and I've recently stayed in Hyatt Place and Westin. Dining nearby.

Bad parts of town:

As others have mentioned both airports are in bad parts of town. Area around Bush is colloquially called Gunspoint and area around Hobby is rough too. My employer used to have an office in Aldine (adjacent to Gunspoint) which is so rough the locals stole our fence (lots of other things too but more normal).

Most of 610 is bad except Galleria and Heights (not many hotels in Heights).

In Southwest, Sharpstown is bad

I'll echo some more 'avoid Gunspoint' stories.
My office is directly south of IAH right off BW8/JFK

-We've had 3 break-ins [overnight], resulting in 2 TVs stolen from conference rooms
-2 employees had catalytic converts stolen from their trucks, during business hours
-1 employee has his GMC Sierra stolen in broad daylight. Never recovered.

If I were you I would stay around the Woodlands. The Hilton Garden Inn in the Woodlands is a nice area, it’s close to the Cynthia Woods Pavilion and I have stayed there twice before when I had an event in town and did not want to deal with traffic going home to Friendswood (which is south of Houston).

Don't stay in Harris County. Stay in The Woodlands(Montgomery County).

We frequent Houston, my in-laws are there. After multiple hotel stays on shitty beds we finally found Hotel Za Za. It’s off I-10 in the Memorial area. It’s not the cheapest but it’s my home base when we visit.

https://www.hotelzaza.com/hous...s=local-zazamemorial

^^^^ Excellent area, South of I-10, right next to Memorial City Mall. Another good hotel right across Gessner Road is The Westin, with Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital right adjacent to it.

Just don't go to the North side of I-10.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
^^^^ Excellent area, South of I-10, right next to Memorial City Mall. Another good hotel right across Gessner Road is The Westin, with Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital right adjacent to it.

Just don't go to the North side of I-10.

My wife and I went back to Houston about a year ago to see some friends. It had been quite a while and I was shocked. None of us lived in the old neighborhood where we all first met- one couple had moved to the Woodlands and the other to the Champions area. Where we had lived was northwest near Jones Road, above 290, and had been very nice back then. Not now.

.

quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
^^^^ Excellent area, South of I-10, right next to Memorial City Mall. Another good hotel right across Gessner Road is The Westin, with Memorial Hermann Memorial City Hospital right adjacent to it.

Just don't go to the North side of I-10.

My wife and I went back to Houston about a year ago to see some friends. It had been quite a while and I was shocked. None of us lived in the old neighborhood where we all first met- one couple had moved to the Woodlands and the other to the Champions area. Where we had lived was northwest near Jones Road, above 290, and had been very nice back then. Not now.

.

My parents had a house out there when I was in college [Jones/Cypress N Houston] Not a bad area then, but the closer you get to 1960 the worse it seems to get.
We lived in Copperfield 6/529 & Barker Cypress area when I Was a kid, some of that still seems nice.

quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:
Where we had lived was northwest near Jones Road, above 290, and had been very nice back then. Not now.

I think Q could tell you a bit about that area.

Jersey Village is in that neighborhood, and I believe is still considered a desirable area.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
My parents had a house out there when I was in college [Jones/Cypress N Houston] Not a bad area then, but the closer you get to 1960 the worse it seems to get.
We lived in Copperfield 6/529 & Barker Cypress area when I Was a kid, some of that still seems nice.

Copperfield is excellent and it seems to have aged well. We came very close to buying a home there, very close. We ended up buying one under construction in a neighborhood off Jones Road called Steeplechase. It seems to have held up well too, but it is the retail area just north of it on Jones and FM1960 that has gone down.


.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Jersey Village is in that neighborhood, and I believe is still considered a desirable area.

That was always nice. I would not be surprised to see if it is still a good area.

I should have been more specific. It was all the retail space just north that was disappointing to us.

.

I live in NW area of town (Tomball/Champions/Cypress/ Spring) generally a very good area. If you are doing things in town, I suggest staying by the Galleria area, look for streets like Post Oak, Westheimer, for a hotel. You will be able to get to the museum district, downtown, restaurants, high end fashion stores from there. Take loop 610 to I45 to go to Galveston.

Restaurant recommendations:
The Pit Room - Bbq
Pauli’s - pasta, Italian, wine, desserts
Spanish Flower - Mexican
El Bolillo - Mexican sweetbread
Carabas The original on Kirby - Italian
Cuchara - Mexican
Ninfas - Original fajita place, on Navigation
Tim Ho Won - Katy area, Hong Kong dim sum

Galveston restaurant recommendations:
Gaidos seafood
Rudy and Pacos - steaks white table cloth
La Kings Confectionery- chocolate malt, home made candy
Sunflower bakery and cafe - breakfast
Shrimp n stuff - Avenue O