Queston about Houston!!

[Watson410]

Ok, Here's the deal... I'm going to Houston (Reliant Stadium) for a Supercross in a few weeks. I have never been to Houston or even drove through Houston so I have no idea which areas are good and which areas to stay clear of.. I need to book a hotel this week for the event. Any info you guys can give me would be greatly appreciated!! Where should we stay? ($70-$100 a night) What should we do for fun? Any restaurants we have to try? Anything!! But mainly hotel, and which areas would should stay away from... Thanks a million!

(Sorry Mods, I know this isn't in the right place but I didn't know where to ask this question)

[bluedogok]

I know that you really wouldn't want to stay in the area around Reliant.

When I have stayed overnight in Houston I have either stayed at The Magnolia Hotel downtown or we stayed at the San Luis Resort in Galveston and drove in. I know sometimes the Magnolia has specials that get close to $100 a night.

[Spartan]

Anything west is usually pretty good...unless the street signs are in Vietnamese (far SW Houston), just don't even go there. It's not ALL of SW Houston, but you'll know when you're getting close.. Even parts of west Houston that are considered "ghetto" like Sharpstown are actually much nicer than people give them credit for. Sharpstown is an example of an area that I think is really cool actually, OK doesn't really have any 50s/60s mod neighborhoods clustered together like that.

As for the hotel, if you're on a boot strap budget, just get some motel on the South Loop (610) right by Reliant. You might be able to find something a little more interesting that's more in the bulk of the west side for around $100 if you use travelocity or bid on a room on priceline. Downtown, Galleria, and the Museum District are all areas chock full of interesting little hotels, boutique, chain, or otherwise.

There's a hotel that I've stayed at a few times downtown called the Inn at the Ballpark. Reasonably priced, and I really like the style of the hotel, plus it's right across from the ballpark.

You should explore the city. Downtown is very safe and walkable, but the two main activity nodes (Main Street and Discovery) are separated by a large vacuum of corporate towers and plazas. There's also the new Houston Pavilions and a few other hotspots scattered around downtown..there's a killer burger joint in the Warehouse District that's name escapes me at the moment. There's also some decent coffee shops up by the bayou.

As for other parts of the city, I believe the main nightlife scene is now Washington, which connects conveniently with the downtown street grid. It may look kinda sketchy at first but it gets pretty nice the deeper you go into Rice Military, a big loft neighborhood. My favorite area of the city is the Heights. You gotta eat at Gatlin's (bbq) on W. 19th in the Heights. Tree-lined Heights Blvd is great for strolls, if you're bringing a significant other with you who's unfortunate enough to be stuck at a supercross event.

I would avoid the Galleria, because it's not really the true Houston experience, despite the world-class shopping and new-urbanist mega-developments galore. "Galleria" isn't just the mall, but it's just the name for that whole part of the city. Definitely spend time in Montrose or other "neartown" neighborhoods. Montrose is artsy and quirky, hordes of galleries and antique shops which doesn't really appeal to me, but there's also nightlife and tons of other stuff. The best collection of museums outside of DC is the Museum District, and some are actually extremely nice. Rice Village is also very cool, kind of like Houston's version of Campus Corner. It's much bigger, too. My favorite hangout there is the Ginger Man, which is popular with the Rice crowd.

Enjoy H-town.

I know that you really wouldn't want to stay in the area around Reliant.

When I have stayed overnight in Houston I have either stayed at The Magnolia Hotel downtown or we stayed at the San Luis Resort in Galveston and drove in. I know sometimes the Magnolia has specials that get close to $100 a night.

The South Loop is probably safe, even though the streets aren't exactly paved in gold. Your motel room wouldn't be in the crossfire like it would be on the Eastex or Gulf fwys. Galveston is a 2-hour drive in stand-still traffic, so for convenience sakes, I just wouldn't throw it in for the sake of it, although traffic might not be an issue this time of year. I agree though, the San Luis is very nice...many childhood memories at that hotel, and on other little dingies along Seawall Blvd.

[MikeOKC]

Hard to believe Sharpstown was model suburban nirvana in its day. It was spectacular. You're right, it's still kinda cool in its own way, I just remember Sharpstown when it was 2 kids in every house, the best schools, the best shopping, safe, safe, safe and well.....times change.

[Spartan]

Yeah, and then after things have changed, they change again. The area was built in the 50s and 60s full of these awesome Brady houses (Mike you know that, just background info for others reading this). It was a very aptly named part of the city, because it was sharp. Then in the 80s and 90s it went through decline and the area had some major gang issues and crime became a huge problem as the problems from the Chinatown/Little Vietnam area started spilling over. Today it's actually very safe again. It's relatively short commute to the Inner Loop and its interesting building stock has won over..occasionally you even see neighborhood profiles in publications like Texas Monthly or the Chron, and it's definitely regarded as one of the most up-and-coming hoods in H-town. But in such a different way from when it was originally developed. Funny how model suburbia can become a resurgent inner city hood 50-60 years later.

[MikeOKC]

Yeah, and then after things have changed, they change again. The area was built in the 50s and 60s full of these awesome Brady houses (Mike you know that, just background info for others reading this). It was a very aptly named part of the city, because it was sharp. Then in the 80s and 90s it went through decline and the area had some major gang issues and crime became a huge problem as the problems from the Chinatown/Little Vietnam area started spilling over. Today it's actually very safe again. It's relatively short commute to the Inner Loop and its interesting building stock has won over..occasionally you even see neighborhood profiles in publications like Texas Monthly or the Chron, and it's definitely regarded as one of the most up-and-coming hoods in H-town. But in such a different way from when it was originally developed. Funny how model suburbia can become a resurgent inner city hood 50-60 years later.

Good point and good to see happening! (I love Houston, by the way).

[progressiveboy]

The area where the Galleria is or on Westheimer is a good area.

[Spartan]

The area where the Galleria is or on Westheimer is a good area.

I sometimes still see Westheimer in my nightmares.

[Watson410]

Awesome!! Thanks everyone! I appreciate it. I'm hotel shopping as we speak!

[Watson410]

Tree-lined Heights Blvd is great for strolls, if you're bringing a significant other with you who's unfortunate enough to be stuck at a supercross event.

Lol. Believe it or not, she's a HUGE fan of Supercross. Our son is about to start racing this summer actually. You should check one out sometime, There's actually BEAUTIFUL women EVERYWHERE!!! Lol. They love the extreme action sports!

[redrunner]

Watson, I suggest naming your own price on priceline.com but first visit betterbidding.com for user submitted information that can give you an advantage on how to get the best deal on your bid. You'll be able to get a nice hotel for under $100 a night.

[adaniel]

Surprised nobody has mentioned Hotel Zaza

http://www.hotelzazahouston.com/

Of course its probably going to be on your higher end price range, but there are a multitude of neat hotels in and around the Museum District. Likewise, you could save a little money and stay in the medical district, although it probably wouldn't be as exciting. Both are convient to Reliant. I would second Spartans statement about avoiding the Galleria/Westheimer/Uptown area. I lived off Weistheimer when I did my internship down there a few years a go. Trust me, unless you're a big shopper, the traffic in that area is just not worth it. To catch a drink all of the suggestions are good, I will add Rice Village and Upper Kirby to it as well.

[BillyOcean]

Hotel Zaza

[cjohnson.405]

hotwire.com: My job requires 50% travel and this is what I use to get a nice hotel at a decent price.

Stay away from the Reliant and Hobby airport areas but not too far because Houston traffic is terrible. And the Galleria area may not be Houston...but that's probably a good thing. Montrose area is definitely the coolest.

[ddavidson8]

The Galleria is the "nicest", but you'll have to deal with the traffic. As far as hotels, I love Hampton Inn. For the price it's very nice and predictable. It's not the Zaza, but it's nice.

The mexican food is terrible. Try one of the diner/drive-in/dives places to be safe. Langford grocery comes to mind.

[Spartan]

It's not that the Galleria isn't "Houston" it's just that it lacks that uniquely Houstonian character that you'd be more likely to find in the Heights, Rice Village, Montrose, Museum District, and the list goes on ad nauseum..

Houston is actually a very urban city. It's a very quirky and cool city, and few people get that. Almost everything outside the Inner Loop is sort of regarded by locals as the hinterlands, but ironically, it's the suburbs alone that Houston is normally unfairly judged on (there are some decently built-up suburbs though). The Inner Loop though is where it's at.

It's hard to identify just what is Houston's urban form. It certainly has its fair share of LA-style strips. The River Oaks is a neighborhood very similar to Beverly in terms of having a huge supply of $10M+ houses, and some nearby dense housing areas, and dense shopping areas along Gray. On the other side of the Buffalo Bayou (kind of tucked away) is Rice Military, which used to be a huge area of poor shacks and auto mechanic shops. Now virtually everything has been torn down and replaced with a huge loft on top of it. It is definitely an interesting sight to see a few tiny remaining shacks surrounded by these loft monstrosities. Then Houston also has its share of district-style neighborhoods, like the Rice Village, the Museum District is very cohesive, and the areas around downtown like Midtown are really developing a cohesive district feel. I think Montrose is the most interesting urban form because it strikes me as an elitist, American inner-city version of an African village. I don't mean demographically, I just mean how the buildings are very random but it all sort of has a cute village-feel to it. Being a huge artist's colony probably affects that in my mind somehow.

I was thinking more about the restaurants I'd recommend to someone visiting Houston and I realized that you can just walk in to virtually any locally-owned restaurant in Houston and get amazing food. Some of my favorites always used to be Star Pizza (on Shepherd), Antonio's Flying Pizza on Fondren (Brae Bayou area), Chuy's, El Tiempo (Mex-Italian food), the Pappas restaurants are also Houston-based, and they're all very good. If you go eat at a grocery store, it MUST be Phoenicia which is a Lebanese grocery store on Westheimer, but their new downtown location is across from Discovery. God I'm hungry now...time to get some lunch.

[Watson410]

Wow! I'm very surprised how much input you guys are giving me! I really appreciate everyone suggestions on everything. We're thinking about staying in the Galleria area, but with everyone saying the traffic is horrible makes me second guess that decision... Is it really that bad? We're looking for an area that we can have things to do without driving a whole lot (besides to and from the stadium).. I'm trying to avoid getting us lost, things to do around the Hotel. I was thinking about trying out the Aloft to get an idea of what kind of hotel we'll be getting. Thoughts? Bad Idea due to traffic? As far as the restaurants mentioned, I'm definitely going to try to squeeze in as many food places as I can..

[Spartan]

You'll just deal with the traffic if you get caught up in it. If you do end up staying in the Galleria, as long as you avoid Westheimer and the West Loop it won't completely ruin your experience. West Loop never moves, ever. The same people sitting in their cars 5 years ago are still sitting there, trying to get home..

If you're looking to do some exploring, I'd really suggest downtown..there are also a lot of urban b&b's in Montrose and Midtown that might be somewhat affordable.

I do like the Aloft in the Galleria though..