Tucked into an unbelievably beautiful teeny valley in the heart of Houston's Galleria area (which is where you want to be in this city if you've ever been here before), the Omni Houston is in a secluded, quiet location which was its biggest plus for us since we hate crowds and noise. However, we struggled here because of several issues. The strong musk of mold greeted us most heavily in the hotel's lobby until the third day when suddenly air freshener was ingeneously used (maybe in their A/C system?) and it was great. The rooms are not moldy or musty because of beautiful remodelings. The beds are very comfy. The views beautiful. However, the hotel has found it necessary to shortchange you in a few serious ways worth knowing about before you arrive. Hotel Parking has been given to a third party, a company not associated with the hotel, and their staff are not available at all hours. Also, their parking cards are magnetic and often do not work. We had to walk up the hill to the hotel twice during the middle of the night when we could not get out due to this poor technology (and witnessed a departing wedding party's cars similarly pile up at exit because of the card problem). If we weren't paying $16 plus tax per day for parking it would be a different story, but to be fair, because of the problem, the hotel took this off my bill at checkout. The other problem is the internet which is also farmed out to a third party. The hotel doesn't take responsibility for problems for this exhorbitant service (if you use the hotel's computer that is) which runs around $27 an hour! The hotel is billed as 4.5 stars but honestly, a 4.5-5 star would assume full responsibility for all of these crucial operations and problems stemming from them--not ask the guest to contact a third party. So this was very disappointing. Also, the $16 bagel and cappuccino breakfast at room service. The advertisement in the room shows a beautiful china cup with coffee/cappuccino enticing you to try this for your breakfast, but when the cappuccino arrived it was in a paper cup! Kind of disappointing, especially at that price. And, like the other issues, the breakfast took a longer time because room service had to get the cappuccino from....you guessed it: another party, the gift shop. If these sorts of things annoy you, consider all when you come to the Omni. For us, the view and seclusion and nice rooms are still worth staying here.
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