A Trip to Houston Texas

The cheesecake factory, as the name doesn't fully imply, is a chain of restaurants in the US. They do specialise in fantastic cheesecakes but don't let the name fool you, there is a lot more involved in this wonderful place.

When and Where
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On my recent trip to Houston, Texas, my other half and I noticed this restaurant at the local mall just a few blocks from our hotel. I instantly recognised the name, as any big bang theory viewers will know that this is where Penny works! So after a brief look at the menu on the wall, we decided we would have to head back later for dinner.

According to their website, www.thecheesecakefactory.com there are lots and lots of locations, as I said, they are a chain now and cover most of the states.

My review will only be based on my experience of the restaurant at the Galleria Mall in Houston.

Layout / Size / Arrival
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Once it got to dinner time we made our way to the restaurant for the first time. The first thing I noticed was just how large it is. This specific restaurant is spread over 2 large floors with a big winding staircase in the middle. I also noticed immediately how busy the place was, lots of customers and lots of staff. I did worry that it would be a long wait or even bad service due to this.

We were greeted by a member of staff who showed us up the stairs to the booking desk, where I gave my name for a table for 2 and expected to wait for at least a few minutes. Almost immediately a friendly waiter came over, called my name and showed us to our booth which would have easily sat 4.

The restaurant has everything seating wise, from a mix of table sizes to booths and bar seating. Although busy, there were plenty of tables free as I could now see as there were even little rooms off shoots from the main floor with even more space and seating.

Everything was spaced out nicely with comfortable padded seats and large windows giving beautiful views over the city. Most things were brown and simpler warm colours and really made the place feel comfortable.

So far so good....bring on the grub!

Menu and Choice
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Now, let me briefly explain, I love food. My other half loves food. Not the healthiest of things to love but its true none the less. I had joked with friends that while in Texas I would be on a mission to see how many cows I can eat. (How can you not? In the land of burgers/steak/ribs and BBQ!) This menu did not disappoint with options.

The menu comes in a nicely bound leather folder and is bright and colourful. Split into sections including appetisers, Pizzas, Pastas, Salads, Grill, Seafood, Sandwiches, Eggs and omelettes, specialities and of course deserts. From the feel of the restaurant I was a little surprised by the amount of things on offer.

I also noted that the prices were a little more than I was expecting, but hey, we're on holiday so I brushed that thought aside and somehow from all the choice managed to choose a nice fillet steak, my other half opted for the BBQ Beef Ribs.

The Food
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Now I am not going to ramble on too long about all the details but basically summed up, this is the nicest steak I have ever had. All the food as cooked exactly as requested and served with everything you would expect and more. The fries were lovely and my fiancés ribs were frankly very impressive! They consisted of about 7 long (and I mean 10 inch at least long) bones with thick (and again I mean like 2-3 inch thick) meat either side of the bone, cooked tenderly till nearly falling off. We tucked in and that was it...we were planning when we could come back next there and then!

3 days later, we headed back as I had to try these ribs for myself, my fiancé settled for a burger which he is still heartbroken over leaving as I think he loved it more than he loves me!

The portion sizes were a bit big, but not too mammoth in comparison to say a beef eater in the UK.

We had bread on the table from when we were seated which I thought was a nice touch.

The Cheesecake and Desert
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Now, the final test, their namesake....How embarrassing if it's horrible? Right? It has to be the best cheesecake in the world ever right? Damn right! It was amazing. I like cheesecake, I've eaten a few in my nearly 23 years on this earth but this one takes the prize.

The menu spans 3 pages will all types of concoctions of cheesecakes going on, chocolate, fruit, nuts, Oreos, peanut butter, vanilla, they even had a tiramisu cheesecake! Amongst all this though there are also various ice cream sundaes and other deserts. I opted for a chocolate truffle cheesecake which was creamy and delicious, my other half had small goblet of strawberries with fresh cream. On the second visit I had an Ice-cream sundae (as the ribs do not leave a lot of room for the large slice they serve) and blokey had a cherry cheesecake.

Service
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I feel this needs its own little section as besides the food, I think the service is what brought us back. We were greeted and seated very swiftly and cheerfully. Our drinks orders were taken immediately after our waiter had introduced himself and provided us with the bread for the table and all food and plates were brought out and cleared in record time. At no point was it due to them being full or rushing, they were simply paying lots of attention to the customers and being super efficient.

The soft drinks were free refills and each time we were out, the waiter replaced our glasses without coming over and asking each time, which personally I liked, it was easier than him interrupting our conversations each time to ask if we wanted the refill, if we didn't, it has no big loss as they were free.

We had nice little chats with both waiters when we went regarding the local area and that sort of thing (obviously they could tell from the very English accents that we weren't locals!) and they were more than happy to suggest places and really gave a sense that they cared and would go out of their way for us. They did come to check how our meals were once brought out, but only the once. It may be silly but it's one of my pet hates if people keep asking if everything is ok...Is there a reason it shouldn't be that I don't know of? And if it wasn't ok, am I not able to politely mention it to a member of staff myself? Without being constantly interrupted while trying to have a nice dinner with my fiancé!?! (Ok breathe...)

Conclusion
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Basically as I have said in the review, I loved it. The fact we went back on a 10 day trip to the same restaurant twice should give an indication of how much we enjoyed it. It was a good all round box ticker. With great service, amazing food, lovely location and comfortable seating it's my new favourite restaurant. Price wise, for 2 main meals and 2 deserts with 2 soft drinks was roughly 70 dollars (depending on exchange rate at present I think that's about 45-50 pounds (ish)

I would go back and eat in any other branch in a heartbeat as I can imagine all are very similar. Its ruined UK food for me now, and I don't think I could eat ribs anywhere without being disappointed, and cheesecake will never be the same. Next time I am in the states I will be finding the nearest Cheesecake Factory and munching my way back into heaven.

Before booking my recent trip to Houston, Texas with my other half, we looked into what to expect when we were there, activities to do and places to visit. The Galleria Mall is the official 7th largest Mall in America. Seeing this and knowing just how much myself and my fiancé like shopping, I booked our hotel just a few blocks down the road from the mall, with every intent of visiting.

Located in the "up-town" part of Houston, named "The Galleria District" this mall stands proud covering nearly 3 million square feet of space (this includes the 2 tower blocks and all of the office blocks located on the land)

The mall itself is laid out over 3 floors with the bottom floor having an ice rink in the centre and home to the food court. There were many places to eat here including McDonalds and various other fast food places, as well as small cafes and larger restaurants. Oh and it wouldn't be complete without a Starbucks.

The remaining 2 floors were packed with shops and lead to the bigger department stores located at either end of the mall (Dillards, Macy's and Nordstrom)

It's a monster of a mall to say the least having over 345 shops, but to be honest; it didn't feel that big really...although my local shopping centre is a third of the size. We arrived at the mall and quickly located one of the many maps dotted around, to work out which entrance we came in and to see what was on offer and plan our attack. The maps were bright and easy to spot, and spaced evenly over the 3 floors, so which ever part you were in you could work out where you are.

The actual mall is spotless, much like most of the Up-town area in Houston, the floors are marble and sparkling, all glass is perfectly cleaned and not a spot of litter in site. Even though I didn't notice that many bins around it was extremely clean.

Now the main problem with this mall that may not be a negative for everyone is that it's a "high end" mall. Basically it's packed with designer shops. I admit ignorance here not thinking to check before hand, but after seeing it had 345 stores, I assumed there would be a few at least we would enjoy strolling round. I think in total we visited 4 shops with serious intent on looking for something to buy, which were: hot topic (a clothing and music type alternative store) Lids (a hat store) GameStop (surprisingly enough, a games store) and Abercrombie and Fitch

Although we had a pleasant enough day strolling around and had a nice lunch etc, I couldn't help but be disappointed by the lack of shops for people in my situation, my situation being fashion impaired and way too cheap to spend over £50 on any item of clothing.

To give you an idea, the main shops in the mall were: Burberry, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Armani, Luis Vuitton, Tiffany, Versace, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. Now I'm not even sure if I spelt half of this right, so that pretty much sums up my relationship with designer clothes. As I said, I can't comment that it is a negative for everyone as obviously if you want to shop in designer clothes then this is Mecca!

Everyone we encountered, be it shop staff or fellow shoppers were very pleasant, although I did feel a little under dressed from time to time (apparently shopping in a designer mall requires designer attire!) I even left my phone at Starbucks and it was handed in to the mall security that in turn made a call to my mum from their landline using the number from my phone, who called my fiancé to call the security office. I called them and they advised me where my phone was and were happy and cheerful to get it back to me. I was very impressed as this all happened over the space of about 15 minutes.

There is definitely a day or two worth of shopping to be done here, with many of the shops, mainly the larger department stores, needing a good hour to get around in all the different sections. It was just a shame that it wasn't really what we were expecting.

On my recent trip to Houston Texas, my other half and I jumped in a cab to visit the "Museum of Natural Science.

Entrance / Location
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The museum is located in Houston Texas and is in the "Museum District"

The Museum is open from 9am - 5pm in general, but opens later on a Sunday morning and closes later on a Tuesday evening.

First impressions of the museum were positive, it's a nice large building and has lots of space as you first walk in. The ticket booths are easily located directly to your left as you enter.

Prices / Attractions
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The museum offers a much bigger array of attractions then we were expecting, it has an IMAX theatre showing movies on "Alaska", "The Blue Planet" as well as 3D showings of "Sharks" and "Into the deep" These all last around 45minutes to an hour and cost $11 per adult.

There is a full size planetarium that shows short (30-45 minute) educational shows on the universe, this costs $8 per adult.

There is a large butterfly centre, costing $8 dollars per adult.

Then there is general admission into the museum and the entire exhibit halls (obviously this price excludes the IMAX, Butterflies and Planetarium) which costs $15 for an all day, come and go as you please pass.

The Planetarium
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The first thing we decided to do once we had arrived was check the times of all the attractions and shows. So we brought tickets for everything we wanted to do, the first thing on our list, was the planetarium. We waited on the comfy benches outside the entrance while the show before the one we booked finished. We then headed inside the corridor leading to the door as we noticed lots of bright UV pictures. The corridor is pitch black except these lights displaying fascinating pictures and displays of planets and solar systems as well as information and details on the different aspects of space.

The show we saw was called "Introduction to the universe" and was basically a beginner's look into the universe as we know it, shown on the large domed ceiling while you recline in comfy cinema chairs. It went from explaining the difference in stars and suns and planets, to pin pointing our location within our solar system, galaxy and nebular. As the detailed high definition projection flies all over the ceiling it's a very surreal experience as you feel like you're there, the end result being an educational look at the world and results in a feeling of sheer unimportance as you explore the vastness of our universe.

I really enjoyed this as I hadn't been in a proper planetarium before and thought it was a great experience.

The IMAX
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After our flight through the universe we headed to the 3D showing of "Sharks" we wanted to see. The 4 storey tall screen is the first IMAX I have been in and was pretty much what I expected. A very big cinema! The 3D glasses were provided for us and we sat and watched the half hour show happily laughing as any of the children laughed or screamed as the underwater monsters appeared to jump out at them. It was again educational but also fun and interesting for any kiddies.

The Cockrell Butterfly Centre
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The Butterfly centre was something I can't say I was too keen on doing. I really wanted to and I am glad I did, but I get more than a little twitchy when it comes to small buggy things that fly! Daddy long legs and moths are the 2 main things that petrify me for some reason. (Give me a spider over those any day!)

The Butterfly Centre is located around the back of the museum and you can look in through the glass without entering. After handing over our tickets and walked through the educational maze of pictures and specimens of all the lovely bugs. There were interactive games where you had to press buzzers to answer questions on various things which the kiddies seemed to really enjoy and loads of bright wall charts and big bug models and statues.

There were some live samples of all the different insects and bits, from a tarantula and dung beetles to arrow frogs and millipedes.

You climb a few flights of stairs and emerge in this beautiful large and humid jungle. You start right at the top and follow a downwards winding path around the outside of the dome. There is no other way to describe it than as a jungle, there are plants and trees and a waterfall centrally down the middle and of course bazillions of butterflies. They are freely fluttering around, sitting on all the plants, drinking nectar from all the beautiful exotic plants and of course flying about. Some get extremely close and will happily land on you as you stroll round, for this reason I made sure we kept our pace up. It was a very pretty place and I enjoyed looking at all the different butterflies, from the tiny to the scarily large.

The Main Exhibits
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The main exhibit starts with a dinosaur and fossil room; there is a full T-Rex skeleton along with about 10 other dinosaurs ranging from the very small to very large. (Don't forget to look up at the ones on the ceiling too!) There is loads of information and details including pictures and models of the whole Jurassic era.

There is a space for an "energy" exhibition which had details on mining and coals and the different ways energy can be made, stored and its uses.

This is all on the first floor...there are lifts and stairs to access the 2 higher floors. Floor 2 is home to an animal and nature exhibit, where you can walk through glass displays of stuffed animals. They have everything from lions and tiger and bears to monkeys, cats and cattle. At the back of this floor are also the "Malacology" displays (meaning shells) and the Cullen hall of Gems and Minerals. We briefly looked at the shells but I can't say I was that interested, the Gems and Minerals however, are displayed in a giant room which is darkly lit and each little window for the different Gems etc are brightly lit and gleaming. There are some spectacular diamonds and rubies as well as some more interesting and never before seen by me things, that look like alien rocks, but are actually found in our earth. Pretty interesting.

The third floor is home to the "Hall of Americas" This has displays on the history of America, its land and indigenous people, as well as displays on the Mayans and Egyptians. There were again lots of very well kept artifacts and plenty of information to take in, from posters and films.

Other
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The museum is such a large building, there are toilets located on every floor and in every section. I was pretty impressed with this, as it would be a complete pain to have to head to the other side of the museum just to use the bathroom.

There is a MacDonald's in the centre of the first floor, by the entrance. They have lots of seating and tables for every visitor. I was a little disappointed there wasn't any other option for food while in the museum, as they do not allow outside food or drink inside.

The museum itself was never crowded but had so much space; I do not think it could be. There was always somewhere to sit and have a little break, as well as it being perfectly spotless and clean. All the displays and features were state of the art and in fantastic condition. We only encountered staff at MacDonald's, the ticket booth and when handing over tickets to access the different areas, but everyone seemed happy and laid back.

Conclusion
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I loved this place. It is a full day's family activity that was educational as well as completely enjoyable. We got to spend the whole day investigating the different areas and going where we wanted when we wanted. The butterfly centre and the main exhibits could be access as many times as you like until closing. For $42 dollars all in per adult I think it's a great deal. There is just so much to do! I would go back again if in Houston as there was bound to be lots we missed and we stayed for a good 5 hours. It was a pleasant surprise and something we weren't planning on doing while in Houston but I'm very glad we did. I would recommend anyone of any age to visit if in the area and I would challenge every person to not be able to find one thing that interests them. From the outer galaxy to the deepest ocean and everything in-between, this museum covers it all; Science, Nature, History, Education, Games and so much more.

The Houston Zoo is a large 55 acre zoo that is home to over 4500 exotic animals located in, yep you guessed it, Houton Texas, USA.

The zoo itself can be found just behind Hermann Park and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, in the "Museum Disrtict" of the city.

The zoo is open from 9am - 7pm and costs only $10 per adult (anyone over 12) or $6 for children under 12. I think this is fantastic value for a family day out as you can stay in the zoo for as long as you want from opening to closing.

The entrance is large and clearly marked with plenty of free parking for those driving. The first thing I noticed about the zoo when we went was how colourful it was, from the entrance signs and ticket booths to all the lamposts and bins in and around the zoo. It is bright and inviting and looks very nice and I imagine will appeal to the youngsters.

We were given a map of the zoo with our tickets and made our way in. The zoo houses everything you would expect from a main city zoo. Animals included:

A whole range of big cats including; Lions, Tigers, Pumas, Cheetas, Panthers, Foosa, Leopards and more, as well as Elephants, Giraffes, Primates of all shapes and sizes, Bears, Pandas, Meerkats, Wild Dogs, African Cattle, Oxon, Zebras and many more. There is also a large aquarium located right by the entrance of the zoo. Since its handy location, we headed here first. There is so much room inside the aquarium and it was very open and light, with lots of space to see all the fish and marine life through. There were some beautiful fish in here, along with stingrays, turtles and piranas which I enjoyed the most.

The maps given on entry are very accurate and show all paths and routes around the zoo. There isn't one set route, like a one way system leading around the zoo, so you are free to wander to which ever part you would like, and by pass and animals you are not too keen on or fussed about seeing.

Being mostly outside i'd advise a light jacket just incase of any rain, or sun screen if you are going at a hot time of year like we did. (It is Texas after all) We went on a beautiful clear day and had no weather troubles, although I did notice that there is only small amounts of cover located around the zoo.

One of the main things I was slightly worried about, as I always am with zoo's, was the size and space the animals were given. I'm definitely an animal lover and this is way I love seeing and learning about nature, but I hate the thought of things being in cages. I was happy and relieved to see all of the enclosures were very spacous and large. Each individual animal seemed to have a lovely natural environment to live in. I also really liked the fact that all were big enough that the animals could be far away from the people and all viewing platforms etc should they choose. I liked this, as much as it meant the occassional animal was hard to spot or even see at all, it means they aren't harrassed all day. This made me smile.

The zoo's walkways themselves were clear and even, I saw many families with pushchairs who had no troubles. There are no hills and plently of benches dotted about for anyone needing a rest. There are also disabled access ramps to all of the areas.

Each enclosure had pictures of the animals in that section, along with detailed information about them and their status with regards to population. i.e. unthreatened, declining, endangered or protected etc. These were a nice touch I thought becasue along with learning about wildlife and animals, everyone should be aware of the impact we as humans have had on the population of all of these animals. There were quite a few on the declining or endangered lists that actually look me by surprise. Its definitly an eye opener and helpful for younger generations to know.

We had a lovely afternoon strolling around and exploring all of the different areas. I think we were there probably for about 4 hours in total. It was a very enjoyable day out (probably helped by the fact we bumped into Randy Orton, one of the WWE wrestlers who we were seeing that weekend at Wrestlemania by the giraffes and managed to get a picture taken with him)

There is limited option of food if you are planning on eating while at the zoo. There is a diner located right by the entrance, but this is limited to the usual burger and chips type food. Nothing healthy on offer I am afraid. There are also a few snack stalls spotted around that sold ice-cream, crisps and soft drinks. The toilet facilities were also slightly limited. There are a set by the entrance/exit and one around the top of the zoo, but for some of the areas that house a lot of space and range quite far, there are none to the very back of the zoo. I can't imagine this being too much of a pain, but for those with young children for example, it would be a good ten minute walk to cross the zoo back towards either of the sets of toilets available.

The staff were all very friendly and a lady in the "customer care" booth was more than happy to call and arrange a cab to come and pick us up, as there are no taxi ranks outside the zoo.

To conclude, I was impressed with the zoo, as I mentioned we had a lovely afternoon out and I really enjoyed the mix and variety of the animals. You could get pretty close to most of them, providing the animals wanted to be out that is.

My favourite was seeing a little Red Panda which are basically extinct in the wild. It was completely adorable! For $10 to come and go as you please I would go again if in Houston and would advise anyone planning a visit to the city to make sure you go and have a look.

The Hilton hotel located on Post Oak Boulevard in Houston, Texas is where my fiancé and I spent 6 nights of our recent trip to Houston.

Booking and Prices
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The Hilton website has a separate page for each of its hotels across the globe. On these pages you can get information on all the facilities that are on offer as well as check photos and virtual tours.

To book, there is a room availability checker that allows you to see if there is space for when you would like to stay and which types of rooms are available, of course the prices are also included here. These can be viewed in both US dollars or UK pounds. I really liked this feature, as at the time, we were booking well in advance of our trip. I found it helpful to keep an eye on the price of a few weeks and look in both dollars and Pounds to see if the exchange rate was effecting both equally to make sure I got the best deal.
We booked our room a few months in advance as I didn't want to leave it too late and be disappointed.

For 6 nights, for 2 adults sharing a 1 King Bed Room, cost us a litle over 800 pounds for a stay in March/April.
I was happy with this price as I knew with a Hilton we had a name with which we would know what to expect. I was not taken by most of the hotels and smaller cheaper hotels that I found when looking for a hotel so was happy to spend a little extra for a little luxury and peace of mind.

After booking online I received a confirmation email confirming all of my details and payment receipt. They only take credit cards as an international hotel.

Arrival and Location
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We flew to the Houston International Airport which we had been told was roughly 30 minutes from the Hotel. Jumping in a cab about $50 later, we arrived outside the hotel after a lovely half hour drive through the city.

First impressions of the hotel were very positive. The building itself is a 13 storey modern and stylish block. The usual Hilton logo was on the top. The first thing that stuck me as we pulled up was the location. The surrounding area of the "Business District" is immaculate. Not one blade of grass out of place and not one cigarette butt or piece of rubbish as far as the eye could see. The area and the hotel both together made me very happy that we were in for a decent 4* stay as we were expecting.

The immaculate theme that most of Houston seems to have in place spilled over effortlessly into the hotel lobby. The beautiful open glass entryway was spotless and we were greeted by a doorman who asked if we needed any assistance with our bags.

The reception area is large and open and has plenty of room for guests arriving and leaving without any crowds. There was ample seating for about 15 people if they were waiting for someone else to check them in etc, as my other half did. The actual check in desk had 3 spaces maned with staff, not once did I see this with any more than one person waiting and more staff would simply come out if a queue started to form.

I confirmed my booking with the lady on reception and was given 2 room keys, one for me and one for my fiancé, and given directions to our room. The process was quick and efficient and we headed to the elevators located in the centre of the lobby.

Our Room
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Our King Bed room was located on the 11th floor and was no smoking as I believe the whole of the hotel was. On opening the door my first thoughts were to how solid and sturdy the door seemed. Made from a beautiful dark oak it looked very secure and also gave me hope of blocking out hallway noise in the mornings.

On entering the room the bathroom was to the right and was amazing. It was simply huge and had plenty of space, there was a dressing table located in the entranceway to the actual bathroom where the large bath/shower and toilet was located. This dressing table had a huge sink and mirror with plenty of space to mess around getting ready. We were provided with a shower cap, shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer, mouth wash and body lotion.

The main room was very large with a massive (and comfy) bed at its centre. We had a TV placed inside a cabinet opposite the bed and a side table on either side of the bed, both with clock radios and side lamps.

There was a large oak desk in the corner of the room with the telephone, plenty of writing equipment and various literature detailing all the phone extensions as well as manuals for the mini bar that was next to the desk and how to use the TV and a full menu of what is available for room service.
We also had a large relining chair in the room for somewhere else to sit.

The balcony gave us gorgeous views over the city and a beautiful skyline, especially as we arrived just as the sun started going down. It was a little high for my liking and I couldn't look straight down, but then I am a sufferer of vertigo anyway!

Room Service
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On the night we arrived, we got to our room gone 8 in the evening local time and were too tired from traveling to venture out. We called down for room service after choosing from the large selection menu and our food arrived within 20 minutes. Freshly cooked and tasted great. We were given complimentary drinks, even though they weren't ordered and a fresh glass of flowers, nice touch!

The chambermaid service for the whole of our stay was brilliant. We kept our do not disturb sign up on the door until we were ready to leave for the day, as we didn't want to be woken early or at all. No matter what time we left the hotel and no matter how long for, we can back to a freshly cleaned room. The bed was made, dirty towels replaced and all soaps etc were topped up or replaced. We were left with free bottles of water even though we were happy to buy our own or use the mini bar.

I felt very secure in this hotel which is something I appreciate. I never felt like I had to lock my suitcase or hide anything.

General Service
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If we had any questions at all regarding our room, the stay, local attractions or even just a question like the time should we have wished, they had a contact for everything. The reception staff were fantastically helpful and changed up travelers cheques for me, as well as being always polite and would great you as you arrived or departed.

They have a concierge desk that I never saw unmanned, they were available for help with planning days out or suggesting anything you may be after. We had a car booked for us on the day we visited NASA as it would have been cheaper than a cab and also more convenient as we could call the driver whenever we were available to go wherever we wanted after. The concierge suggested this after I asked the best way to get there. If he hadn't, cabs for the day would have worked out about $50 more expensive.

I think the service really made the stay so great for us. We felt safe and looked after and not afraid to ask if we needed anything or had a question, not to mention if something was wrong, not that we encountered a need to complain at all.

Overall
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This is a fantastic hotel. Its great value for money and you get amazing service and a beautiful room with everything you would imagine. Its located in a beautiful part of Houston and is only 1 block away from the Galleria mall.

The room was amazing and the views breathe taking. I simply cannot fault any aspect of the hotel. We didn't have any need to use the gym or business facilities that were available but I wouldn't hesitate in assuming they would have been just as professional as the rest of the hotel.

We had a lovely stay and 6 great nights sleep! I was actually very sad to leave and if I was to visit Houston again for any reason, I would definitely stay at the lovely hotel.