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United Airlines Flights from San Francisco (SFO) to Houston (IAH)
Orbitz is pleased to offer airline tickets on United Airlines, which operates a daily non-stop flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Houston (IAH) regularly scheduled to depart at 11:00am and arrive at 4:44pm. Usually an Airbus A320 is flown for this route. Generally, a movie is offered on this route. The average travel time from San Francisco, CA to Houston, TX is 3 hours and 44 minutes.
During your Houston vacation, don't miss these great establishments and attractions:
Houston Zoological Gardens
Located within Hermann Park is this 50-acre zoo featuring a gorilla habitat, rare albino reptiles, a cat facility, a large aquarium, and vampire bats. Every few years the zoo builds a new facility for a portion of its residents. The Brown Education Center, open daily from 10am to 6pm, allows visitors to interact with the animals.
Downtown tunnel system
There are 6 miles of tunnels below Houston's downtown; most of the system is private property. Along those corridors are restaurants, shops, and businesses of all varieties. You can get a map of the tunnels from the city's visitor center or you can take a guided tour if you schedule it in advance.
Downtown Aquarium
On the northwest corner of downtown, a few blocks from the visitor center, is this aquarium/restaurant/amusement park complex. The main exhibit consists of several tanks in the main building displaying different aquatic ecosystems. These are nicely done, and lots of little tanks hold highly specialized species from places like the Amazon. There are also touch tanks and an exhibit of rare white tigers. Upstairs is a seafood restaurant where you can enjoy another large aquarium while you have a bite to eat. Outside the building, the main attraction is a large shark tank, which you view from a glass tunnel while seated in a miniature train. Among the rides are a Ferris wheel and a carousel. You can buy a 1-day pass or buy separate tickets for each attraction. The main exhibit takes about an hour; the train ride takes 10 minutes, with 2 to 3 minutes inside the glass tunnel.
Make your reservations for discount hotel rooms in the
Houston area, including:
Lovett Inn
Located a block off Westheimer and 3 blocks from Montrose Boulevard, the Lovett Inn is on a quiet street right in the middle of the busy restaurant and club district of the Montrose area. The house dates from the early 1900s and was built by one of Houston's mayors. Most rooms are large (well above the usual size for B&Bs). The four rooms in the main house and two in the carriage house are attractive and well furnished with period pieces, wood floors, and area rugs, yet eschew the cutesiness that so many B&Bs feel obliged to deliver. Almost all have private balconies. There are also four town house units around the corner (two per house), which have separate entrances and greater privacy. These are comfortable but modern. One town house has a full kitchen for the use of guests if they rent both rooms.
Houston Airport Marriott
Don't let the address fool you -- this hotel is not on "Hotel Row." It's located smack-dab in the middle of the airport itself between terminals B and C, and it's on the airport tram line, which means no messing with taxis, shuttle buses, or rental cars. With this enviable location, the hotel gets a lot of business conferences. The revolving rooftop restaurant adds to the hotel's popularity -- you'll see planes landing and taking off with a view that is pretty much the same as that of the airport's control tower. Guest rooms at the hotel are large and attractively furnished. The bathrooms are not particularly big, but the beds are comfortable, and everything else about the rooms is great. The revolving rooftop restaurant is a lovely place for dinner, which is served from 5:30 to 10pm (open for lunch to groups only).
Westin Galleria and Westin Oaks
Similar in size, name, and appearance, these two hotels are often confused by travelers who arrive believing the destination has been reached only to find that they must yet again negotiate the mall parking lot. The Westin Oaks is on the east side of the Galleria mall (the side closest to Loop 610) and faces Westheimer Road. It's a family hotel, with no alcohol in the minibars. The Westin Galleria is attached to the west side of the Galleria and faces West Alabama Street. It targets business travelers, offering a business center and more formal dining than the Westin Oaks.In other aspects the hotels are much alike. I find them a mix of good and bad. On the good side, they have the great location that allows you to walk from your hotel room into the shopping mall without ever having to leave the great indoors. The rooms are extra large, the beds are comfortable, and the balconies -- an uncommon feature in urban hotels -- offer the best way to enjoy the view of perpetual motion below and the serene skyline above (get a north-facing room at the Westin Oaks, a south-facing room at the Westin Galleria). On the bad side, the rooms are awkwardly designed and plainly furnished. Another problem is the service: There wasn't enough staff present on my visits, and the concierge, once located, didn't inspire confidence. Having said that, I must add that all of this would be perfectly fine for a hotel in a lower price range, and that might be just what we're looking at here. I found the discounting of rates so common that I don't believe anyone pays the published rate here.Facilities: 1 restaurant in each hotel; 1 bar in each hotel; heated outdoor swimming pool; health club access ($11/day fee); children's program; concierge; car-rental desk; business center; 24-hr. room service; babysitting; same-day laundry service/dry cleaning.
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