Holiday Inn Express & Suites Houston North Intercontinental

I gave this hotel a very good rating in a previous visit and have to knock it down to a generous 2-star on my recent re-visit. Another reviewer "Rich P" posted about the airport shuttle problem and he is right as it can be. The feedback from the hotel manager shows a general lack of awareness on its own staff and what they are telling guests, or they are intentionally misleading guests as a way to sell this as an airport hotel. Read on... I was in Houston for a business trip and because I had an early flight, I always move closer to the airport and get rid of my rental car the night before. This has been a standard practice for me, for years, if i had an early flight. This hotel advertise as an airport area hotel and offers airport shuttles. Unaware of "Rich P"'s review about the issue, I called the hotel before booking to ask about the shuttle and a lady clearly told me it's 24-hours and I just need to call from the airport for pickup, and arrange with the front desk if i need to go to the airport and they would run the shuttle at least once every 30 min, in addition to transporting airline crew that was staying at the hotel. What happened was anything but that... And I would never use this hotel again if I need an airport shuttle. As a Spire level member, I travel so much that know enough about the airline and hotel industry to write a book and what I experienced during my visit is unacceptable. The front desk lady keeps changing her story about the shuttle schedule and operation when both my coworker and I requested our rides. She told us different departing schedule, which were all not true. Let me be clear - the hotel DOES NOT have a free to use 24 hour shuttle to its normal guests!! Pure lie on the website and what the lady told me on the phone. The truth is the hotel signed a contract with an airline, which I believe is Air Canada Express, and as a part of the contract, they are required to provide transportation to/from IAH for the airline crew. These crews leave the hotel in the morning at set hours and have pickup at the airport at set hours. The minivan the hotel has is mainly used to provide transportation for the crew per their contract. Normal guest needs are scheduled around these numerous aircrew drop offs and pick ups, if you are lucky. The shuttle schedule is also not 24-hrs and is bound by the schedule of the first flight of departing crew and last flight of arriving crew. The minivan is a standard family minivan, with 4 seats and 2nd and 3rd row, and an extra seat in the front passenger side. The 4 seats and trunk space are all used up by the Air Canada Express crew, which flies a regional jet (hence the Express name), which consist of 2 pilots and 2 cabin crews. At most, you can squeeze in another passenger and he/she has to agree to let the aircrew stack their luggage on top. I needed a ride to the airport and the front desk lady said I can't use the 6AM slot, because the crew uses it. She said I can use the 6:30AM, which later turn out to be completely false! Sensing she is fully of excuses and bad information, I arrived at the lobby before 6AM and asked if I can sit in the front passenger side empty seat, which the driver agreed. What I saw is the airline crew come down to the lobby little before 6AM, and they eat their breakfast and leave at 6:15AM (similar to what the driver told me the night before). The ride to the airport is about 20 minutes and we arrived at 6:35AM. There is no way, they could do another departure from the hotel at 6:30AM, when the minivan still at the airport at 6:35am. Another 20 min or so drive back to the hotel (assume they didn't have anyone to pickup) would put the van back on the hotel at around 6:55AM, just in time for the next ride at 7AM. Having experienced this, I alerted my coworker to take the 8AM slot and ride in the front passenger seat instead of the 8:30AM slot the front desk suggested, but my coworker didn't do that and fell victim of front desk's false information. He came down before 8:30AM but there was no van and he had to wait for pick it to nearly 9AM, just as I had predicted. The was compounded by airport traffic at that hour which cause him to nearly miss his 10:30AM flight. The night before, I called for the ride after I dropped off my rental car at IAH. My wait time at the arrival gate was nearly an hour. I took me nearly 1.5 hours to get back to the hotel after I called for the ride standing the arrival gate. The hotel just made me wait, without telling me, to align the pickup to match an arriving Air Canada Express crew. I don't care what other excuses the hotel manager may come up with, but the shuttle here is not intended for guest use and it's here to fulfill the airline crew contract. Selling yourself as an airport hotel without a solid usable shuttle is no excuse and putting your guest at risk of missing their flight, even though they planned a lot of extra time, is just a bad way of doing business and in a way very evil.

On our way back from vacation, we landed in Houston late with our connection flight the next day. Since this hotel offers 24 hour airport shuttle service (20 minutes away), we stayed here. At check-in I asked the lady at the front desk if we need to reserve the airport shuttle for the next day. Her response was, "oh no sir, it's available 24 hours a day." At 12:30 pm the next day, I went to the front desk and requested the shuttle for around 1:00 pm. The front desk supervisor tells me that the shuttle will not be available until 1:45 pm because they have an airline crew staying there and that's when they need it by and the shuttle can not be used before then just in case the airline calls them in early. I asked them how my family of 7 is going to get to the airport so we won't miss our flights to which she replies that she can call me a cab. I asked if they were going to pay for the cab since they advertise 24 hour airport shuttle which is not available. She replied that "there is nothing I can do." Then she started to argue with me that they do have a 24 hour shuttle, it just not available until 1:45 pm. I felt like I was on that episode of Seinfeld where he tried to reserved a rental car. I asked to speak to a manager to which she replied no. My frustration built after arguing back and forth and I softly called her a name under my breath. At that point she went ballistic and start screaming at me and then called the POLICE saying I was trespassing since it's now past checkout time. I called their guest relations and filed a report to complain about her actions. However, they still could do nothing about getting my family and I to the airport. I was left with the impression that nothing will be done about it. We got an Uber ride for $35 and was able to make our flight. IHG/Holiday Inn, you lost a customer for life that had a $35 solution.

We needed a hotel close to the George Bush Intercontinental because we had an early flight the next morning. Check in/out went flawlessly, clerks were friendly and quick. The room was fresh and quiet even though we went to bed early. clean bed and hot shower and we were happy.

Travelled to Houston for an overnight trip and stayed here. Ended up having to extend my stay and stayed here again since I knew what I was getting. DirectTV television. WiFi with good speeds. Excellent work desk space for business travellers. Decent sized rooms with couch and wet bar. Ceiling fans over beds are a big plus. Makes it easier to fall asleep when it is just like home. Clean, a few flaws (see pictures). Staff was very friendly and outgoing. Overall will stay here again.

Convenient location right next to I-45 on a relatively low-traffic street. The facilities seem older but like they have been remodeled recently. I don't know if it was because my room was by the stairwell or just bad luck, but I could hear stomping/noise above my room a couple nights that was annoying. Decent workout room for a HIE (all the equipment plus the TV actually worked), and then lobby area is very nice. Had some issues with cleanliness and service that I left feedback to the hotel directly about, nothing unfixable. I couldn't get the right gate to open after-hours with my key, but there is a good amount of ungated parking as well.

I stay at a lot of IHG properties. In short, this one was disappointing. Service is friendly and helpful but the hotel simply seemed a bit old and cheap and therefore rated below average. I've stayed at much nicer HI Expresses. One put off was the the hotel is two buildings. If you are on floor 5, that's floor two Building B. Not a huge deal, just an unexpected surprise. The breakfast was standard fare and fine. The rooms were just ok. Ceiling fan was a nice touch I suppose. Pillows were cheap foam pillows like I'd expect at lesser hotels. Rooms were fairly quiet, which is good. The exercise room was small but had two treadmills, one elliptical, one recumbent bike and a bench with some free weights. Shuttle service was helpful. Restaurants nearby. Overall, it's an OK place to stay if convenient. Next time in the area however I might be inclined to try someplace else.

I wanted to praise 2 employees who helped us out tremendously when we arrived in Houston at the Holiday Inn Express on Feb 22. We arrived from Vancovuer, Canada and the taxi driver did not take all our luggage out of the car when he left us. My husband’s briefcase was left with his computer and passport and numerous important items. Nekol at the front desk and Dexter, the shutter driver stepped into action. Nekol googled the taxi company within minutes, was able to get a hold of someone and track down the driver after 30 min. Dexter assisted my husband by flagging down another Yellow cab, spoke to that driver who also tried to help. He calmed my husband down immediately and stayed positive. Lucky we were able to get the briefcase back and Nekol phoned me to ensure she had received it after it was located and we went shopping. Both really saved the day and made us feel comfortable and assured that it will all work out. I wanted to acknowledge both employees for their tremendous customer service and saving our vacation. We had to overnight in Houston before going to Honduras and if they had not rescued us, we likely would not have be able to leave. Dexter got us to the airport the next day and on we went on holidays and we are now back home in Canada. In addition, the hotel we stayed at was very clean, had a great breakfast and we were able to get into the room a bit earlier thanks to Nekol. We will always remember these special employees and hope they get some recognition within.

The hotel was in a nice location. The staff did an outstanding job. Upon my arrival I was met with friendly and a professional staff. The atmosphere was comfortable and pleasant. The check in was simple and quick. The rooms were clean and the amenities were acceptable. I normally don't eat breakfast at the hotel, but the food was good and the staff assisted with any help that I needed.

This hotel is a great choice nearby IAH. It's close enough to IAH but far enough not to have that "airport hotel" feel. Rooms are large and clean, and staff is easy to work with and fixed a reservation error quickly. A lot of food and shopping choices nearby and closeness to I-45 make it easy to get on the highway very quickly. This will definitely be my top choice for IAH area hotels.