InterContinental Houston by IHG

The location is great for visiting MDA.

We chose the InterContinental Houston for a family vacation over Memorial Day weekend. As an Ambassador member, I was disappointed from the start when my membership wasn't recognized and we weren't offered an upgrade. Instead, we were placed in a standard room that felt more like a Holiday Inn. However, after asking about my perks, the front desk agent kindly gave us access to the Club Lounge, which we appreciated.

Unfortunately, our room experience went downhill. The water in our first room on the Club floor was scalding hot with no cold water at all. While engineering was quick to respond, they couldn't fix it, forcing us to pack up and move. Our second room had functioning plumbing but a severe cleanliness issue—the pillows and sheets had a very strong, unpleasant odor. Front desk sent up two new pillows, but by the next day, the entire room smelled like that same odor. It made it incredibly hard to sleep, and we left very frustrated.

Pros: Excellent location near Rice University. The staff is the bright spot here—they respond quickly to issues, and the Club Lounge attendant works tirelessly to keep food and drinks stocked.

Cons: Not worth the premium price tag, especially when you factor in the $20/day amenity fees (they later waived for me) and expensive parking. I will not be returning.

I was less than impressed with the overall experience. I expected more from what is supposed to be one of IHG’s premier chains. Poor cooling system in the room and horrible water temperature control in the shower.

We checked in and then immediately left because we had a meeting that went late into the night so when I returned, I went to sleep. The next morning I went to take a shower and there was a used bar of soap sitting in the soap dish of the bathtub. I had to leave for a meeting by 11:30 so at 9am when I saw the soap I called front desk and asked for them to remove it and clean the tub. They promised someone to be there in 10min. But no one showed up. I called multiple times and after an hour I was at risk of being late so they finally offered me to shower in the vacant room next door. They also promised to address it while I was gone and would give me a call to update me. I never received a call and when I returned to the room, the bar of soap was still there. By this time it was about 8pm and the maids had left. Finally a manager comes and personally removed the bar of soap and apologized profusely. That was nice however, for the inconvenience he also offers us room service for anything we want from the dinner menu up until 10:30pm when he leaves work. I take a nap and by 9pm I wake up and ask my husband and daughter what they would like to order. I call down to make the order and no one answers the room service line. I wait and then call the front desk and ask for Jim. I am put on eternal hold so I just go ahead and end the call. I call back to the room service line and no one answers. I call front desk again and ask for Jim as he told us to ask for him by name and he said “whatever you want just call to make the order with me before 10:30pm” on occasion that someone would answer the phone, they would question why I need to speak to the manager and had nasty attitudes and say he is busy with other guests. I explain that I just need to get my order and they tell me to call room service but no one ever answers. I called in circles for the next hour and a half until it was 10:40 and someone finally answered the room service line and was ready to take my order after the dinner menu had already ended at 10:30pm. So they have a horrible attitude and say I can only have salad and cold cuts or whatever is on the late menu. I see soup on the late menu and ask what soup they have. She responds with an attitude that I can only get the late menu because the kitchen is closed and there’s no more cooking or warming of the food so soup is not included there. I explain that soup is listed on that late menu and she tells me I need to look at the updated menu on the QR code, but I’m looking on the menu provided on the desk in the room so how was I supposed to know? My husband and I settle for salads, hummus and chips and my daughter just got a ham sandwich with lays chips. After 15minutes the “cook” delivers the food and asks for $85 but we explain that Jim said it would not be charged. She has a horrible attitude but she leaves and we open the bag. It was very underwhelming and the worst part is not even that my daughter had a ham sandwich for dinner with chips… the worst is when she bit into the ham sandwich, there was a long hair from the “cook” inside the sandwich. I really felt it was convenient for them to not answer until the hot foods that were more appetizing and more costly were no longer offered. From the start, the maids didn’t clean the bathroom well or they would have seen there was a used zest bar of soap on the tub. While I was gone the whole day, allegedly they came back and cleaned the tub but left the soap so that lets me know it’s not cleaned thoroughly.. with the hanta virus going around.. so I thought it was kind that I’m offered meals for my family if I call and speak with Jim but Jim never comes to the phone for almost 2 hours. I feel they didn’t want to make it right and almost everyone there has a horrible attitude when it’s easily solvable. So I do not recommend this hotel and for the price I definitely expect a lot better experience. Very disappointed

I was very disappointed with the lack of “polish” that this hotel had.
I don’t think my expectations were too high and certainly not met by a hotel that charges 250/night and $50+/day for parking.

Specifically, the rooms furniture was starting to fall apart (this doesn’t happen overnight), light bulb in the lamp were burned out, ice machine on the floor was not working the entire stay, our car smelled of pot after being brought up by the valet.
I don’t want to mislead you to think that I believe someone smoked pot in our car. I believe that the valet did, at some point and the smell of it from his clothes left the odor in our car from him driving it up to us.

I called about ice on day two because I thought it might just be out from use and trying to get ice to our room was a multi-call process.
I DID have a conversation with the manager of the day and he was thankful for the “specifics” but that was all he had to say.

The restaurant food was very good but the service was so
Slow. We kept joking that they were waiting for the chicken to lay the eggs who knows where they had to go to get the food for our dinner order.

The location is what makes this place appealing but the service and attention to even little details seems to have gone on autopilot and they have forgotten that they are a luxury brand.

We stayed at the Intercontinental last week for my husband’s medical appointments at MDA. The location is very close and convenient to all the hospitals in Medical Center. A shuttle is available to take you to the surrounding medical center. It was very helpful to take so we didn’t have to worry about parking in the garages. Pier at the front desk was very accommodating and informative he made sure all our needs were met. He was very friendly and courteous. The hotel is very clean and nicely decorated. We had to stay in the Medical Center the following week for my Husband’s upcoming surgery. I did not hesitate to book my stay at the Intercontinental so I am able to go back and forth to MDA. During my husband’s hospital stay.

We have been staying at the InterContinental by IHGG near Rice University for 4 years now. We used this as our base when visiting our son at school. The service has always been first class, especially the team members who work there. We highly recommend this facility, the management and their super helpful team members.

This is a very nice hotel with good service. However, I did not appreciate the barking dog right under my window at 4:30am! I was on the 10th floor apparently right above the rooms where dogs are allowed. The rooms appeared to each have small courtyards so the dogs had an outdoor space. I was rudely awakened at 4:30am by a dog barking right under my window off and on for 15-20 minutes! If staying here again, I would not accept one of these rooms!

SPOT LIGHT ON:
Jim Manhouse
If one person can be said to have transformed this stay from exceptional into truly unforgettable, it is Jim Manhouse. His warmth is felt from the very first exchange — a genuine smile, a patient ear, and a manner that makes every guest feel not like a visitor passing through, but like a cherished friend who has finally come home. His approach to customer service is not simply professional; it is something far more personal and far more rare.

Jim has a remarkable gift for anticipating what a guest needs before the thought is even fully formed. Whether steering you toward a hidden local gem, remembering a preference from a previous conversation, or pausing simply to ask how your day has gone, his positivity is both consistent and completely genuine. His energy has a way of lifting the entire room — guests and colleagues alike feel it. A hotel is only ever as memorable as the people within it, and Jim Manhouse stands as the very finest expression of what this property represents.

The staff was wonderful and the hotel was excellent.

Las instalaciones

Stanza comoda, buona posizione, staff cordiale.

The location was close M D Anderson clinic so that was good

Très pratique

Very nice Hotel, with a very warm pool, but windy though due to the high rises.

The food service was surprisingly good and reasonably priced both the restaurant and the bar area with happy hour. The chef is Middle Eastern and the food is creative in flavors and extremely pleasing. The restaurant gets five stars by itself.!
We have stayed there three times and will be back; it is a favorite Hotel of my best friend for years and thus was a good recommendation.

By the way, they had special discount prices for medical tourism through our medical provider, making this a win.

Great location for medical, museums, and Rice Village. Nice interior design attractive and calming. Best sleeping bed rooms have numerous amenities.

The hotel benefits from a very convenient and well-positioned location, which is undoubtedly its strongest attribute. However, beyond this, the overall experience falls short of what one would reasonably expect from the InterContinental brand.

The property has more the feel of a budget-oriented business hotel rather than a premium offering. Service throughout was notably inconsistent and, at times, overly laid-back. Interactions with staff felt somewhat cold and transactional, lacking the warmth and attentiveness typically associated with a hotel of this calibre.

The breakfast buffet was particularly underwhelming, both in terms of quality and organisation. Notably, some of the serving bowls in the buffet spread were chipped, which detracted further from the overall presentation and raised concerns about attention to detail. What was most concerning, however, was the apparent introduction of differing “rules” depending on which member of staff was present, leading to confusion and an impression of inconsistency in service standards.

Overall, this was a disappointing stay and not in keeping with the level of quality and professionalism one expects from InterContinental. There is clear room for improvement to align the guest experience with the brand’s established reputation.