Hotel Granduca Houston

Have stayed here a bunch of times. Big rooms. Formerly a lovely lobby, bar, gym and pool area. Not at the moment. They are renovating. The first disclosure of those renovations came by email literally minutes after the reservation became nonrefundable. It implied that the renovations primarily affected the restaurant and that the common areas may have some minor noise during business hours. That disclosure understated the scope and imposition caused by the renovations significantly. It was a terrible stay. Drills and hammering began each morning at 6:45 am (well before business hours). There is no lobby. The pool area cannot be accessed from the hotel. You need to walk around the parking lot, through construction. Once there, workers were hauling construction materials and sawing wood, etc. right next to the pool deck. I lasted 15 minutes before being chased away by the noise. The hammering noises in the room went on much of the day. The worst is that they didn’t disclose it until it was too late to cancel (and even then it was inadequately disclosed) and they still are charging unknowing suckers the same rates, as though it’s currently a five star hotel. Very bad. I’m so tired from not getting to sleep.

We have stayed at this hotel over the years when we needed an high end place while our home was being repaired. Until this weekend, it had been several years since we needed a place to stay under those circumstances. The hotel states on its website states the rooms have been “refurbished”. The room we stayed in was not. The furniture was worn. The wood on side tables and chairs was chipped. The upholstered chairs were dirty. The carpet had a large cigarette burn the size of a quarter. The door to the room was no longer flush and barely closed to lock. What happened here? The only refurbishment appeared to be the first floor which was under construction. As a result, there is no restaurant service which in fairness, is on the website. We are members of the Leading Hotels of America group of which this hotel is a member. A continental breakfast is included in the rate since we went through the LHW website. With no restaurant open on the premises, the continental breakfast included in the LHW rate consisted of two small pastries and coffee! My husband commented one could do better at a one star $99 a night hotel! And to top it off - even though my husband parked our car on the side of the hotel himself, including putting the parking permit on which required a second trip, we were charged $29 for the privilege! If I were running this tired, worn down place with no restaurant, I think I would have waived that fee upon request. But I was told “that is the rate we charge for self-parking.” If we were staying more than one night, we would have left upon seeing the room. And did I mention, the one night as described above was $545.00? If you decide to stay here after reading the above, you have been warned!

This was a best a 1 star hotel for 400.00 a night. Hotel rooms were not cleaned and sheets were dirty. We watched the housekeeping take a dirty glass out of the sink and dry with a used towel. It takes 2-3 calls for the front desk to answer. If there is an emergency, the chances of getting help are slim. They do not have help or service. They apologize but, NEVER fix the issue. TV and internet do not work. They really do not care. The lack of cleanliness is dangerous for the Public. They did not even offer to reduce the room charge. Parking was also a mess. If a room was free, I would pass!

Super overpriced for how it looks and what it delivers. For over $750 per night I was expecting someone to help me carry my luggage up to the room but had to do it myself. Hotel looks old. Food was mediocre and fees were absurdly expensive $62 for a burger brought to the room. Hotel has a dark mustard like color on walls of rooms and lobby which makes it depressive. Very small hotel with very small outdoor area and small pool. I was told my room was just cleaned but there was hair and dust everywhere. Great location but there are much better hotels in the area. The Granduca is pet friendly so this is a plus. Front desk receptionist had no charisma or warmth. It was like talking to a robot and she was not helpful. Overall it was mediocre, overpriced, limited food options, and boring. Unless you are here for the location since it is a walking distance from many shops, restaurants, grocery stores etc.. I do not recommend.

This is only the first day of an indefinite stay here at Hotel Granduca due to our local loss of power from Hurricane Beryl. I cannot say enough wonderful things about the hotel and the management and staff so far. This is a very tense time with most guests surely feeling frazzled, but everyone has had a smile on their face and been welcoming at every turn. I’m surprised at how professional the whole place is given this is a random Monday when they are surely inundated with a slew of last minute guests/families/pets that could not have been anticipated. Special shoutout to the exceptional valet attendants who were courteous and patient with multiple last minute guests arriving- couldn’t have been nicer. Check in was also seamless and professional. Manager seems very present and continually checking on guests. Bar/dining staff was working hard to make sure everyone was looked after. Truly an old school service vibe in a big city of big corporate hotels.