Hotel Derek

05/05/2008 Posted by TinaHornish

I recently spent two nights at the Hotel Derek and thoroughly enjoyed my stay. To start, the hotel is located at 'main and main' in the Galleria, just a short walk or drive from the mall. Upon arrival, I was very impressed with the level of service and attention I received from the time I stepped out of my car to the time I was finished checking in. I have been to many boutique hotels throughout the country, but there is something special to be said about the Derek lobby -- contemporary and stylish with a Texas flare to it! Although I arrived on the later side, I was very surprised by the level of activity and energy in the lobby and in the restaurant Bistro Moderne, where I dined the first night. The restaurant is French inspired with a local influence to it and I thought the food was very well-balanced and not overly priced (as many hotel restaurants typically are). For me, I am very particular when it comes to room accommodations and unfortunately, many boutique hotels have small rooms. This was not the case with the Hotel Derek. I was very surprised at how spacious the rooms were and how well amenitized they were. The room had a great modern décor, but was very sophisticated with the quality of bath products and mini bar items. The large glass work-desk in the room was also great for me as I needed to do a few hours of work while I was in Houston. Most importantly, I had two of the best night's sleep I can remember at the hotel -- there is something to be said about how comfortable that bed was! I even went as far as asking the hotel manager what type of bed it was, but I guess its custom made and I won't be able to get the mattress in a store. Too bad!! I have stayed at several hotels in Houston before, but this hotel really has everything I am looking for -- trendy, sophisticated, comfortable and highly amenitized. I cant wait till I return!

03/24/2008 Posted by WHOCARES123

This was absolutely the worst hotel I have ever stayed at! I travel for work and stay in hotels all the time. I was very disappointed in Derek. They offer valet-only parking, saupposedly at $20 a night, unfortunately I got charged $122 bucks for my two nights of parking. I have attempted to contact the hotel on multiple occassions in order to straighten this out, yet no one will return my calls and the contact email address provided on the website does not exist. Do yourself a favor and stay somewhere else. There are plenty of great hotels in the same area that are much nicer with friendlier staff.

Pros: comfortable bed

Cons: horrendous customer service, outrageous parking, no problem resolution

01/22/2008 Posted by Travelmore1492

Overall this hotel does a decent job of balancing pricing and quality. The rooms appeared to be clean (although after reading some of the reviews you might need a black light to be sure) and the service was pretty good-smiles, but nobody going out of their way. There are some rather "eclectic" patrons of the hotel, especially the bar area later in the evening, but everyone was harmless enough. We did not experience any noise pollution at odd hours or anything along those lines. We would stay here again, but probably not before we sampled some other hotels in the area...kind of a take it or leave it experience.

10/31/2007 Posted by josh

The Hotel Derek always makes me feel like I'm in a trendy district of some other city, like Chicago or Boston or something. The rooms are super slick, like someone's ultra-hip loft apartment. They have great views of the city and the service is always great, too. Good food down in the Bistro Moderne, also. Highly recommended.

10/21/2007 Posted by kalikokris

I have stayed at this hotel for years, for business and for weekend getaways. When I went last month, I was extremely disappointed. This is no 4 star hotel anymore. The staff was not friendly, almost seemed bothered that they had to work; not to mention the ridiculuous increase in valet price per day. The hotel also now lets anyything happen there....2 of the elevators were completely trashed. I watched about 12 of the most SCARY, THUGLIKE, TRASHY people walk in....they looked like street walkers and pimps. They continued to make noise all night long. When I talked to the front desk manager...even showed him the elevator, he simply said sorry. How about fixing the problem?!?!? It is such a disappointment to see this nice hotel go to a complete dump! STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE!!!

Pros: hip, urban look

Cons: everything else

08/08/2007 Posted by lamabu

We stayed at the Derek and went out with some friends in Houston. When they returned us to the hotel late that night, we all went to the bar there for one last drink. There were two really cheap nasty low-class "working girls" that approached every man in the bar, passed out business cards, and, it seems, finally found a taker. Maybe I misunderstood, but it certainly sounded like the manager of the bar then made a call to the front desk and got the guy a room so he and his "date" could go upstairs and seal the deal. I guess the bar is getting a cut of the action? It was all pretty entertaining to watch, we laughed about it the whole time as we observed the process for about an hour until the bar closed, and then we hung around the lobby for a few more minutes to see what happened next. But it made me a little creeped out about the cleanliness of our room after seeing the dirty trashy prostitutes that appear to regularly work the hotel. (The bar manager obviously knew these two gals, and no one working at the bar or in the hotel seemed at all disturbed at the street-walking outfits and the business going down.) The other problem we had is that the Hotel Derek would appear to be the preferred hotel for hip hop artists and their massive entourages. I like hip hop, but I don't really like noisy hallways, crowded lobbies, and the partying that accompanies celebrity hangers-on. We had a great (if somewhat party-wrecked and shabby) room with a view on the 15th floor, but our whole floor reeked of smoke (and I don't mean cigarette smoke) as soon as you stepped off of the elevator. And there were voices in the hall into the wee hours of morning. This is obviously a party hotel, and not quite the fun, romantic getaway we were hoping for. If you want to party, get stoned, wade through herds of wannabe groupies, and pick up prostitutes, then you should stay here. We won't be. Although we did get some great stories out of our stay there...

Pros: They have the cheapest valet parking of any nice hotel in Houston

Cons: Prostitutes, partying and illicit substances

07/16/2007 Posted by leexjd

Stayed here just one night, it was beautiful. I enjoyed the view, luxurious and comfortable furnishings, great amenities. The bathroom was quite small, I wouldn't recommend it for a long stay. More than two nights might drive you crazy in that tiny bathroom. Location is very good, convenient to everything in the Galleria area and not that far from downtown or midtown. I wish every 1 night hotel stay was as nice as my stay at the Hotel Derek.

04/16/2007 Posted by con_junior

I've traveled around the world, and this is by far one of the cleanest hotels I've stayed in. I am from Houston and stayed here with my husband on our anniversary. Very romantic and great price. Cons: Valet parking only and breakfast is expensive. Service was great, and we liked the complimentary gourmet coffee in the lobby! If you are from Houston and looking for a getaway with your sweetheart, this is a great choice.

Pros: Cleanliness, price, location, service, room decor and layout

Cons: No parking garage, breakfast is expensive and not worth the price

01/04/2006 Posted by bcollard

Great decoration, loved it, our room was on the 15th floor, very noisy, maybe the fans on the roof, we never knew, the cleaning of the room lacked alot. Very trendy nice3 bed, excellent pillows, make sure at the end of your stay check your bills we had two rooms and in both bills they made mistakes.Very kind valet service expensive.

Pros: service, bar, pillows

Cons: cleaning, noisy

11/21/2005 Posted by merlinpr

Beautiful Hotel with an incredibly customer service oriented staff. You can't help but to be in awe when you first walk through the front door. The decoration is modern and beautifully done. The rooms are big and confortable. My room had a king size bed and a great view of the city. The staff is like nothing I've ever seen. They always have a smile on their face and willing to help. Will definately go back!

Pros: Great Service, Beautiful Hotel, Close to The Galeria