ICON Hotel, Houston, Autograph Collection: A real soundproofing problem

It’s time for another business trip to one of Texas’ biggest cities, Houston.

While I’ll once again be taking American Airlines on my domestic route, I decided this time to spare you the air itinerary. Nevertheless, I’m sharing with you the itinerary I followed:

#	Type	Review
1	Lounge	American Airlines Admirals Club, Boston Logan (unreported)
2	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, Boston Logan – Charlotte, Airbus A321 (unreported)
3	Lounge	American Airlines Admirals Club, Charlotte Concourse B (unreported)
4	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, Charlotte – Houston George Bush International, Boeing 737-800 (unreported)
5	Hotel	Hotel ICON, Houston, Autograph Collection
6	Lounge	American Airlines Admirals Club, Houston George Bush International
7	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, Houston George Bush International – Charlotte, Airbus A321 (unreported)
8	Lounge	American Airlines Admirals Club, Charlotte Concourse B (unreported)
9	Flight	American Airlines Domestic First, Charlotte – Boston Logan, Airbus A321 (unreported)

Today’s itinerary

Booking

I booked this hotel about 1 week before my arrival. I hesitated for a long time between this hotel, the St. Regis Houston and Le Méridien Downtown.

The Méridien’s reviews turned me off, and the St. Regis’ dated decor and eccentricity made me prefer the ICON hotel. As did the relative reasonableness of the price of the suite, which I booked directly via my employer’s Self Booking Tool, for less than $350 a night all inclusive.

Arrival

I completed the arrival formalities via the Marriott Bonvoy application 48 hours before my arrival at the hotel.

In the application, I specified my arrival time, 2pm, and my departure time, 3:15pm, 3 days later.

Upon departure from Houston George Bush airport, I used the Uber Reserve service to ensure the availability of a car.

I arrived at the hotel at around 1.45pm on check-in day, after a journey of around 40 minutes.

I waited a few minutes at the reception desk and was taken care of by a very cheerful receptionist. She went through the check-in formalities with a smile and took my credit card imprint. Despite arriving before the theoretical check-in time, my suite was ready and I was quickly on my way to it, located on the 12th and last floor of the hotel.

Suite

My executive suite was located on the 12th and top floor of the hotel. The floor is labelled “PH” in the elevators, for Penthouse. In fact, the ceilings are much higher than on the other floors.

I made my way to suite 1212, labelled “Oriental Suite” on the outside.

The entrance leaded into a vestibule. To the right of this vestibule was a half bathroom with WC and washbasin, ideal if you have guests.

To the left, a wet bar with stools, a refrigerator and a coffee machine were installed here.

Opposite, the living room with a large, elegant sofa facing a coffee table, a small dining table, a small TV and, opposite, a desk.

The sleeping area was separated from the living room by french doors. The bedroom was spacious, with a king-size bed facing a small TV set on a sideboard.

To the right of the bed was a huge quadruple closet in which I could unpack my suitcase for the 3 nights of my stay.

Finally, to the right of the sleeping area, the huge bathroom had a separate toilet, a double washbasin, a large bathtub and a huge, very pleasant shower.

My overall opinion? An old-fashioned decoration and a worn-out room, but also and above all, absolutely catastrophic soundproofing, which let through the street music that echoed all the way up to the 12th floor. Impossible to sleep without AirPods.

To finish, a video tour:

Hotel facilities

The hotel is equipped with a fitness room and spa, located in the basement.

Gym

The fitness room is located inside the spa. It is accessible 24 hours a day and is well equipped, although the machines are starting to look a little old.

Catering

The property is centered around a main catering outlet, Line & Lariat, located near the hotel lobby.

Bar – Lime & Lariat

On the first evening of my stay, I had a drink at Lime & Lariat, the hotel’s bar-restaurant. I ordered a double Jack Daniels on the rocks, which was promptly brought to me.

The service was smiling and very good, and the waitress was very pretty.

On the last evening of my stay, I added to my Whisky a paella that was acceptable.

Breakfast – Lime & Lariat

Every morning, I had breakfast at Lime & Lariat.

It was a buffet breakfast, and a pretty good one… On the other hand, $24.95 before tax seemed a bit excessive for what was certainly a quality offering, but limited in choice.