Budget Hotel near Galleria mall in Houston (and a few other questions)

[rnorwo1]

My sister and I are going to do a very quick trip to Houston just for shopping. It'll be about a 4 hour drive so I'd like to spend one night there. I definitely want to go to the Galleria, have never been, but not sure where else. We're taking advantage of no kids and will be doing some serious shopping, so I don't want to have to drive far to a hotel or get caught in serious traffic. I'm thinking that we'll go 12/30 for one night, but that's flexible.

So can anyone recommend a budget/moderately priced hotel near the galleria? Or is there a better mall/shopping area where we should stay near and then just do a brief trip to the galleria? Other not-to-miss shopping? Looking mostly for clothes and a few home items. What about places to eat for a decent but not outrageously priced dinner?

Thanks for any tips... I've been stashing money away for this for awhile and the less I have to spend on these things, the more I can use for shopping!

 

[clm10308]

Former Houstonian here. (just moved to New Mexico after 25 yrs in NW Houston.
There are some really nice hotels in the Galleria area but nothing in the "budget" range, at least nothing decent.

For a cheaper place to stay/shop, you could look at the Willowbrook Mall area (Hway 249 and FM 1960), or the Memorial City Mall/ Town and Country area (I-10 and Gessner Rd, Sam Houston toll road. There are lots of hotels around these. Another place to check out for shopping is the Outlet Mall on 290 near Mason Rd. It is in front of the Fairfield neighborhood. Lots of great stores, but the nearest places to stay would be at 290 and FM 1960.

There are lots of good places to eat and chain restaurants all over.

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

I have to travel to houston frequently for short trips to MD Anderson and this past february I booked a room on priceline w/ name your own price and we stayed at the Crowne Plaza houston river oaks, of course I didn't mind the drive since it wasn't that far and I paid around 70 but what I didn't know was that I was going to have to pay to park. The only other places I have stayed in houston is the rotary house mda's hotel, and the holiday inn a block down so parking wasn't the greatest but I did have different options. As far as shopping when I was living there I only went to the galleria and Ikea, I was only there for 6mths and 3 were spent as inpatient. Food my favorite place to eat is Prima Pasta in the med center area (nothing fancy and I only eat from two different dishes so I can't comment on all of their food, I eat the chicken marsala and the cream of broccoli soup w/ a side of meat balls), Jason's Deli is another favorite and for a treat I like crave cupcakes. Your choices are endless when it comes to places to eat in houston so good luck and hopefully others will post more so I can add to my list for my next visit.

If you do the priceline name your own price I always pick in the 3 star hotel section and have been happy the few times I have done this. Clean rooms at decent hotels for all of my stays, I will say that CP in houston was a little out dated in the rooms but overall it was still clean and for the two nights I needed it for it was not a big deal for me. You can look through their hotels as well to get an idea for what is available in the the areas and where they will be in comparison to the galleria.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks so much for the replies. Ill look at a few maps and try to figure out distances to the other shopping areas and hotels. I've been told that the Galleria is not all that great, but I just want to go see it, even if we really don't shop there much! I'm nervous about driving all over Houston, I do not know the area at all.
I appreciate the info.... cancer_survivor_06, I hope your treatment/visit goes as well as possible there, prayers and thoughts are with you!

 

[cancer_survivor_06]

Thank you, January 6th will make 6yrs in remission for me, I only go back for imaging and would have gotten the all clear at my 5yr but I have a few nodules that like to change sizes so they are just going to monitor them as well as lung damage due to radiation and chemo. The galleria is a really big mall nothing overly fancy but its neat to be able to see it, the only real shopping I do there is Ikea, so I think it would really depend on what you are shopping for and if you feel like exploring houston.

 

[prncess674]

Former Houstonian as well. The Galleria really is not all that. It is marketed to mostly foreigners from Latin and South America who come shop for luxury goods to bring back to their country. I don't find that the Galleria has a good mix of stores. If you looking for high end retailers then it is great, but if you are more of Sears, Penney's, Kohl's shopper then you may find yourself in the wrong place.

Also be warned that traffic around the Galleria is practically stand still miserable so if you are staying nearby then you need to pad any other trips with significant time.

Someone else suggested Willowbrook but I personally find that mall to be a bit tired and not as nice. If you are looking for a large well stocked mall I love shopping at The Woodlands. This a nice mall with a great mix of large department stores at varying price ranges and a good selection of stores. Also on the perimeter of the Woodlands Mall are tons or restaurants!

Check out the store list here:
http://www.thewoodlandsmall.com/

If you are looking for great prices of an outlet mall then head to Katy Mills! My sister lives in NW Houston and I plan on making a trip to Katy Mills over the Holidays when I visit. Katy Mills is ginormous and is an all day event.

http://www.simon.com/mall/malldirectory.aspx?id=1253

 

[rnorwo1]

I like the high end products but at Kohl's prices, lol! I typically shop at places like Loft and Banana Republic but only with really good sales and coupons. One of the reasons we're driving 4 hours to go shopping is to get out of our rut, so I would like to venture out of our usual places... we're also going right after Christmas hoping there will be some great sales. But I am definitely not a spend-$200-for-shoes type person, so maybe we should just stay away from there period. I thought of Galleria b/c I thought we could stay right there and be able to easily shop and go back and forth to the hotel. We'll only have 2 days, including drive time, so maybe I'll focus on the other areas instead. I just don't want to spend so much money on the hotel and stuff that it takes away from shopping money.
Thanks for the recommendations of the other areas!

 

[florep1]

If you are really wanting to shop at the Galleria, I would vote for staying at the Westin. It is part of the Galleria. Their rates are high but if you use priceline and a little help from some bidding websites, you could get a decent price. I wouldn't stay a long ways away as someone else mentioned, the traffic around the Galleria is atrocious especially around the holidays. Katy Mills is nice. There is a Spring Hill suites not far from it, but there are tons of decent priced hotels in Katy. I personally prefer the new Premium Outlet malls off 290. There are lots of hotels you can get for a decent price also. The Woodlands mall gets my second vote, also lots of decent priced hotels. Try betterbidding for help with priceline rates. Happy shopping!

 

[prncess674]

I like the high end products but at Kohl's prices, lol! I typically shop at places like Loft and Banana Republic but only with really good sales and coupons. One of the reasons we're driving 4 hours to go shopping is to get out of our rut, so I would like to venture out of our usual places... we're also going right after Christmas hoping there will be some great sales. But I am definitely not a spend-$200-for-shoes type person, so maybe we should just stay away from there period. I thought of Galleria b/c I thought we could stay right there and be able to easily shop and go back and forth to the hotel. We'll only have 2 days, including drive time, so maybe I'll focus on the other areas instead. I just don't want to spend so much money on the hotel and stuff that it takes away from shopping money.
Thanks for the recommendations of the other areas!

Based on this I would think you are going to be disappointed in the Galleria. I would definitely focus on Katy Mills or The Woodlands.

 

[clm10308]

Oh, I forgot about the Woodlands.
I agree with the others. If you just want to shop and don't care about going all the way into Houston, The Woodlands is great. There is the big indoor mall and several upscale shopping centers close together, and there are lots of great places to eat. One of my favorites there is Bucco de Beppi. ( I hope I spelled that correctly). There are also lots of hotel in the are.
If you have your heart set on visiting the Galleria though, it can take an hour or more each way from the Woodlands.

 

[rnorwo1]

Thanks everyone. I spoke with a relative who lives in Spring TX, which I thought was near Dallas, but it's in that area. She knows me pretty well and also recommended The Woodlands, so that's where we'll go. And she insisted on us staying with her for the night, so just got a free place! Thanks again everyone, and happy holidays!