For a premium, sophisticated experience, the JW Marriott Houston (by the Galleria) offers business and leisure travelers alike the premium experience they desire.
This hotel is a part of the Marriott Bonvoy program. Be sure to read – Everything You Wanted to Know About Marriott Bonvoy.
Location
The Galleria area is home to a massive shopping center, some of the best restaurants in the city, and major businesses. The mall is walkable from the hotel as is Del Frisco’s steakhouse, and Nobu.
Address: 5150 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77056
Phone: +1 713-961-1500
Google Maps Link
Property
The JW Marriott is located on busy Westheimer Road in the Galleria area of Houston. The benefits of shopping, dining, and entertainment in Galleria can’t be understated. The hotel rises across the street in a tall building; the plaza is opposite the tallest building in Houston, Williams Tower.
The fitness center offers enough equipment for dozens of guests to work out at the same time. Located on the top floor of the property, guests can enjoy views of Uptown while the exercise. The fitness center shares a floor with the pools and other common facilities.
As Houston is nearly always warm, the winters can still be temperate. As such, the pool is both indoors and outdoors with a flow-through between them. It’s a great feature, especially during the colder months when temperatures drop but are still warm enough to warrant swimming.
Redeem points at this very hotel even faster with a Marriott Bonvoy credit card. Here is – Why The Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card May Be The Best For Travelers.
Room
Unfortunately, the JW Marriott Houston (Galleria) didn’t have a suite upgrade available at check-in, for which I would have received due to my status. The room was fairly standard for US hotels in, what I call, the Standard Rectangle. The Standard Rectangle enters through a door off the hall and runs straight to the exterior of the building in a rectangle. Shortly after entering, to the right or left depending on the room, is a bathroom, then a closet before opening up to the rest of the hotel room, either a single bed or two beds opposite a TV and desk and window at the far wall. The design was just as standard and for an elevated brand like JW Marriott, a little disappointing.
That said, the finishes in the room were of a high quality.
Bed
The bed was very comfortable and large, bedside tables offered limited but convenient plugs for charging devices overnight. High thread-count sheets, a plush duvet, and pillows delivered a premium experience for this weary traveler.
The room also featured a chair to relax or work in the room outside of the bed. It added a nice touch to the room and demonstrated the brand’s level of a luxury business hotel.
Bathroom
The JW brand is just below Marriott’s ultra-luxury brands (St. Regis and Ritz-Carlton) but very high on the pecking order of over 30 brands and more than 7,000 properties worldwide.
The bathroom is perhaps the best representation of the quality of the brand. Aromatherapy toiletries were still single-use at the time of my stay, and help to extend the premium experience to the shower or even just washing hands.
Offset subway tiles covered the bright, clean, glass shower.
Marriott Bonvoy’s Service and Benefits
As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member, I earned more bonus points for my stay over standard members, was eligible for an upgrade to a suite, enjoyed a late check out more convenient for my flight home. But my favorite benefit is breakfast, which the JW Marriott Houston (Galleria) offers in the Stray Horse restaurant on the second floor.
Purely for the purposes of the review (wink) I helped myself to fresh fruit, made-to-order eggs, a waffle, and more than I willing to admit to publicly. It was all delicious, service was fast. For those without status, an American Breakfast starts at $22.
For more information on the Marriott Bonvoy loyalty program, see this post.
Value
The sophisticated JW Marriott Houston (Galleria) offers business travelers the full-service features they need paired with a location that is convenient for meetings and entertainment. Cash rates range from $220-280/nt for a standard room. For the area, the quality of the hotel and service, this is a fair price for the room.
For Marriott Bonvoy members, prices start at 60,000/nt for a standard room. This provides a value of 0.36¢ to 0.46¢/point, right at Suites and Lobbies valuation of 0.45¢/point on the high end. Bonvoy members should weigh whether they’d prefer to spend points or cash based on their Bonvoy balance or cash position. If cash prices are toward the lower end of the range, use cash.
What do you think? Have you stayed at the Aloft Houston (Galleria)? How was your experience?
