Johnny T.
Yelp
TL;DR: Go elsewhere. The rooms they give you with your hard-earned money will stink, and they will discriminate against and assault you.
Wherever my travels take me, I have always made it a point to seek out the Westin Hotel. However, my recent experience has made me question future transactions with this brand. I came to Houston this past weekend (January 22-23) to spend time with my family.
I want to start this review with a positive. The woman checking me in and the hotel valet were the only few good things about this hotel. I had this displeasure of staying in room 602, and upon walking into the room, a heinous odor overwhelmed me. It smelled like burning plastic. I assumed that the cause was because the air conditioning was off. I thought wrong because we were surprised by the miasma every time we left and returned to the hotel room.
The trouble occurred at night when my partner went out for a cigarette. Unfortunately, he had lost his room key, which made it difficult to return to the room since the elevator required a card for operation. The discriminatory night manager, Miss Houston, called security on him instead of providing him with a meager level of customer service. The security guard assaulted a guest and attempted to escort him off the property. At this point, no attempts were made to see if a guest needed help. Only after he asked to speak with the front desk (Miss Houston) did the situation take a turn. Following a brief identification process, he was issued another key.
After hearing about this event, I spoke with the night manager to report the assault. Miss Houston explained to me that she was the one that called security because she noticed a man in a black jacket. I want to note that the weather was in the low 40s. Since she was the only person working the front desk, she avoided approaching anyone, which is understandable. However, she also did not ask security to see if the guest required any assistance in place of her. A little customer service from these people would have mitigated the entire situation.
I asked the staff for the general manager's information to inform them of the situation. However, the team deliberately neglected to provide me with the requested information. Instead, they pacified me with the emails of the Director of Loss Prevention and the Senior Rooms Operations Manager. The Director of Loss Prevention, the security guard's supervisor, Mr. Alacron was the only person kind enough to reply to extend an apology and to look into the event further. However, the Senior Rooms Operations Manager, Mr. Ismael Cirnes, did not reach out to me. I want a follow-up on my assault complaint.
In short, fellow patrons should seek other accommodations around the area. The next closest Westin is in the Galleria area, which is far removed from this nefarious refuge. Unfortunately, from other reviews, lousy service, poor rooms, and discrimination are not isolated incidents. Spend your money elsewhere. I walked into Westin Houston to spend a wonderful Chinese New Year with my family, and I walked out feeling like a second-class citizen.
Because the staff thwarted my attempts at gaining the General Manager's information, if you are reading this, I would like to further discuss this event with you.
To the management, you all should be ashamed of yourselves for discriminating against guests who dress warmly. Worst service that money can buy!
