Advice on Houston Hotels (Richmond, Elgin: rent, home, neighborhood)

[Daniel_T]

I have a question about a hotel in Houston. It's called the Courtyard Houston - West University. It's located at 2929 Westpark Dr, Houston, TX 77005. It looks like it's in a bad area. Can anyone comment? How far away is it from downtown? What are some things to do in Houston? Thanks,

Daniel_T

[Cougar31]

this area in not bad at all. You got a very good seafood place a few minutes away: Goode Go Company. And you are about 10/15 minutes from downtown. by taking 59 North.
Regards,

[Daniel_T]

Is the area okay to venture out at night. Is there a bus nearby that would take me downtown? thanks,

Daniel_T

[tstone]

Bus to downtown at night?

Rent a car, bro.

[Cougar31]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

Is the area okay to venture out at night. Is there a bus nearby that would take me downtown? thanks,

Daniel_T

I would not advise you to venture at night...on your feet. But I have seen people walking within this area. check with the hotel if they have a shuttle to downtown.

[JayZ750]

if you want to get downtown at night, sans car, you should try and find a hotel along the light rail. My suggestion would be in the museum district. of course, those hotels are likely to be more expensive. your best bet, then, is the place you already have picked out, and just rent a car, which you can do really really cheaply these days.

[Daniel_T]

I was looking on local.live.com at the address and the hotel is next to a freeway and it looks like across the street from a soda company? The way the aerial looks, the neighborhood surrounding is in bad shape. Is there a bus nearby? How far is that light rail transporation that you have from the hotel?

Daniel_T

[jfre81]

Just stay in well-lit areas, look like you're confident and you know what you're doing and where you're going and you'll be all right. That stretch of Westpark isn't pretty - this land has been kind of kept the way it is because it is supposed to be the right of way for a new light rail or commuter line. The aerials you are looking at are perhaps as old as 2003 (Google still shows the Toyota Center in Houston under construction with just the lower level finished and uncovered)

The *ghetto* begins further down Westpark, say, Chimney Rock on west. Between that West U-Rice Village-Greenway Plaza vicinity and downtown I'd probably be more on guard downtown walking around at night. Hope you aren't too uncomfortable with strangers asking for change. When this has happened you can say you've been to downtown Houston.



If you actually want to see something downtown - you can see a lot of the city all at once if you go to the observation deck of the Chase Tower at 600 Travis, pictured above (Public domain photo taken from Wikipedia)

Downtown is home to the theater district - Houston Theater District - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is also home to Minute Maid Park, but the Astros finished their season on Sunday. There are restaurants, bars and more scattered around downtown, which has a nightlife scene that has emerged in the last few years - downtown used to shut down after 5pm and some of it still does, pretty much.

Down the light rail line from downtown is the Museum District and Hermann Park, as well as the Texas Medical Center (not much for visitors to see there aside from the growing skyline). A visit to the Houston Museum of Natural Science is a good bet for a one-time visit, but there are several museums there - Houston Museum District - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are too many restaurants, bars, clubs, pubs, small live music venues etc. to name and they're scattered everywhere. There isn't really a single *hot spot* - go from Midtown (Main Street between I-45 and US 59 and its surroundings) down Elgin/Westheimer, Alabama or Wheeler/Richmond and westward toward the Galleria and that covers much of the *party zone* such as it is here...Houston is not a tourist-oriented place, and a lot of the entertainment amenities tend to cater to locals. Still you can find something to do.

[Mom2Feebs]

Daniel, 77005 is one of the most prestigious zip codes in this city! You'll have no problems. But, yeah, rent a car. We are not known for our public transportation breakthroughs.

[Daniel_T]

Thanks for the info. I feel much better now.

Daniel_T