The Hilton Americas-Houston was opened in 2003 and since then has served as one of the premier hotels in Downtown Houston. In 2011, it underwent $11,000,000 worth of renovations to bring “a sharp, crisp, modern and contemporary feel” to the property (which I think was largely successful). After staying at the Hilton Americas-Houston, I was impressed with a lot of what I experienced and slightly underwhelmed by a couple of things.
Hilton Americas-Houston location
The Hilton Americas is located right next door to the Toyota Center (home of the Rockets) and the George R. Brown Convention Center (which is connected via two skywalks). It’s three blocks from GreenStreet (nightlife and dining), five blocks from the Houston Theater District, and also within walking distance of several restaurants and downtown attractions like Minute Maid Park, making it one of the best hotels in Downtown Houston in terms of location.
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The Hilton Americas-Houston lobby
The Hilton Americas-Houston hotel lobby is extremely elegant.
As soon as you enter through its revolving doors you’re greeted by a bright art sculpture of a chandelier. It hangs from the ceiling like an inverted bonfire and its intricate swirls of glass extend out like flames.
It’s quite stunning.
Behind that is the Lobby Bar with a massive art piece of a blue and gold world map, which is placed right behind the bar.
The entire arrangement from the lobby to the Lobby Bar is very attention-grabbing. I always enjoy when a hotel sets the tone of your hotel experience with visually stunning decor in the lobby and surrounding corridors. It’s like an immediate confirmation that you’ve made a good decision with your hotel choice.
Up close the art work definitely has a Van Gogh feel to it.
The Lobby Bar has a lot of different seating options and has several TVs located throughout the bar.
I really liked the modern its modern lighting.
The remaining sections of the hotel’s lobby are nice as well, offering comfortable and stylish seating options throughout the lobby.
I really liked this area by the east entrance that had a relaxing waterfall flowing down a glass wall.
The hotel is divided into two towers: the East Tower and The West Tower. The West Tower is home to the Skyline Spa & Health Club (which houses the spa, pool, and fitness center) and the Executive Rooftop Lounge. There’s not much in the East Tower but the Starbucks is located right by the East Tower elevators. If given a choice, I would definitely choose the West Tower.
Check-in
We checked in around 3pm on a Friday so the crowds were very minimal and check-in was a breeze. But that’s not always the case.
Brad checked in to this hotel at around 12:30pm on a prior Friday and it was much busier, so the exclusive Hilton Honors line was much-needed and the staff did a great job of managing the line to allow for Honors members to get priority check-in.
The suite
I originally booked a standard room with Hilton Honors points but we were upgraded to a Standard Suite due to our Hilton Diamond status.
The Standard Suite is essentially two adjoined standard rooms with one room furnished as the bedroom and the other as a living room. I enjoyed having all of the space offered by the suite, but I did find the large sectional couch to be a bit uncomfortable as it was very firm.
The good news is that the bed and bedding was very comfortable, and I got a good night’s rest during my one night stay.
What made the suite special were the views.
From the 18th floor we have fantastic sweeping views of the Downtown Houston skyline, which were prime for watching the sunrise and sunset.
The Hilton Americas-Houston Executive Rooftop Lounge
Hilton Americas-Houston has a fantastic lounge located on the 24th floor. The lounge is available to those who booked a room on the executive floors and is also available to Hilton Honors Diamond members, regardless of what type of room they booked.
Floor to ceiling windows span around the Executive Lounge allowing for panoramic views of the Houston skyline as well as the surrounding Houston area.
The interior is elegantly decorated as well with many different styles of seating, large flat screen TVs, and a couple of work stations with Apple Computers.
The lounge offers snacks, such as cookies, and mixed nuts throughout the day as well as water (still and sparkling) in addition to sodas.
There is a breakfast buffet which is like a continental breakfast + a few hot items like eggs, sausage/bacon, potatoes, and oatmeal. I personally thought some of the items like the eggs and sausage could use a little improvement but I did enjoy the potatoes and thought the pastries were okay, too. Overall, it’s a decent breakfast that’s sufficient to get your day started on a good note.
Finally, the lounge also offers hors d’oeuvres at 5pm which I really enjoyed. For our stay we had nachos, shrimp taquitos, potato skins, roasted tomatoes, and fruit which all sound very random but I still enjoyed them.
Overall, the lounge did not disappoint and it’s probably one of my favorite Hilton Executive Lounges I’ve visited to date.
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The pool and the fitness center
The pool and fitness center at the Hilton Americas-Houston are also two major highlights of the hotel.
The pool is located on the same floor as the lounge (the 24th floor) though it needs to be accessed on the 23rd floor unless you have mobility issues.
It’s a long swimming pool with three lanes for getting laps in but it also has an oversized whirpool which functions like a mini pool. (Both pools are heated.).
There are a few lounge chairs to relax on surrounding the pool and the pool area also have some brilliant floor to ceiling windows that offers those amazing skyline views.
The pool area also opens up to an outdoor terrace which has a lot of seating to relax in. It would be a prime spot for receptions and parties and I’m sure it gets put to proper use. From the terrace, you can really see all around the city of Houston.
The gym
It amazes me how vastly different gyms can be even at nice hotels but the Hilton Americas-Houston knocks their gym out the park. It’s a beautiful gym with plenty of equipment to choose from. There are many ellipticals, treadmills, zero-runner machines, bikes, and a lot of free weights.
I worked out late on a Friday night and had the entire gym to myself for one glorious workout session. Although, I would prefer to workout when it’s not dark outside so that the views weren’t somewhat obscured by reflections.
Dining
Unfortunately, we didn’t try the dining offered by the hotel but there are a number of different options.
You can find the menus for the different restaurants in the hotel here but for your convenience here are the different options and their open hours (which are subject to change).
- 1600 Bar + Grille (“Featuring locally-sourced seasonal fresh produce, plus Certified Angus Beef and Gulf seafood dishes prepared from scratch to guarantee farm-to-fork freshness”).
- Breakfast: 6:00 am – 11:00 am
- Lunch: 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
- Dinner: 2:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- In Room Dining
- Breakfast is offered from 6:00 am until 11:00 am
- All Day Dining from 11:00 am until 11:00 pm
- Late Night Menu from 11:00 pm until 1:00 am
- Lobby Bar
- Monday – Friday: 2:00 pm – 2:00 am
- Saturday – Sunday: 12:00 pm – 2:00 am
- Pappasito’s Cantina (Tex-Mex and Margaritas)
- Monday through Thursday: 11am to 10pm
- Friday and Saturday: 11am to 11pm
- Sunday: 11am to 10pm
- Starbucks
- Open daily from 6:00am – 8:00pm
This hotel also boasts a ton of business meeting rooms and large ballrooms. Unfortunately, when I went snooping around the hotel all of these rooms were locked up so I wasn’t able to get any photos. But I did take a few photos of the corridors outside of these areas.
Hilton Americas-Houston FAQ
Prices may vary based on the type of room and season but you can find standard room redemptions for as low as 43,000 points.
You can find the following restaurants:
Lobby Bar
Starbucks
1600 Bar + Grille
Pappasito’s Cantina
The hotel has an executive lounge on the 116th floor. It is open 24/7.
The hotel is approximately 26 minutes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport by car.
You can find Uber rates from George Bush Intercontinental Airport to Hilton Americas-Houston for as low as $30.
The phone number for Hilton Americas-Houston is +7137398000.
Final word
Overall, the Hilton Americas-Houston is a great hotel. It’s got a terrific location, beautiful lobby and bar, swanky lounge, gorgeous pool and gym, and offers exceptional views of Houston. A couple of things mentioned could use a little bit of improvements (breakfast, room furniture), but I would absolutely stay at this hotel if given another chance to do so.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
