Hotels Near Ponderosa Marina in Houston

Connected by tram to the airport, coming up the escalator after a day of stress and travel delays, the lobby pleasantly welcomes, and the smiles from desk agents wrap you like a toasty blanket. Check in took about one minute and we were on our way to the most comfortable room. The hotel has a fun, futuristic layout. Club M was 10 stars on a 5-star scale for food, snacks, coffee - you name it. Restaurant serves great food - try the pizza - and enjoy upbeat service. Our stay was unexpected and we were pretty sour to have an entire day delay before our connecting flight, but WOW - I’m so thankful we stayed here because it was hard to be in a bad mood for too long in this very nice hotel. If you travel frequently, check out the flight store - geared for flight crews, they sell very durable luggage, cool lanyards and all types of accessories.

Excellent property. Engaging and welcoming front desk personnel (arrived around shift change afternoon September 20th). Rooms have been updated with just enough lighting. I like the Springhill comcept of commode and sink being in separate area than shower and another sink. Room and whole property were immaculate in terms of cleanliness. Pool open til 11 (which is later than many properties). Many food options within walking (Jack in the Box right across the street closest). Also front desk advises for more ”finer” diner may want to consider one of the local hotels bar & grills. The fact they tell you that is impressive- some places would be hesitant to have you go to another property (even just to eat). Shuttle on time (every 1/2 hour) and hours begin early (either 430 or 5) and is shared with the Courtyard (of which shares a common entrance from road). If ever back in Houston I will be back.

Our bartender Briana was very attentive and so was the rest of the staff jenny and ferdenand I believe. The redfish was very good and our friends said their food was really good as well. The hotel itself has changed so much! I like what you have done with the place

The room was clean and the location was convenient. The self-service water machine outside the room and the free coffee machine in the lobby are very good. Since I arrived at the hotel at 7 a.m., I paid an extra $50 to check in early, which was very convenient.

The pool area was family friendly and the reservations prevented over crowding. The rooms were spotless and all the restaurants were great. Location is central to everything downtown. Highly recommend.

I'm currently on my last night of a five night stay. I was so looking forward to staying here as the reviews are generally quite favorable and I usually like the JW Marriott brand properties. Unfortunately, my own experience during this stay was not very good. The hotel seems quite busy (long waits for the elevator some days) so they do seem to be getting traffic through the property. My suite was nice...not extraordinary...but comfortable. As far as staff go, most are quite helpful and friendly which is good. Now the problems. I saw very little to discern this property from a standard Sheraton or Marriott. Nothing about it felt like ”luxury”. It didn't have those extra touches one would expect from a JW. The bar soap in the bathroom is so tiny that only a sliver is left after two showers. It was the size soap you would expect to get at a Motel 6. The Griffin Lounge was a big disappointment. I went the first morning for breakfast and it seemed like a standard Sheraton lounge breakfast offering. Nothing refined or special about it at all. Both the presentation and the quality of the food offerings were severely under par. I never returned after that even though I was entitled to get it free every day as an Ambassador Elite member. I ate breakfast outside of the hotel for the remainder of my stay. Also, after the lousy breakfast on day 1 , I never attended the evening reception so I cannot comment on what that is like. The most glaring problem at this property is that when you call down with a service request, usually no-one answers the phone. You want to have your car brought around? No-one responds. You want to arrange for housekeeping to clean your room? No-one responds. You want laundry picked up? No-one responds. You want to know why your laundry was not delivered as promised? No-one responds. All the above things happened to me. Out of a total of 18-20 calls down with service requests, the phone was actually answered only twice. That is a shockingly poor service fulfillment failure rate. Imagine, when you want to use your car, there is literally no way to get that process started from your room...because no-one answers the phone calls. I am stunned by what a failed process they have for handling calls from the guest rooms. I actually complained to the front desk about this. The guy says the phones are answered by staff behind the scenes. However it is that they manage it, I can tell them their process doesn't work. I get to Houston fairly frequently but I doubt I would return to the JW Marriott Downtown. The combination of the sub-par Griffin lounge coupled with staff inability to answer phone calls, deems this a no-go property for me. Interestingly, this is my second JW stay for me since the pandemic started. Both were big disappointments. Perhaps the JW brand is cutting back on quality and services generally...effectively moving JW properties closer to Sheraton/Marriott standards. Overall,

I travel around the country a grade hotels because I’m in and out often. From the Four Seasons Ritz Carlton Marriott Marquis W hotels Westin, Sheraton‘s etc. but I was greeted and made to feel like I was a VIP when I arrived on Site. I was welcomed by Miss J and miss Jerri and the young man Jay. They went over and above to assure me And my Brother and family that we were the guest of honor in the hotel. The Front office staff names escape me at the moment, the were attentive to our every need punctual and extremely kind. The GM must Be Very Proud to have staff like this. The final line I want to pen is the restaurant the staff was more than kind all four days. Thank You So Much For A Great Stay. I would recommend this hotel again again and again. Thank You. Shep DLW

The room was clean and although we were by the elevators it was quite. Beds were comfortable. Breakfast was one of the best we have ever had and was included with the price. Valet service was $55 but you could park in a parking lot across the street if you wanted. The best part for us was the hotel is only a block away from the Phoenicia! We definitely will be back!

The location is probably the best part. It is connected to the convention center and there is also so many restaurants and food trucks so close by and there are some connected to it as well. It’s very clean and I would definitely stay here again.

Stay was beyond excellent. The room was clean, fresh smelling and the bed super comfortable. Staff were friendly and professional. Shout out to David who gave us a warm welcome. Hotel does NOT charge for parking, which is highly unusual. The hotel offers a parking garage and surface parking behind the hotel. The location is very convenient. Without traffic it was only a 15 minute drive to downtown, 10 minutes to the Galleria and 10 minutes to Memorial Park. The challenge is navigating the frontage roads to actually get to the hotel, but Waze or Google Maps was spot on with the guidance. The hotel definitely has an older architectural style, but the rooms are super clean and well maintained. The concierge lounge is stocked with sodas, flavored water and snacks. Soundproofing was sufficient that we never were bothered by the freeway noise! We stay at dozens of hotels on an annual basis, and this hotel is simply one of the best run properties we have experienced. Definitely would recommend this property and stay here again.