Hotel Derek

Checked in late Friday night after being on the road all day. The room had wall paper coming off the wall, mold on the popcorn ceiling and the bath tub had black on it. They moved us to another room and the air conditioner didn’t work. At this point it was so late we made it through the night. Upon checkout they added so many fees. I would NOT recommend staying.

I’m visiting the bar not staying at the hotel. Parking is a challenge unless u valet. But since we were not staying at the hotel the valet worked with us on parking. We sat at the bar and had bar bites and dinner. The food was pretty good not bad. The bartender needs a lot of work she has no personality, poor customer service skills, do not know how to engage with the customers. Asked for drink recommendations three times and gave none! She really needs to work on her bedside bartender skills. Her name is Taraha or something to this nature.

Location: 5
we had to wait 15 minutes for a coke and a glass of wine and we were no more than 10 in the restaurant.
Valet 2 (20 – 25 minute all the time)

I guess I just have bad luck with hotels or maybe my standards are too high? We had a staycation at the Hotel Derek for a Bachelorette Weekend. Booking with them they didn’t even offer anything for us to celebrate. I’ve booked with other hotels for special events and they never shy away from complimentary champagne or wine.
When I got dropped off by my UBER the guy didn’t even help me with my bag. Seriously…
Parking is $ 32 for valet and $ 24 for self (I could be a little off on the dollar amount).Really, $ 32? Yes, really. On top of that when my friend checked out to get her car the guy ruined her card as he continually swiped it. She now has to get a replacement.
Lobby area was modern. Unique. Only thing I really liked about this hotel.
Rooms were clean for the most part. Restrooms were small but had a lot of amenities. Toilet flush was slow and low pressure. Bath tub was dirty. The other room had a restroom door that didn’t close– one of those sliding doors.
Pool is super small but it was heated. There are phones outside near the table to order food but when we tried, it wasn’t working. So we all went inside to order food at the bar and they said we had to wait and bring the food out to the pool ourselves. Really? What kind of service is that? After eating and hanging out by the pool for a while, a couple showed up. They were able to order drinks and food and have it delivered to them. REALLY? That really made my blood boil and I really wanted to say something right then and there, but I didn’t want to cause a scene with the Bride’s big weekend going on.
The workout room is small but it had enough machines. Water, towels and fruit bowl to accommodate a workout. Some free hand weights and yoga mats.
Overall, I don’t recommend this hotel. Location is great but service is poor and hotel wasn’t all that great for what we paid.

Bought a hotel room for a friend who was celebrating 30^th anniversary through travelocity. On the confirmation email it gives a list of extra fees hotel might charge includes: parking fee, pet fee, breakfast fee, etc. But failed to leave out a $ 100 incidental fee so you have been warned

Possibly the best hotel I’ve stayed at in a long time. While checking in the clerk ask how I was I then proceeded to tell him it had been a rough day and I was getting out of town he then handed me a complimentary drink card and said I hope tonight is better. beautiful view from the balcony when the set, and the best experience at the bar with my master bartender Vicki and my first class server nito. Thank you so much hotel Derrick
Ps room 901 is the great view

Worst hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I’d give them 0 stars but there is no option on Unilocal to do that.
The first problem was that I could not even turn into the hotel entrance because it was blocked by construction barrels and construction equipment, along with heavy traffic and drivers who were jerks and would not let me cross in front of them even though they were stopped at a red light.
Next, I had to deal with the people at the front desk who could not find my reservation while other people began lining up behind me, which made me feel pretty uncomfortable. My reservation was made a month in advance so I couldn’t understand what the problem was. Finally, after waiting for 25 minutes while other guests were breathing down my neck, the lady at the front desk magically found my reservation and explained that the problem was that their reservation department neglected to «push the reservation through.» I don’t even know what that means.
After that encounter, I went up to my room where I had to deal with the biggest challenge yet. The main reason that I selected this hotel was that they advertised that it is a completely non-​smoking hotel. Since I have very bad allergies and am very sensitive to most strong odors, I have to be careful about where I stay or even which restaurants I visit.
As it turns out, this hotel not only allows their guests to smoke cigarettes in their rooms, they also allow them to smoke marijuana in their rooms.
I called down to complain several times about all of the strong fumes filling my room from the room next to me. They told me that a flyer would be slipped underneath the door next to mine reminding the guests not to smoke inside the rooms. I held my door open to try to air out the room as I waited to see someone slide a flyer under the smokers’ door. After an hour of waiting, I called down to complain again and this time I was told that «security» would come up and talk to the smokers. I continued to hold my door open to try to air out the room as I waited to see these alleged «security» people. I never saw anyone come up to address the problem. Finally, after several more hours and more phone calls, I went downstairs to talk to the manager who, as it turns out, was «unavailable.»
Later on, back in my room which was now becoming visibly foggy, I received a call from the district manager who said that there was nothing that he could do about the smoking situation but that he could move me to a smaller room away from the smokers since he didn’t think that they would stop.
That blew my mind. Again, the whole reason for me choosing to stay at the hotel was that they advertised being a completely non-​smoking hotel. For them to say that the only solution would be for me to move to another room away from the smokers was absurd. The fact that they wanted to move me to a smaller room since they didn’t have any other suites available was an even bigger insult.
I told him that I wanted a discount for the inconvenience and he agreed. I woke up the next morning to the smell of even more marijuana smoke and, of course, I also had the worst migraine headache of my life. It wound up lasting two days.
I checked out extra early to get away from the fumes and discovered that the discount I was promised was not applied to the bill. When I mentioned it to the guy at the front desk, he looked at some notes on the computer screen, frowned, and then called his supervisor over and asked to speak with her in private. They disappeared behind a door to talk about my bill and whatever he saw on the computer screen. I can only imagine that he was telling her about the number of times that I called to complain about the marijuana smoke and cigarette smoke filling my room from the room next to me.
About 5 minutes later, they both came out and the guy told me that they could not give me the discount that I was promised. That’s the precise moment when I decided that I was going to write a complaint on Unilocal about my horrible experience.
Then, believe it or not, things got even worse. In addition to the hotel allowing cigarette smoking and marijuana smoking inside the rooms, I discovered that the bellhops intentionally hide the luggage carts in order to force guests to pay them to retrieve the luggage carts from where they stashed them.
The bellhop who retrieved a luggage cart from its hiding place for me refused to let me use it myself and forced me to let him put my bags on the cart himself. Then, after bringing the cart to my car, he looked down at the tip that I gave him with a disgusted look on his face like I had only given him a quarter or a dollar. I felt like taking the tip back while he continued to hold his hand out waiting for me to put even more money in it.
I will never stay at this smoke-​filled dump again and I’m considering suing them for false advertising. A non-​smoking hotel is not supposed to condone marijuana smoking and cigarette smoking inside the rooms.

This hotel is awesome!
After a little mix up on our reservation that was no fault of the hotel, the staff went above and beyond fantastic customer service and gave us two free drink cards to enjoy at the bar while they got things sorted out. After returning to our room from dinner, a staff member brought what looked like a specially prepared dessert treat and a hand-​written apology card from Marie Adams, the Business & Leisure Travel Manager.
The hotel is clean and inviting and the every member of the staff I have encountered is very friendly and genuinely appears to enjoy working here and accommodating the guests. I highly recommend staying at this hotel and will definitely be a guest again! Thank you for a great experience!

I’ve stayed here a couple times and it’s been beautiful and hassle free each time ! The service is pretty standard as far as checkin but the last time we stayed there back in January 2016, an elevator was broken for many days. It created quite a pain and back up when going up to the room. (otherwise I would have given 5 stars) The rooms themselves are decorated beautifully and very comfortably ! Cool hotel décor a little funky and colorful the way I like ! A little different than the usual !
Our bartender at the hotel bar was fantastic after our dinner down the street … Very friendly, conversational and attentive (I wish I remembered his name) The next day we went further down the street to grab some food and watch another game and the valet took over quickly as we walked outside and got us into a hotel provided van. The driver was friendly and offered to pick us up too ! Overall, great experiences at Hotel Derek!

This hotel probably wouldn’t be my first choice in galleria area but I will give them props for being hip and trendy.
The bar is very nice and the bartenders are cool. The room where the pool tables are located is a nice area where you could sit down and have a drink or play chess and shot some pool. They need to invest in some decent sticks, though.
The rooms are mad small. I get that it’s hotel. But they are tiny! The rooms at a quality inn are bigger than Derek’s. But I guess you pay for location and the trendy vibe that this place has. I didn’t have a problem with any customer service.
Valet is very strange. I pulled up (skrr), and the attendant was acting like he didn’t want to take my keys. Then when we were leaving, he took forever to get the vehicle, when it was 10ft away and we were the only ones trying to get our cars. Like dude, that’s a Rolls. You want a good tip or nah?

I’ve had several stay-​cations at this hotel and always have had excellent service. You clearly get the most bang for the buck here.
Ate lunch in the bar area of their restaurant. In particular Karen that works coffee bar went above and beyond with customer service skills. She really did a great job and made me feel right at home. Her explanation of their coffee options was so good I switched from my ice cold & professionally shaken Chopin martinis to a super tasty Cappachino.
Great job Hotel Derek!

The lobby is pretty hip and updated.
Fun bar/​restaurant with amazing food and service.
It all goes from 5 star to 1 star once you go to your room:
We checked into our king room and we were almost depressed thinking this 350 sf room with cheap lipstick for a re model with popcorn ceilings was home/​office for the next 3 days.
We asked to up grade to a loft suite as it was a small price difference. ($ 250 to $ 285). This room was larger but over looking the loud highway, had a loud rattling AC unit and smelled like smoke.
We moved to now a third room. It is on the other side so it has «less» traffic noise. The pillows are hard, the bed is sagging and my wife and I are both itchy and can’t sleep. Hopefully it’s not bed bugs…
We will be trying to check out in the AM and relocate.

Stayed here for one night and one morning this week for a company retreat. So I can’t really speak to pricing and cost, but only to my experience with the amenities and service. The hotel has a very unique Western vibe to it, which occasionally feels a bit forced. Case-​in-​point: 8 TVs playing an endless loop of cows grazing might be overkill. But other more subtle aspects work (i.e., the oil-​black floor, the Texan art and architecture, etc.). Apparently they project old Westerns out by the pool. The room was large, plain, and clean, with a decent shower and plenty of lamps.
We participated in a mixology contest wherein teams competed to make the best Moscow Mule with the ingredients on hand. The cocktails were judged on taste and presentation. It was a fun exercise in teamwork and I’m still salty that we lost.
Following this event, dinner was served in the banquet hall nearby. To start, I had the lobster bisque with sherry vinaigrette, which was spicy but thinner and more delicate than most I’ve had in the past. My main course was garlic bleu cheese crusted beef tenderloin. The meat was cooked past medium-​rare (barely even pink in the center), but still managed a relatively soft texture. The bleu cheese wasn’t super sharp and provided a nice creamy finish. It came with some average mashed potatoes and some sort of egg-​asparagus side. I finished off with the red velvet cake, which was intimidatingly large. The icing was tasty, but the body was a little dry. The next morning, we had a meeting over Hotel Derek’s Breakfast Bliss buffet. The food was pretty standard, but the mini lox bagels and parfait bar were hits.
The service overall was attentive and efficient. This clearly wasn’t their first rodeo, and the staff on hand was well-​equipped to support corporate events. I did have a somewhat rude interaction with a lady at the front desk, but I’m willing to write that off as a fluke. Seems like a lot of folks had negative experiences with Hotel Derek, but mine was pleasant across the board. But then again, didn’t really have to pay for any of it…

I stayed at this hotel for 3 nights. During all four days, I experienced great service by all employees: the receptionist, the waitress for breakfast, the security guard, the cleaning personnel… all were amazing. Whenever I needed something, people took care of me immediately. I know that the hotel was busy accommodating many customers, but I definitely felt cared for.
Moreover, the room itself was great. I didn’t find any problems with the hotel itself; the bathroom was clean, the bedding was comfortable, and the interior of the hotel room was very well-​decorated. The room was quiet and I slept peacefully. Most of all, it was great waking up to an amazing Houston view, and looking out the window at night to see the nightlife.

Stayed here for 1 night on Saturday for a bachelorette party. The room was clean & ok, we were disappointed by the view of the parking lot but we are from Houston so we didn’t really miss anything I guess. The staff was odd (front desk & bar) except the person that checked us out, she was great! We were trying to figure out the reason behind the cow theme but it was entertaining.
It’s very well located but I feel like we should have gone to a different hotel & gotten more bang for our buck. The cocktails at the bar were overpriced.
I had been curious about this place for a while, Iwas not impressed & I would not recommend it.

I had the pleasure of staying in one of the two Penthouse Suites at the Hotel Derek for a few days. Overall, it was a very positive experience.
Hotel Derek is a boutique property with very contemporary design that has 300+ rooms and suites. Its lobby is filled with cool spaces to relax and socialize. Cool art is displayed throughout the entire hotel. The onsite bar/​restaurant serves good food and drink (with a very nice happy hour). And there is a business center, fitness facility and small pool. The location, next to the Galleria, is also nice.
The Penthouse Suites are very large at 1,200 square feet, and was designed by Texas-​based design firm Flick Mars in collaboration with Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, one of the country’s première furniture retailers with a location just steps from the hotel.
Like the overall property, the styling of the Penthouse Suites is very contemporary. They each have a dining area, living room with a wet bar, bedroom, two full bathrooms and a private balcony. I found the space very comfortable and approachable. However, as nice as it was, I find the value of the $ 2,200 per night price point questionable. I think my wallet and I would have been just as pleased with the property staying in a smaller (yet still spacious at 350 square feet) and far less expensive Standard Room.

The short version:
Don’t book here if you need an early check in. They won’t accommodate you or will make it a huge pain to do so because the front desk staff doesn’t seem to have the ability to communicate directly with the cleaning staff. That’s poor management.
Original review;
The customer service leaves a lot to be desired.
We weren’t expecting a free upgrade when we let them know we were getting this room for our honeymoon. Though my friend got a free room upgrade to the presidential suite at the Ritz Carlton in Miami when he got married, so nice hotels do that. But, whatever. I wasn’t expecting that at all when I called to push up my check in time so I could drop off luggage and use the room to put on my tux. I only mention it because they charged me for an upgrade because they couldn’t accommodate an early check in (see below).
Check out time is 11am so it should be no problem to have a room cleaned for a 1pm check in. Early check in is pretty standard in the hospitality industry. They couldn’t do that and made me pay for a room upgrade because they couldn’t accommodate the room we had. Wow.
For adding stress to the wedding day and charging me for an upgrade because you couldn’t accommodate a simple early check in, I give one star.
Update:
3 employees passed me as I was schlepping the luggage myself from the garage.
The view I paid to upgrade for was a stunning view of the roof of the parking lot. Awesome.
Update part II.
By 1:30 they had moved me to the original room which they said they couldn’t make ready until 3pm.
We had to pay to leave the garage because they didn’t set up the ingress/​egress function on the key card which I though I paid for. If we didn’t have the garage ticket handy, we would have been late for the wedding because there is no way to exit without your garage ticket or a functioning key card.
The shower in the morning was lukewarm but the parking garage elevator was like a sauna.
They add 100 dollars per day to your card which is really unnecessary. Technically it’s kind of okay for a 2 day stay but I’d avoid a long stay here if you are a traveling business person and that will max out your card.

Hotel Derek is one of the few properties that I’ve been to within the US that conveys the impression of being a work of art. Very relaxed and professional staff, comfortable rooms and amenity features, and a lobby area that is quite memorable.
The restaurant food choices are exceptional (in my opinion), albeit a little pricey. For example, I paid $ 10 before tip for a triple expresso and a doughnut. $ 4.60 of that $ 10 was just for the doughnut. The restaurant employee actually talked me into it, so I said, why not? There is a restaurant buffet within that would put any other hotel’s buffet to shame! Well worth the stop before you make your way out to shop on Westheimer. And if the traveler didn’t know, Hotel Derek is within walking distance of The Galleria (if you wanted to do that). Also, the hotel seems to have strictly valet parking, which can range anywhere from $ 18 – 40 if staying overnight.
Nonetheless, the room rates for this hotel are fairly reasonable, given how and who you booked your room with. They can go from $ 129 – 169 easily, which is Westin Oaks or Westin Galleria rates. While Hotel Derek is not a boring hotel nor is it in the design of more traditional stalwarts such as The Westin, Marriott or Sheraton, it is a hotel designed for those that want a taste of something new.
Highly recommend Hotel Derek either to stay at or entertain one of your guests. The hotel will seriously make you want to TURN DOWN FOR WHAT?!!

Alright. Booked the hotel through hotel tonight web sight. It had the best rate. After seeing some previous reviews I was a little worried. My experience was more than fine. It started with the friendly valet guys who let me park while checking in. Check in was easy and efficient. Parking was not bad. Just need your room key to access the garage.
On to the hotel, well it is crazy hipster. Dim lighting, crazy art, young hip employees. I am into none of that. I am old and grouchy. But everybody was nice and helpful. Up checks so far. Location is good near the galleria and they have a transport service to get you anywhere in the area. The room was good. Tv was fine with all the required usual channels, wifi was fast and free. Overall the experience was great. Not a hipster by any measure, but if you are, this is the place for you. The major negative was the bed frame. It sticks out and I must have bumped my shin at least ten times.
The food in the restrain ant was very good, with a burger that is top notch. The bar area is fine but not crowded at all. Experience as a whole is great.

I have no idea why they spell derrick as Derek or where they got that name, but that is probably only because I tend to think in terms of oil and oil well derricks when in Houston.
The only reason I ended up staying here was that the nearby Sheraton, just up the street, where I usually stay was packed full with some sort of convention like thing going on. The Derek is considerably less expensive than the Sheraton, not nearly as nice, with one of its biggest downsides being a certain lack of curtesy, refined manners and friendly politeness on the part of the staff. Also though it does have a restaurant, Revolve, I thought that the food fell somewhat short of that served in the Sheraton.
Another thing is that one might want to be careful with regards to their personal possessions. I noted certain questions about that expressed in other Unilocal reviews and when I was at the Derek I indeed heard and spoke with a gentlemen who told me when he put a briefcase down on a table then, just stepped over to the nearby reception desk for a newspaper, his briefcase ended up having vanished. Though that certainly wasn’t the fault of the hotel, caution might well be advised.
The good parts of the Derek are its great location being just a J-​walk cat corner away from the huge Houston Galleria Mall plus a good number of nearby excellent restaurants. Also, the rooms are rather decent in size and clean enough with a pleasant décor. They also, if you don’t mind wandering around your room looking like a cow, have cow patterned bathrobes. I have no idea what that is all about, but this is Texas and I can only suppose them meant to be in keeping with ideas it being cattle country.
Overall I’d say the Derek is OK as a hotel, nothing really special and I would go Three Stars on it but only going Two Stars because of the unpolished rather unmannerly staff.