HOS Parking, hotels?

[Gord]

Doing a trip from Memphis to New Orleans to Houston and return. I am a frequent Amtrak traveler but this will be the first trip on the Sunset and to Houston. Looking for info. on parking at or close to the station and recommendations for hotels and restaurants close by.

Is the Sunset typically close to on time at Houston?

Thx.

Gord

 

[bmjhagen9426]

I have no info concerning the on-time performance of the Sunset Limited #1 into Houston, as I have never been there. Expect for the worst, but hope for the best. When you call Amtrak to buy your tickets, you can ask the agent about the historical on time performance of the trains you have been riding, such as "How's the on-time performance of Train number 1, the Sunset Limited, into Houston?". The agent should, if he or she has such knowledge, tell you the answer, such as "Train #1 is (X hours and) Y minutes early/late into Houston (during the last week)".

As for hotels, give Expedia a try. Enter in the city that you need lodging in, enter in the dates, and hit search. When you do get the search result, look for the ones close to the station, and I prefer to order by price per night, so you see the cheapest ones first at the top. Also, you may want to look for the ones that say "book now, pay later" and/or "Free cancellation", so that you don't have much to lose if you change your mind.

As for dining, give Yelp a try. Enter in "restaurants" in the "Find" textbox, and the city you are looking at in the "Near" textbox.

 

[ehbowen]

In my experience the westbound Sunset is usually at least close to on-time. There is parking at the station although overnight parking is "at your own risk". The neighborhood is not the best but also not the worst; if you stick to populated areas and major thoroughfares you should be OK.

There are rental car offices downtown but most all of them close about 6 on weekdays (earlier on weekends) which makes hooking up with them a chancy proposition from the westbound train. I spoke with the Hertz office and they said that they are willing to have someone stay late, within reason, for an Amtrak passenger who is expected and who communicates the delay with them. However, if the train is several hours late you will need to take a cab to the airport; cab fare to Hobby from the Amtrak station is $26 flat rate or meter fare (plus tip), whichever is less (don't let the driver try to con you into saying that the station is in zone 3, which is $38.50!). Hertz didn't say anything about reimbursing cab fare but if push comes to shove get a receipt; the worst they can do is say no.

There are three good sit-down restaurants within walking distance of the Houston Amtrak Station which I recommend. Landry's Downtown Aquarium is the closest and priciest; it's just the other side of the freeway...look for the Ferris Wheel. The Spaghetti Warehouse is about a half-mile away; call it a fifteen minute walk; it's quite reasonably priced and as such is very popular, especially on weekends or theater nights...be prepared for a wait, sometimes a LONG wait. Birraporetti's is about a twelve minute walk near the Alley theater; they stay open late for the theater crowd and are intermediate in price between the Aquarium and Spaghetti Warehouse. See my post in the "What to do in Houston" thread for more info.

As far as hotels, it depends on what you are in the budget for. If you can afford the high end, check with the Hyatt Regency or Hilton Americas Houston, both downtown. The Lancaster Hotel is a restored older hotel in the theater district reasonably close to the Amtrak station which may have a more pleasing atmosphere; rates on Expedia are $165 right now. There is a Holiday Inn and a Holiday Inn Express in the downtown area, both showing rates in the $145 range as of today. If you want cheap-cheap, let me know and I'll do some looking around, but fair warning: You are unlikely to find cheap and good anywhere in the immediate downtown vicinity.

 

[Bob Dylan]

ehb has given you good "Boots on the Ground" info.

I stay @ Club Quarters Downtown on Fannin St. which is not far from the Amtrak Station, and is convient and comfortable for under $100 a night. Nothing fancy but a good travelers Hotel!

 

[Gord]

Appreciate all the good advice, folks.

Thanks,

Gord