Hotel ZaZa Houston

My wife and I were secheduled to stay at another hotel that we have traditionally celebrated our anniversary at, with an overnight stay. We like to enjoy the pool, but due to a last minute plan by a business group, the pool was closed to that party until 8:30. Since, this did not work for our plan, we cancelled our reservation and decided to go stay at another hotel. But, which hotel. I looked on my TripAdvisor App and found high praise for the Hotel Zaza. Som we made our decision and booked our reservation on the way there. The Zaza had a special for a King room, which included the valet parking charge ($35) and a voucher good for Breakfast For Two. Sounded perfect for us. We arrived and immediately encountered great hospitality from the valet and bellman. I had the pleasure to be checked in by a Alexia. She is the kind of person who lets you know that you made a great decision to stay at the Zaza. She was welcoming and asked if we were celebrating something special. I relayed our story of the other hotel and she said she was going to win us over to the Zaza, since it was our first stay there. She gave us a room upgrade because of our anniversary and a voucher to use on the property. What a great start to our stay! Our room was a Splendito Suite. This is an 800 sq. ft. suite, consisting of three rooms (large bedroom, dining and living) and a Hollywood bath, The suite was well appointed and had a view of the Museum District next door. Oh, and the hotel has some interesting art and photographs throughout the property. After dropping our bags in the room, we went down to the pool. It was late in the afternoon and the weather was about to turn to rain, so we did not enjoy the pool as much as we would have liked. The pool has a number of private sitting areas with televisions, in addition to the poolside pool,chairs. You can also go take in the view of the Mecom Fountain. Later that evening we went downstairs to the Monarch Restaurant. Great selection of drinks to start, and strong. I had a Moscow Mule and my wife had a dirty martini (you get to make it as dirty as you like yourself). Our waiter, Ernest, took great care of us and was attentive without being overly attentive. I recommend the Chicken Cobb salad, which we split. We also split the ribeye steak. All very good and cooked well. The next morning, I ordered breakfast for us. They told us it would be about 35 minutes, but arrived in about 20 minutes. We enjoyed our breakfast in bed, showered and checked out. The checkout went well, with the valet and bellman quickly taking care of pulling our vehicle up and taking our bags downstairs. The only things that were not "perfect" was the mattress was not quite as comfortable as we would have liked and the room seemed a little warm during the night. The A/C was working fine, so we were not sure why we both felt hot at night, but we did. And the breakfast plate had sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, but that is a "personal taste" issue. Overall, we thought the staff was top notch, very accommodating and friendly. The room was wonderful and well located. The food was very good. We both agreed that we would like to rerun one day. Book with confidence.

We enjoyed a stay-cation recently and were impressed by the rooms. We had a pool king, it was very spacious, well kept, comfortable. The rest of the stay left a lot to be desired. First, the check-in, check-out and other interactions with the front desk were tedious. Although the lines at the front desk were not long, it took forever nonetheless. The valet is ridiculous, it takes 20 minutes to get your car. Call ahead, otherwise you will have a LONG wait for your vehicle. The reason we stayed was the pool and cabanas. Terrible decision. The cabanas are not located on the pool, instead they are behind a dividing structure, hidden away. If you have a cabana you will not be in the sun and you will not be on the pool itself. The pool was filthy. Trash was floating in the pool along with plant debris and dirt. The music was terrible, it reminded us of elevator music. It was not upbeat or popular. Several people asked for a change, the hotel never did anything to accommodate. The guests poolside looked like they were there for a good time as well, but nothing was happening - it was as if the hotel was catering towards an elderly convention. We were all disappointed. ZaZa pool used to be a popular adult hangout, a bit of Vegas in Houston, now its dirty and slow.

Overall loved this hotel. The service was top notch! We stayed here for a week during my husbands radiation therapy at MD Anderson. We loved getting to ride in the fancy Cadallac Escalades they used for shuttles. The drivers were so nice!!!! Our room: We had a balcony king on the 5th floor. Loved the view. Loved the floor to ceiling mirrors. Beds very comfortable. We slept great. The Monarch restaurant: AMAZING BREAKFAST!!! We ate here twice and can't brag enough about it. The cons: the pool was absolutely freezing in June. It was unusable. We tried to find the hot tub, where there was none!!! Big disappointment!!! So we decided to relax by the pool and enjoy the sound of the waterfall. This was very nice until a staff member came and told us the pool closes at 9. Seriously?????!!!!! Also to note: this is not a place for kids!!! There is slightly inappropriate art hanging everywhere. I would not take my kids here. Anyway, we probably will be back, but wish someone had told us about the pool before we booked. It was a big disappointment.

This hotel has the best customer service I have ever experienced at a hotel. The staff truly achieves a rare standard of excellence. I read the reviews before I booked at Hotel ZaZa Houston, and it exceeded my expectations. Everyone at this establishment is friendly and welcoming, from the valets, to the front desk, the restaurant, and the spa. The management is doing an unbelievable job of creating a culture of superior customer service. I congratulate every employee at Hotel ZaZa! All of you are outstanding I enjoyed dining at the restaurant, siting out on the patio for relaxing, pleasant meals. The waiters were friendly and service was great. Coffee and tea are available on each floor in the mornings, which is a very convenient and nice amenity. There were two weddings onsite the weekend I was there, and it was a little noisy in the early morning hours the first night I was there. I mentioned it to a front desk employee and received an email from a manager with an apology and an offer to contact her if I encountered any other difficulties. The second night was extremely quiet. My room was comfortable and very clean. The décor is quite trendy. I cannot say enough good things about this hotel. I highly recommend it! I intend to stay there the next time I visit Houston.

You wanna know the truth? Here it is. Buckle up The Hotel Za Za stands alone as one of the most extraordinary"experiential hotels" in the United States. This may sound hyperbolic, given that I haven't been to all the hotels in the United States, and also given that the Hotel Za Za is in Houston, TX, which may for some feel less like a world class destination and more like a city one goes to out of obligation (weddings, conferences, family picnics, etc.). I'm not trying to diss Houston, but I'm just saying that Houston isn't Paris or Dubai. Okay, I digress. The point is this: if you're headed to Houston for any reason at all, Hotel Za Za will magically turn your stay into something otherworldly, something worth writing home about, and something transformational in an eat, pray, love kind of way. First, let me explain what I mean by an "experiential hotel." There are plenty of boutique hotels out there, and boutique hotels have seen a great resurgence in the last fifteen to twenty years when it became less fashionable to stay at big bland monolithic hotels like "the Sheraton" or "The Omni" with their predictable and only serviceable amenities like the pool, the gym, the restaurant and the gift shop. Rather, a new, younger and more sophisticated clientele began to seek out experiences that were unique and that didn't come in a one size fits all package. Boutique hotels offer clients the idea of a hotel experience--something beyond the utilitarian purpose of a hotel, which is simply a place to rest one's head. Boutique hotels offer interesting decor, fine or unusual dining experiences, fun accoutrements, and little surprises. And boutique hotels tend to be smaller than the monoliths, which make them feel more intimate. Boutique hotels are selling an experience rather than simply the function, and it is fair to say that among boutique hotels, Hotel Za Za stands alone. Location: Za Za's location is truly unparalleled. The hotel lives in the building that once housed the old Houston institution, the Warwick It sits in the museum district right on the corner of Hermann Park, and is walking or short driving distance from the Museum of Fine Arts, the Natural Science Museum, the Zoo, the Montrose district, Rice University, River Oaks, and the Galleria. This location thing is important because arriving at the Za Za feels like arriving in a real city--a walking city. There is an immediate vibe as soon as you arrive. You can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone. You feel like decking yourself out in your chanel sunglasses, louboutins, and LV handbag. The location is also important because whoever you are, whatever you are doing, you are proximate to your destination. So the Za Za is a kind of crossroads, a meeting up place for the young and hip and the old and hip. It's like Grand Central Station in this way--it is a place where you meet people you'd otherwise not meet in the lives we lead, where we are deeply embedded in our own homogenous ruts. Za Za upends those ruts, and puts us in proximity to cool, hot, old, young, professional, creative, lover, fighter, big shot, small fry people of all walks of life. It is a snapshot of the best of who we are as Americans. Truly, it reminds us what makes us great. If a hotel can be a microcosm of the best part of ourselves, Za Za is that microcosm. And location is what allows it that luxury Decor: Refurbished and reimagined since its old Warwick days, the Za Za is now a kind of mash up of old school glamour, southern decadence, and rock and roll. First of all, one must comment on the red of the building, which stands out from the crowd in the quietly chic museum district. The Za Za is theatrical and loud. It's like the drag queen on stage at the symphony. It can't help but scream: I'm here Darlings, take note! And boy do you take note. Driving down Fannin, you can see the big Z peering out from the tops of trees, and the almost magenta of the building is at once welcoming and slightly provocative. When you stay there, there's an instant thrill in returning to the hotel after a long day. you're coming back into the warm embrace of your drag queen friend, who is waiting for you with a chilled glass of rose and a couple of hot tamale candies (this is true, by the way). There are hints of the Chelsea hotel of old with the strangeness of the art and furnishings--the kind of decor that demands one interact rather than just view. And the Chelsea echoes don't stop there. There is a feeling, when you enter the Za Za, that you are becoming a part of history. You imagine that someday, people will write about the Za Za, about who stayed there, what went on in the Magnificent Seven suites, who jumped off a rooftop, who did what where and when. and you'll be a part of it in an Andy Warhol 15 minutes of fame kind of way. This dreamlike suggestion of being a part of a history in the making is stirred up and plated for guests immediately on arrival. Gauzy photographs of old Hollywood celebrities and new starlets deck the walls in the lobby, and in the hallways that lead to the rooms. There is Elvis and Gaga, Emma Watson and Robert Downey Jr. The good girl bad boy thing is purposeful, I think. There are guilt frames with steampunk/mannerist paintings, purple snakeskin wallpapers, a big grand piano, an even bigger crystal chandelier, giant drums for coffee tables, and a koi pond. The place is off the hook, quite literally. Staff: Okay, so here's where the Za Za really takes it up a notch. The staff is friendly, smiley, shiny, and pretty, but not obsequious, not fake, not crazy to get you to tip them extra. There are plenty of people to wait on you hand and foot--plenty, but their vibe is easy and breezy. They are helpful but not in your face. They are competent but not braggarts. The valet staff is cool and collected. They wear warby parker glasses and converse shoes. They are an attractive bunch, but they aren't feeling their oats. They don't act as though they've got a tiger by the tail. I've been to the Za Za only twice. But both times I've had stand out members of the Za Za staff who went above and beyond to help me. This visit, it was Azam. Let me tell you a little bit about him. We arrived at the Za Za, my kids and I, after booking a room through booking.com. There was a slight screw up with the booking. I booked for Sunday night, but actually needed two nights. So, I had to go through the awkwardness of checking in for Sat. and checking out Sunday, and then rechecking in. Azam made this transaction super easy. Here I was, a single parent with my two kids, frazzled from a long drive, more frazzled because of a booking snafu, and Azam treated me like I was Kate Middleton. He ensured he'd be there to help me through the transaction on day one and for the transaction the next day. And indeed he was. He was also there on check out. He asked me about my stay, made it clear that he enjoyed helping me out, and was eager to ensure I got my car on time, my bags taken care of, and anything else I needed. This depiction may seem to you to be the bare minimum one should expect of someone working the front desk of a hotel, but I am here to tell you that it isn't that Azam did something remarkably uncharacteristic of a hotelier. What he did was exactly the thing he should be doing and in exactly the right manner. He was competent both in the substance of his work and in the style of it. I don't know what it is Azam wants to do with his life, but whatever it is, he will be successful, because he takes pride in his work and he works hard. And that hard work comes through. Oh, and Azam seems to really love the Hotel Za Za, and that also makes guests feel like they are getting to have a truly special experience staying there. Here's another thing I'll tell you about the staff at Za Za. You don't see them acting bored or texting their friends when they aren't actively engaged in client interactions. They are a staff that seems cohesive, focused on one goal only: delivering premier service to their guests. I mean, when I took my kids down to the pool, there was someone who checked us in, and he was a terribly competent gentleman. And then there was a young lady who made sure we didn't need any drinks or anything, and she was lovely and also competent, and then there was a gentleman who ensured we had towels. Nobody hovered. Nobody overplayed their hand. Everyone made sure we knew that they were at the ready, but they also gave us space to enjoy the space we were in, and that we did. Rooms: The rooms at the Za Za are well appointed. I haven't stayed in any of the special suites, though I did book a suite on my first visit that I had to exchange for a standard room because I needed two beds. It was a cool room that looked over at the pool, and I would have liked to have had a chance to stay there. But, even the standard rooms are awesome. They have plenty of storage for clothes, and have little amenities that make things just a little bit better, like an LED makeup mirror. Let's talk about the robes for a second. Plenty of hotels offer robes, but there is something special about the Za Za robes. I am a petite woman, so most hotel robes simply overwhelm me. And the Za Za robes are big and fluffy--no doubt. But there is something about the way they wrap around your body that makes them "fit" better than your standard hotel robe. I love the robes, and fantasize about owning one of my very own. Every hallway has a little butler's pantry that offers tea and coffee in the morning. What could possibly be better than being able to pad outside in your Za Za robe at the crack of dawn to grab a cup of coffee and a paper? I'll tell you the answer to that question: nothing could possibly be better. Food: Because I have kids, and because my kids are Texans, it is hard to get them to walk to the fine restaurants all around the museum district. I did get to take them to antica osteria the first night we visited, which, if you haven't gone, is a lot like the Za Za in that it is a perfect, cozy, old school experiential restaurant. But other than that, my kids wanted to eat at the hotel. So, we breakfasted at the Monarch, and I'll tell you, everything was fantastic. The sorghum butter elevated french toast from delicious to other worldly. The berries were just the perfect ripeness. The juices, freshly pressed, made us feel delightfully awake and energized, and the hot cocoa with rock sugar stirrers were a delicious surprise for two delicious children. I cannot comment on the spa, because I didn't have a chance to use it. And I cannot comment on the workout room because, alas, I'm a lazy middle aged woman who should be exercising more. But I can tell you that when I come again I am first off going to be in better shape because I'm planning on getting my "hot body" on this year, and second off, I'm definitely going to use the spa because I'm gonna be leaving the kids at home! Finally, let me comment on the eat, pray, love comparison I made up top, because I can't just let that hang there with no explanation. I don't know if you've read the book Eat, Pray, Love. It got a lot of hype when it came out, mostly because it made Oprah's list, but also because it tapped into this sort of silly "self care" movement that is all the rage among the millennial set. I say with pride that I am not a millennial, and I also say with pride that I am not, nor was I ever a devotee of Eat, Pray Love. But the sentiment therein is worth exploring. Let's put it simply. Life, once lived (that is, once you're past thirty), is pretty rough. Once you're past thirty you've loved and lost, you've had some disappointments, and even some catastrophes. You've failed, you've won. You've been unmasked as the imperfect being that you are--that we all are--and so, finding time for a reset--a kind of eat, pray, love sort of reset--is good medicine for all of us. Now maybe we aren't all Elizabeth Gilbert, and we can't go off to Europe or India to find ourselves, but we can do small acts of self care that allow us to reset and to reflect and, ultimately, to take stock of our failures and successes and to realize, in the end, that even though we are bad sometimes and brilliant other times, it's okay, because we are human. And our humanness is kind of glorious when you think about it. What does all of this have to do with Za Za? Well, Za Za is, or can be, one's Eat, Pray, Love reset. It has that capacity. You go in there, you enter the fabulously eclectic lobby, with its crazy rococo decorative stylings, and its "I'm not sure what I want to be so I'll be it all" aesthetic, and you feel instantly as though this is the place where you can find your spiritual center. I say this somewhat tongue and cheek, but you know what I mean. It is possible to go to Za Za and be anyone you want to be. But it is also possible to go there and to be totally yourself. It is a place of pretensions and of no pretensions, and for a literary humbug like me, that makes it the perfect place to eat, pray and love. Full disclosure: I am a jewish atheist, so the praying was really not so high on my list as the eating and loving was. Listen Za Za, you are the best. I will write a review for you on Tripadvisor that is much more conventional than this crazy thing. I will sing your praises to anyone and everyone I meet, and I hope you just keep doing what you're doing. Also, if you ever find it in your heart to send me a robe, I won't turn it away. :-) Thanks for making me feel like a somebody, for treating everyone like they matter, and for being a place that is more than a hotel- thanks for Rose and for tootsie pops. Thanks for hot tamales and hot valet guys. Thanks for a cool pool and a great room-thanks for being an experiential hotel without equal. Thanks for Azam. He rocks. Unparalleled. Fantastic. Vive La Za Za! Love, Jennifer Bartlett, San Antonio, TX