ZaZa takes its show to Houston

By Toni Salama | Tribune staff reporter

September 16, 2007

Hotel ZaZa

5701 Main St.,

Houston, Texas; 713-526-1991; www.hotelZaZa.com/houston

Whatever image you've formed of Houston, it plummets into the abyss at the darkly fascinating Hotel ZaZa Houston.

Flush with Hotel ZaZa's rousing success in Dallas (Conde Nast Traveler's Readers Choice Award 2006 and Gold List 2007), the Houston incarnation opened June 4 in the once-legendary Warwick Hotel. By day, the location alone is enough to recommend it: in the center of the Museum District, at the doorstep of 445-acre Hermann Park, smack dab on the light-rail line to downtown.

By night, the hotel's two valet porticos and even the side street are jammed with cars the price of mansions and limos so stretched they barely make the turn into the drive. Houston's socialites crowd the sidewalk, eagerly awaiting a hard-to-get reservation in the Monarch Restaurant or hoping to snag a seat in the bar, perhaps even under the terrace's twinkle lights.

It feels like a Hollywood premiere. But the heavily theatrical theme misses the "Phantom of the Opera" mark I think it was aiming for.

The standard balcony double offers no more drama than floor-to-ceiling mirrors and black furniture.

A plasma TV on the mirrored wall, extra pillows on a bed of white Italian linens and a digital scale in the marble bathroom all conspire to suburbanize Hotel ZaZa Houston. Unfortunately, the multi-million dollar rehab didn't purge the old-hotel odor from the room we had, and housekeeping left someone else's cigarette butts on our balcony.

Out by the rooftop pool, a Spanish mission finish, iron balustrades and trailing vines strike a Rudolph Valentino tone. A day's cabana rental here, at $350, costs more than a night in a balcony room. It's less expensive to sip a cocktail under the umbrellas of the Spa Cafe or get a treatment in the 10-room ZaSpa.

Enviable though it is, Hotel ZaZa Houston's location in the Museum District has its drawbacks, like shopping and dining.

For real shopping, there's a scheduled shuttle to the Galleria. For larks or emergencies, take the concierge up on his offer of complimentary car service, which may come to the rescue for restaurant forays, too, in the event that a reservation at Monarch isn't in your future.

CHECKING IN/ATTITUDE: I got the feeling from the staff that they were all pretty pleased with themselves for working here. I was impressed by a concierge staff that spent almost 30 minutes trying to find out whether an outdoor event we were to attend would be canceled due to rain.

ROOMS: We paid $252, tax included, for a night in Room 946 and enjoyed the views from the balcony of this tree-filled city. We could see all the way to downtown...and hear every note of music spilling from the first-floor bar and terrace.

In this 315-room property, plasma TVs, cordless phones, high-speed and wireless Internet access, clock-radios and ergonomic desks with executive chairs are standard. In-room safes are, too, but the one in our room didn't work. Scarcely wider than the folding luggage stand inside, the closet held two robes, iron and board, the safe and extra linens, leaving little room for clothes.

BATHROOM: Two-person glass shower, but no tub. Lighted magnifying mirror. Bulgari toiletries. Plenty of oversized fluffy white towels.

KID FRIENDLY: I saw kids in the pool. But it's a safe bet they didn't plan this hotel for families.

ROOM SERVICE: Much of the Monarch's menu is available. But there's no telling how long you may wait for it. We called about 11 p.m. and were told that it would be 30 to 45 minutes before they could process our order because they were running behind. And all we wanted was coffee and hot water.

PERKS & PEEVES: It was great to stay so close to the museums, but the decor made the hotel seem as if it were trying too hard to show us a good time. I'd much rather have seen the morning "butler's pantry" on our floor sufficiently stocked.

BOTTOM LINE: From about $235. Tax rate 17 percent. Handicap accessible. Pet friendly.

IN THE WEB EDITION

For a video look at Hotel ZaZa, go to chicagotribune.com/sleepingaround