Where to stay in Houston

When you land in Space City, there are three different areas we would recommend for your Minute Maid Park stay: downtown Houston near the stadiums, the Galleria, and the Medical Center/Museum District—along with The Heights and Midtown if you’re planning to explore vacation rentals. 

Downtown Houston is recommended because of its proximity to the stadiums and makes getting to Minute Maid Park very easy. The Galleria and the Museum District are good because they offer plenty to do and see while in Houston. There are also Airbnb options in popular locations throughout the city which we will explore at the end of the chapter.

TSI recommendation for lodging: Downtown Houston

If your priority is visiting the ballpark and making your experience as easy as possible, then downtown Houston is the best option for your visit. With approximately 30 hotels within a one-mile radius of the ballpark, there are plenty of options to choose from, and you won’t have to worry about getting to/from the stadium. Just lace up your shoes and you’ll be good to go. We won’t go into detail about each hotel here, but there are a few we will highlight below. 

Although being close to the ballpark is definitely the main reason to stay downtown, there are a lot of other things to do in the area as well. There are some notable attractions to check out, including Discovery Green, the Downtown Aquarium, Saint Arnolds Brewery and House of Blues, which regularly has live music and concerts. 

There are also plenty of restaurants, and two that I would recommend checking out are Potente and the original Ninfas on Navigation. Potente is an Italian restaurant located right across the street from the ballpark, which happens to be owned by Jim Crane, the owner of the Astros. That makes zero difference to us—we just like it. I highly recommend the Spaghetti al Tartufo Nero there. Houston is also known for their Tex-Mex, and the original Ninfas on Navigation has been a local icon since 1973. 

Downtown Houston can be pretty lively at night (especially on the weekends). If you want to do some bar hopping, most of them are located on Main Street. Although Houston does have a higher crime rate than some other cities, as a general consensus, downtown Houston is safe to walk around during the day and at night. With that said, in any big city it is wise to travel in a group when possible and stay in higher populated areas.

TSI’s suggested hotel zone

We would recommend that you target your hotel search to the following area:

• North boundary: Commerce St.
• East boundary: Hamilton St.
• South boundary: Jefferson St.
• West boundary: West Dallas St.

We think that this is the area that is appropriately/safely walkable from the stadium.

Absolute closest hotel to Minute Maid: Westin Houston Downtown

Although you can’t sleep inside the stadium, you can get pretty darn close. The Westin Houston Downtown is literally across the street from the ballpark. Formerly named “The Inn at The Ballpark,” this hotel offers views of the stadium and a baseball themed cafe.

The most unique pool you’ll find: The Marriott Marquis

Another popular option would be the Marriot Marquis. This hotel was built in 2016 and is a great option if you are wanting to add some Texas flare to your visit. Among the features here are:

• The world’s largest Texas-shaped rooftop lazy river. To be sure, it’s probably not hard to be the world’s largest Texas-shaped rooftop lazy river, because how many could there possibly be? But nevertheless, if you’re visiting when it’s hot, which is almost always, it would be a fun place to stay, especially for kids. 
• Biggio’s: named after Astros Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, this two-level bar and restaurant is a popular pre-game destination for fans.

TSI’s second choice for lodging: The Galleria

The Galleria area is one of the most popular locations for out of town visitors. It does not offer the same convenience to the ballpark as staying downtown would, but it’s only about a 25 minute drive on most days. We recommend staying here if you want to add more to your trip than just going to the ballgame. The centerpiece of this area is its namesake, The Galleria shopping mall, which is the largest mall in Texas and the 7th largest in the US. 

Aside from the mall itself, there are a ton of bars and restaurants in the area as well as the waterwall, a popular tourist attraction. Similar to downtown, there are a lot of hotel options to choose from. The Westin Galleria Houston is connected to the mall, which makes it a really convenient place to stay.

Medical Center/Museum District

This area is situated between the Galleria and downtown and could be a good option if you are bringing the kiddos along or are a museum person. Among the local attractions here are the Houston Zoo, Houston Children’s Museum, Houston Museum of Fine Arts, and Houston Museum of Science. 

The hotel options in this area are not as vast as the previous two, but still have some options to choose from. The most notable hotel here is the Hotel Zaza. Aside from traditional guest rooms, they offer seven “concept suites.” Among these is the “Houston we have a problem” suite (space themed). But you won’t feel as if you are traveling to the moon and back if you choose to stay here. The area is connected to downtown via the METROrail. While it doesn’t make a direct stop at Minute Maid, it will get you pretty close (6 blocks). You can view more details on this in our chapter on Local Transit. If you choose to drive or rideshare, it will take you about 12 minutes to get to the ballpark.

Airbnb Options

The Heights and Midtown are also viable options for your stay. They are not mentioned above because of the lack of hotel options in these areas. The Heights is a charming suburban area and is very walkable. You will find lots of local coffee shops and merchants here and it is only about an 11 minute drive to the ballpark. Midtown is just outside of downtown and has a lively bar scene. This area tends to be more of a younger crowd and can get quite noisy at night, so if you’re interested in a more relaxing experience, we wouldn’t recommend staying here. As mentioned, both of these areas are lacking in hotel choices, but if either appeal to you, there is usually a good amount of Airbnbs available.

Bottom Line

There’s no question that downtown is the most convenient place for you to stay to enjoy Minute Maid Park. So if baseball is the focus of your weekend, we’d recommend staying downtown within walking distance of the ballpark. If you’re looking to explore a bit more and want to have more things conveniently accessible during the day, the Galleria is a good option. If you’re a museum person and want to stay close to those, then the Medical Center/Museum District is for you.