Houston Journals

Best of IgoUgo

A Trip to Houston Texas

A travel journal to Houston by Absy_Baby

Quote: Hotels, Shopping and Resturants in Houston, Texas

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Cheesecake Factory

Restaurant | "My Idea of Heaven!"

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The cheesecake factory, as the name doesn't fully imply, is a chain of restaurants in the US. They do specialise in fantastic cheesecakes but don't let the name fool you, there is a lot more involved in this wonderful place. When and Where ----------------------- On my recent trip to Houston, Texas, my other half and I noticed this restaurant at the local mall just a few blocks from our hotel. I instantly recognised the name, as any big bang theory viewers will know that this is where Penny works! So after a brief look at the menu on the wall, we decided we would have to head back later for dinner. According to their website, www.thecheesecakefactory.com there...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 11, 2025

Cheesecake Factory
5015 Westheimer Road
Houston 77056
(713) 840-0600

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Galleria

Attraction | "A Top Notch Designer Mall"

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Before booking my recent trip to Houston, Texas with my other half, we looked into what to expect when we were there, activities to do and places to visit. The Galleria Mall is the official 7th largest Mall in America. Seeing this and knowing just how much myself and my fiancé like shopping, I booked our hotel just a few blocks down the road from the mall, with every intent of visiting.

Located in the "up-town" part of Houston, named "The Galleria District" this mall stands proud covering nearly 3 million square feet of space (this includes the 2 tower blocks and all of the office blocks located on the land)

The mall itself is laid out over 3 floors with the bottom floor having an ice rink in the centre and home to the food court. There were many places to eat here including McDonalds and various other fast food places, as well as small cafes and larger restaurants. Oh and it wouldn't be complete without a Starbucks.

The remaining 2 floors were packed with shops and lead to the bigger department stores located at either end of the mall (Dillards, Macy's and Nordstrom)

It's a monster of a mall to say the least having over 345 shops, but to be honest; it didn't feel that big really...although my local shopping centre is a third of the size. We arrived at the mall and quickly located one of the many maps dotted around, to work out which entrance we came in and to see what was on offer and plan our attack. The maps were bright and easy to spot, and spaced evenly over the 3 floors, so which ever part you were in you could work out where you are.

The actual mall is spotless, much like most of the Up-town area in Houston, the floors are marble and sparkling, all glass is perfectly cleaned and not a spot of litter in site. Even though I didn't notice that many bins around it was extremely clean.

Now the main problem with this mall that may not be a negative for everyone is that it's a "high end" mall. Basically it's packed with designer shops. I admit ignorance here not thinking to check before hand, but after seeing it had 345 stores, I assumed there would be a few at least we would enjoy strolling round. I think in total we visited 4 shops with serious intent on looking for something to buy, which were: hot topic (a clothing and music type alternative store) Lids (a hat store) GameStop (surprisingly enough, a games store) and Abercrombie and Fitch

Although we had a pleasant enough day strolling around and had a nice lunch etc, I couldn't help but be disappointed by the lack of shops for people in my situation, my situation being fashion impaired and way too cheap to spend over £50 on any item of clothing.

To give you an idea, the main shops in the mall were: Burberry, Chanel, Jimmy Choo, Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Armani, Luis Vuitton, Tiffany, Versace, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. Now I'm not even sure if I spelt half of this right, so that pretty much sums up my relationship with designer clothes. As I said, I can't comment that it is a negative for everyone as obviously if you want to shop in designer clothes then this is Mecca!

Everyone we encountered, be it shop staff or fellow shoppers were very pleasant, although I did feel a little under dressed from time to time (apparently shopping in a designer mall requires designer attire!) I even left my phone at Starbucks and it was handed in to the mall security that in turn made a call to my mum from their landline using the number from my phone, who called my fiancé to call the security office. I called them and they advised me where my phone was and were happy and cheerful to get it back to me. I was very impressed as this all happened over the space of about 15 minutes.

There is definitely a day or two worth of shopping to be done here, with many of the shops, mainly the larger department stores, needing a good hour to get around in all the different sections. It was just a shame that it wasn't really what we were expecting. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on August 11, 2025

Galleria
5075 Westheimer Road
Houston, Texas 77056
(713) 622-0663

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Houston Museum of Natural Science

Attraction | "Educational and Fun!"

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On my recent trip to Houston Texas, my other half and I jumped in a cab to visit the "Museum of Natural Science.Entrance / Location ------------------------ The museum is located in Houston Texas and is in the "Museum District"The Museum is open from 9am - 5pm in general, but opens later on a Sunday morning and closes later on a Tuesday evening. First impressions of the museum were positive, it's a nice large building and has lots of space as you first walk in. The ticket booths are easily located directly to your left as you enter. Prices / Attractions ------------------------ The museum offers a much bigger array of ...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 11, 2025

Houston Museum of Natural Science
5555 Hermann Park Drive
Houston, Texas 77030
(713) 639-4629

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Houston Zoological Gardens

Attraction | "Lions and Tigers and Bears...Oh My!"

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The Houston Zoo is a large 55 acre zoo that is home to over 4500 exotic animals located in, yep you guessed it, Houton Texas, USA. The zoo itself can be found just behind Hermann Park and the Houston Museum of Natural Science, in the "Museum Disrtict" of the city. The zoo is open from 9am - 7pm and costs only $10 per adult (anyone over 12) or $6 for children under 12. I think this is fantastic value for a family day out as you can stay in the zoo for as long as you want from opening to closing. The entrance is large and clearly marked with plenty of free parking for those driving. The first thing I noticed about the zoo when we went was how colourful it was, from th...Read More

Member Rating 5 out of 5 on August 11, 2025

Houston Zoological Gardens
1513 North MacGregor Drive
Houston, Texas 77030
+1 713 533 6500

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Hilton Houston Post Oak

Hotel | "Outstanding Quality"

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The Hilton hotel located on Post Oak Boulevard in Houston, Texas is where my fiancé and I spent 6 nights of our recent trip to Houston. Booking and Prices --------------------------- The Hilton website has a separate page for each of its hotels across the globe. On these pages you can get information on all the facilities that are on offer as well as check photos and virtual tours. To book, there is a room availability checker that allows you to see if there is space for when you would like to stay and which types of rooms are available, of course the prices are also included here. These can be viewed in both US dollars or UK pounds. I really liked this featur...Read More