kkukura

Every hotel and/or B & B place in TX has air conditioning.

emd3

Of course they have air conditioning! No hotel in Houston could survive without air conditioning. They just also have ceiling fans, which we really like, as it keeps the air flow going all over the room.

We stayed at Inn at the Ballpark in 2011 (and in 2009, and in 2007) and each time it was very nice. It is not "old and dated." It has classic styling. Nothing about the hotel was dated, in our opinion.

Rich

It is designed to look classical . . not dated in the least.

Rich

I you like good steaks, Vic and Anthonies is right across the street . . be sure to make reservatons in advance

Bwino

Great thanks, glad about the air conditioning, might have sounded like a silly question but ..........

Perhaps the Inn's website does not do it justice. We will certainly put it on our list for consideration. It gets very mixed reviews on TA but of course that is subjective as well.

Thanks Rich, yes we do like good steak.

Bwino

BTW, another what may seem silly question, what is a AAA card that gives hotel discounts?

kkukura

Your questions are not silly. When I travel to other countries I always have a lot of questions too! It is the American Automobile Association, I think- http://www.texas.aaa.com/en-tx/Pages...on&devicecd=PC

kkukura

Have you looked at this website on TX? http://www.traveltex.com/

Bwino

Thanks Kkukura, I will take a look.

texasbookworm

If you are keeping a car in San Antonio, you might be interested in the National Park missions, which are in southern edges of the city (well, it keeps spreading so not really at edges anymore! But not near the Alamo, at least not walking distance.) They make quite a contrast to the Alamo. And the oldest working aquaduct in the US is near one of them. LOTS to see and do in San Antonio. It's my favorite US city.

In Austin the bats aren't always a great sight, depending on month, weather, etc. I've seen video of spectacular great plumes of them, but when I was there in early June in a dry year they only trickled out in the dusk and then we couldn't see them when they poured out in the dark. So if you're even considering this, you want to get current prognostication of worth. Austin is great, too.

If you are still playing with itinerary and want to see the Gulf of Mexico beaches, head from Houston toward Corpus Christi (takes about 4 hours or bit more) and go to Mustang or Padre Island. These are not the lovely beaches of Destin or Hilton Head, but they will give you a flavor of Texan waterfront! San Antonio is about 2.5 hours north (and Austin about 4ish, but obviously not between Corpus and San Antonio so to see it too would take backpedaling!)

Just a thought. Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Corpus Christi have 4 distinctive Texan "flavors"--Corpus is unique given its Gulf location. But you don't want to rush and may only have time for 3 and may prefer the city-stuff the other 3 have to offer. Enjoy Texas whatever you decide!

VolCrew

Stop at the Bluebell Creamery in Brenham, Tx. Take the factory tour and have some great TX ice cream!

Bwino

Thanks Texasbookworm and VolCrew. We will be in Houston for 3 nights only, arrive Saturday afternoon after a very long international flight, baseball game on the Sunday, Space Centre on the Monday and driving to Austin the next day, San Antonio has to be our last stop as we have a conference there. So we are planning staying in Austin for 4 nights Tuesday to Friday. What is the most interesting way to drive from Houston to Austin - we are happy to take all day to get there.