We are arriving at George Bush airport at 16.25 on a sunday in January and have booked one night at Magnolia Hotel.I am happy with the choice of hotel having just read some reviews on this forum.Do you think that this is realistic,using taxi from airport and needing to return for our flight at 11.40 the next morning?I realise the taxis might be expensive but we desperately wanted to avoid being sealed into an airport hotel after our long flight from UK! We are flying to belize and hope we can get some rest before our next flight.I thought we had allowed enough time but have just browsed post which mentioned horrendous traffic jams in Houston!What do you all think?Many thanks from first timer to USA!

You won't see any traffic on a Sunday afternoon into Downtown, and you won't see any traffic on Monday going back to the airport, as you are going against rush hour traffic. Even rush hour is not bad going to IAH, as one of the freeway getting there has been widened just recently. I can drive IAH<->Downtown in 20 minutes in each case.

Taxi to/from airports in Houston go by zone. Downtown is $37.50 per cab, plus a few dollars of surchages, and minus 10% senior discount if you qualify.

There are hotel shuttles, but with two or more people, cab is easier and faster, and doesn't cost much more. If you want to go cheap, there's a public bus (#102) that costs $1.50, but takes an hour.

Thanks for your reply-you have reassured me that we made the right decision!

Let us know if you would like any restaurant recommendations for your dinner on Sunday evening.

Enjoy your trip!
Susan

Thanks thats a really kind idea-we arent sure how tired we might be but it would be good to have the option of somewhere with an authentic texan feel in downtown area(if that is possible?).Any good ideas?
thanks.

Hmmm... it looks like many of the restaurants I would recommend to you are closed on Sundays. So far, the only ones that appear to be open on Sundays are some of the more upscale (less "Texas-y") restaurants, such as Quattro in the Four Seasons Hotel and Vic & Anthony's (an expensive steakhouse). Here's a link to a review of Quattro: http://houston.citysearch.com/profil..._0_profile_2_1


Oh, it looks like I might have found a good option -- The Twisted Fork is open 7 days/week. They bill themselves as an American Tavern (not exactly Texas, but it's a good option if you want something really casual). Here's their website: http://www.rdgchicago.com/TwistedFork/Houston.html

The Twisted Fork is in a shopping mall (which will be closed on Sunday evening), and it's right across the street from The Four Seasons Hotel. So if you wanted, you could go from one to the other to compare menus/ambiance to see what you're up for. It's about 6 to 8 blocks from your hotel to The Four Seasons Hotel. I walk around there all the time during the day and it's perfectly safe, but I would not recommend it on a Sunday after dark, as the streets will likely be pretty deserted. So, please, take a taxi to dinner.

If you're not too tired, and are up for a little adventure, you could take a taxi to Chuy's, which is a really fun, casual Mexican restaurant about 3 miles from downtown. The cab ride will likely take you right through River Oaks, with its million dollar + mansions. Chuy's has great Mexican food and it's really reasonably priced. You will need to ask the restaurant to call you a taxi to return back to your hotel.

I'll let you know if I can think of anything else. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Susan