We stayed at the Derek and went out with some friends in Houston. When they returned us to the hotel late that night, we all went to the bar there for one last drink. There were two really cheap nasty low-class "working girls" that approached every man in the bar, passed out business cards, and, it seems, finally found a taker. Maybe I misunderstood, but it certainly sounded like the manager of the bar then made a call to the front desk and got the guy a room so he and his "date" could go upstairs and seal the deal. I guess the bar is getting a cut of the action? It was all pretty entertaining to watch, we laughed about it the whole time as we observed the process for about an hour until the bar closed, and then we hung around the lobby for a few more minutes to see what happened next. But it made me a little creeped out about the cleanliness of our room after seeing the dirty trashy prostitutes that appear to regularly work the hotel. (The bar manager obviously knew these two gals, and no one working at the bar or in the hotel seemed at all disturbed at the street-walking outfits and the business going down.) The other problem we had is that the Hotel Derek would appear to be the preferred hotel for hip hop artists and their massive entourages. I like hip hop, but I don't really like noisy hallways, crowded lobbies, and the partying that accompanies celebrity hangers-on. We had a great (if somewhat party-wrecked and shabby) room with a view on the 15th floor, but our whole floor reeked of smoke (and I don't mean cigarette smoke) as soon as you stepped off of the elevator. And there were voices in the hall into the wee hours of morning. This is obviously a party hotel, and not quite the fun, romantic getaway we were hoping for. If you want to party, get stoned, wade through herds of wannabe groupies, and pick up prostitutes, then you should stay here. We won't be. Although we did get some great stories out of our stay there...
Pros: They have the cheapest valet parking of any nice hotel in Houston
Cons: Prostitutes, partying and illicit substances
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