<p>I will be moving into Rice in mid-August. Can current students recommend nearby hotels that are good and reasonably-priced? Thank you.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.riceoweek.com%5B/url%5D">www.riceoweek.com</a> will have an updated list soon-ish. For now, <a href="http://tinyurl.com/mlyax%5B/url%5D">http://tinyurl.com/mlyax</a> is a list of all area hotels. You should ask for the Rice Orientation rate--a lot of places will give you a discount.</p>
<p>We like the Best Western 6700 S. Main. It's less than a mile from Rice (walkable), and we've paid less than $80 a night always. It has a good continental breakfast...... Check out the liar</p>
<p>hey do students from say massachusetts who have to fly like 6 hrs to houston usually come the morning of the 20th? Or do they fly over the day before and just stay overnight at a hotel?</p>
<p>Fly over the day before. Move-in times vary by college, but the timeframe is always between 9:30 and 11:30 on Sunday, meaning that your six-hour flight would have to leave sometime very early in the morning, and I don't know of any 3am flights...</p>
<p>debating whether to have son fly in on 19th from west coast, stay at a nearby hotel overnight and move in on 20th without us and then visit him for parent's weekend 3 weeks later. The other option would be to fly in with him at orientation and forget about parent's weekend. Any thoughts on which would be best? Do most freshmen have parents with them for move-in?</p>
<p>We all went the night before and stayed with him overnight in the hotel. It was worth it, because we still had some things to buy and he needed the car and extra hands for move in. Move in day has wonderful orientation for parents, too. We're in NY and didn't go back for parents weekend, which was cancelled because of Hurricane Rita, anyway. It was great seeing his room, meeting his roommate and his parents. Next year he's on his own, but has friends with cars who will help him pick up his stuff in storage and help him move in. The first year, if possible, it's worth the trip. I may not visit again until graduation, but may try for parents weekend one year.
Another tip, we went shopping in NY at Bed Bath and Beyond and had them ship many things down, making move in day a lot easier. Once you have your child's residential college they will tell you where to send things. Good luck!</p>
<p>We stayed at that same Best Western recently. It was $96 a night, but it was a busy Houston weekend. My ONLY complaint? The towels are terrible! If I stay there again, I'm bringing my own!</p>
<p>We went down a day or so earlier and stayed at a hotel nearby. From Boston you can get a direct flight (4 hours) on Continental to IAH (Bush International). We spent the day before doing alot of shopping for things like computer printer, desk lamp, bookcase, chair, rug, plastic bins, plus all his toiletries and junk food. Would have been expensive to ship from New Hampshire. DS gets a storage unit for the summer and basically only brings home clothes and his laptop.</p>
<p>I wouldn't have missed bringing him down for the world. It was great meeting his college masters and O-Week advisors. The greeting received when you drive into the parking lot at the college is something I'll never forget. They have it so well organized for move in, we didn't have to lift a finger bringing everything into his room. Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info - we haven't booked any tickets yet so will change plans to attend O-week.</p>
<p>Always ask for the Rice Discount; we called Best Western, and asked for it, and they quoted a 79$ rate - then offered us a $74 "manager's special" since it was lower. Holiday Inn was also okay, but a few steps further from Rice.</p>
<p>Just returned from Houston and stayed at the Hilton Medical Center on Travis. It's the second time I've stayed there this year and can highly recommend it to anyone.</p>
<p>I actually prefer the Warwick, since its closer to the museum district, but its closed for renovation. It was quite nice before the renovation so I expect it to be exceptional after completion. I tried to make reservations for August but it will still be closed so back to the Hilton.</p>
<p>I heard that the Marriott Medical Center was very nice but I've never stayed there so I can't say for sure</p>
<p>The Crowne Plaza is also closed for renovation, which is also very nice.
As you can see there are a lot of choices in the Rice and Medical center area to choose from.</p>
<p>What ever you do don't neglect going to some of the outstanding exhibts at the different museums. Right now there is one called Boby Worlds the is amazing.</p>
<p>Typo - actually is Body Worlds.</p>
<p>i think hotels can never be cheap..but i guess it is all about comparison..which one is cheaper in relation to the other one.</p>
<p>Ditto what anxiousmom said-- ask for the special rate. (you are a good pupil, anxiousmom :) ). I have a friend who is bringing her s. this August. She said the rate went up at the Best Western-- to something like $89 or 94 (I forget which)</p>
<p>We like the Marriott Medical Center. It is really nice, right across the street from Rice, and usually has special rates which include breakfast. Weekend rates are usually quite good. The big drawback is that you have to pay to park in their captive lot. It's still worth it, though. The Hilton is good, too. We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express, but it was a few miles away. A lot cheaper, though. Make sure you have breakfast/brunch at Buffalo Grill. Anyone can tell you where it is. Cheap and great food.</p>
<p>We have also stayed at several of the hotels along Main Street. If you have a car we like the Best Western or the Holiday Inn because they both have free parking and you can easily take a small side street to Rice without having to cross/deal with Main Street. This is not a big deal at some times, but Main can be quite busy at other times.</p>
<p>Also - you may want to try Priceline. Since there are so many good hotels in Houston there are good deals available. The Medical Center zone is the one close to Rice. I know that the Marriott (3<em>) and the Holiday Inn (2 1/2</em>) have been available through Priceline. I used Priceline last fall when we took my daughter back to Rice, and we got a 4* hotel in the Galleria zone for $46. I couldn't decide between a nicer hotel or being close - if I do it again I think I'd opt for Medical Center.</p>
<p>I'd suggest looking at the SpringHill Suites (by Marriott) down on Old Spanish Trail. It's not far from campus (about 5 minutes) and the Rice rate was only 75, I think. Pretty good deal if you plan on buying a lot of stuff and want the extra space that the suite gives you. I stayed there last year for move-in and it worked well for us.</p>