Disappointing
My husband and I stayed at Alden for a lay over. It is located in downtown Houston, and has a charming look to it. While I'm sure the hotel tries, it simply lacks many things that a 4 star hotel should have.
Location: If downtown is where you need to be, the location is fine. It is close to all the main sights and while the environment is not as charming as one might hope, really a place is only as dangerous as you make it.
Room: The room was modern and a good size. However there was lots of dust and stucco/drywall on the floors (I have no idea why), as well as hairs in the bathroom. One phone in the room did not work, while the other was unable to connect downstairs). There is no hotel information book, so unless you looked up the hotel amenities on your own, or went downstairs every time you had a question, there was no way to know what the hotel actually offered, including the fact that they charge for toll free calls. However the Aveda bath products were nice.
Service: The staff was friendly enough, but lacked the service that is usually seen in 4+ hotels. We were not given any information on Houston, including the fact that on Sundays (which was the day that we were there), everything was closed, that there was a fitness center on site, or that they offered a free cab service. When we checked in there was a tray of dishes and left over food outside in the hall. 10 hours later, the tray was still there. Again, I don't think our room was cleaned all that well. The best service we received was from the valet guy who helped us put our luggage in the shuttle when we left.
The Alden is pretty average and more like a 3 star hotel. However, for a boutique hotel that present itself as so much more, it was very disappointing.