Comfortable enough, but bring your hipster jeans
My family of four spent a night at the Aloft by the Houston Galleria as a stopover on the way to the gulf coast. More or less follows the pattern for what I have heard some call "boutique hotels"--simple but comfortable rooms from a 5-star chain, but with minimized service to lower the price (1 or 2 at the desk at any given time, pay-as-you-go amenities, ice in the lobby only, etc.). Staff was very helpful, room was clean with very modern decor, free wi-fi. Galleria is just a short walk away, as are a number of quality restaurants (Capital Grille has excellent steaks, and Truluck's is top-notch surf & turf). 
Valet was an odd situation--I'm staying at a cheaper, less-frills hotel to avoid charges like that--and the theme for this chain seems to be "budget hipster": ultra trendy, club music playing in the background, lots of embroidered shirts, jeans, and 1-inch-soled high heels drinking cosmos & mojitos. For what it's worth, that seemed to fit the neighborhood, but Mom, Dad, & two young kids on vacation didn't fit the profile. The hotel was also hosting a party--not just people in the bar, a party with DJ & the whole nine-- the night we were there, so we had to deal with a lot of noisy pre-party door slamming & hallway conversations, midnight party noise from the patio below our room, and 2:00 AM loud drunks in the hall & rooms next door trying to decide whether to make a Whataburger run or just pass out. Hosting a party in a place like this is odd in itself, but a heads-up when we made the reservation or checked in was in order. Not a bad place to stay--I'm willing to chalk up the party to unfortunate circumstance--but I'm clearly not cool enough for this branch of the Westin family.