Woodlands or Galleria area for shopping and exercise?

I will be in Houston for a week the last week in January. My husband will be there on business. He will have a car and I will not. I have only been to Houston one other time, and we stayed at the Westin Oakes (Galleria), which was very nice. I shopped at the Galleria and exercised at the University right beside the hotel.

My husband has been to Houston many times more, and this time he is suggesting that we stay at a hotel near the Woodlands area. He thinks I will like the shopping at a little village near there. After browsing this site, I assume he means Old Town Spring. However, I have also found on here something called Rice Village. Which of the two areas are the nicest for unique shopping?

Is Rice Village close enough to walk to from the Galleria? Is it safe?

Is Old Town Spring within walking distance of The Woodlands area? Is it safe?

Also, if we were to stay in the Woodlands area, where could I go to exercise? I would like a nice place with lots of equipment, not just a tiny fitness center at the hotel. The University Club (if I remember the name correctly) was a great place to exercise.

Thanks in advance for all your help.

Woodlands or Galleria area for shopping and exercise?

No, he means The Woodlands Town Center. It%26#39;s new in the past 5 years. There%26#39;s also a ginormous mall and two movie theaters.

The Woodlands would actually be excellent for exercise and walking. There are miles of paved trails that will take you from one side of the town to the other. It%26#39;s also a very safe area. Stay around the Town Center and you are fairly close to Lake Woodlands as well, which is actually quite nice (you can even kayak or canoe it).

Old Town Spring is definitely not walking distance from The Woodlands though. It%26#39;s mostly antique shops whereas Town Center is more traditional, somewhat upscale shopping.

Maybe someone else knows something, but there%26#39;s not much around the Town Center for gyms aside from the commercial ones. The YMCA and Woodlands Athletic Center both have excellent facilities, but they%26#39;re both pretty far from there.

hth

Woodlands or Galleria area for shopping and exercise?

The Woodlands actually has 2 YMCA%26#39;s, about 2 miles from the Wooldlands Mall area. What hotel would you be staying at? You might check their website for gym access outside of the hotel if they don%26#39;t offer it, otherwise there are lots of trails in and around the Woodlands.

As stated above, besides the Woodlands Mall and the strip shopping centers around it, there is the newer Town Center shopping area which is really nice. It is very pedestrian friendly. Get more info at www.town-center.com.

Old Town Spring sadly is over-rated. It has some unique shops, a few restaurants, art galleries and the like. You can get more information at www.oldtownspringtx.com. You need a car to get here, but it not far off of I-45, about 10 miles south of The Woodlands.

Rice Village is very nice. It is not walkable from the Galleria. There are some nice shops on the other side of Loop 610 from the Galleria, on Westheimer. If you are in great walking shape you could probably walk there, but I would recommend maybe a hotel shuttle to drop off/pick up or taxi. I can%26#39;t think of the name of this place, though I want to say Highland Village.

Hope this helps, and welcome back to Houston.

Definitely The Galleria! I believe that both the Omni and The Houstonian have shuttles to the Galleria. The shuttle would be be no more than a five minute ride. The Houstonian has one of the most expensive private exercise clubs in Houston included in its facilities. You can use the facilities if you are a guest of the hotel. It would definitely be my choice if I had to choose. Although it is very close to the Galleria and all of the offices around there, it is built in the woods so that you forget you are in the city. Go to Houstonian.com to learn more. If you must be able to walk to The Galleria, then the Hilton on Post Oak is a very nice hotel. They have a great Sunday brunch. Also, while The Woodlands shopping area is certainly nice, it still is not near as large as The Galleria.

There is a new really nice 24Hour Fitness up in the Woodlands right by the mall and also a great Bikram yoga place by the mall above Pottery Barn.

The 24hour has lots of classes you can attend. I%26#39;m not sure how you would get a guest pass for a week but I%26#39;m sure you can find out online at 24hourfitness.com.

I dont know much about the woodlands area in the 5 years I had lived in Houston but the few times I went out there, it seems to go on forever with houses, strip malls etc. But they do have more trees too ! Definitely nicer or prettier than Houston main stretch for businesses. Woodlands is quite built up in the past few years and u will find it has everything u need but they are all HUGE (malls especially) facilities. I dont think safety is an issue (see a lot of families with kids and many kids services available).

As for Rice Village, it is a small little area (u can walk around and enjoy the shops and restaurants or bars) and is close to Galleria but not walking distance esp. in that heat and humidity.

Good Luck

PS. U r right about about the gym in the galleria, it is called University Club. There is also a 24 hours fitness on Richmond (in a strip that house a good indian, middle eastern and chinese restaurant), across from best buy or is it circuit city ?

Houstonian is a great club (with 2 different gym due to different memberships, one is more exclusive that the Bush family are members of but u never see them using it so no worries there lol ! anyways, it is a very family oriented club so unless u want to enjoy the facilites with kids around esp. the cafe area, u will be better off at the Galleria coz the University Gym caters mainly to business people. The ladies changing rooms - again there are 2 of them, the one upstairs are for the gold members who have direct access to the gym, but the dressing rooms are big and well stocked with drinks and a nice sitting lounge with TV, phones and comfy sofas though u will find a lot of ladies hanging out here chatting. U have to sign in at the concierge every time u go to the gym to get a wrist band that has an electronic key to get to the club facilities via an in and an out door, sometimes there is a line due to members as well as hotel or spa guests) but I dont think u want to go there for a whole week though the hotel does provide a nice retreat from the rest of the city. I guess it depends on what u r looking for, it is a very nice club and hotel.