Airport Hotels

For early morning flights, we recommend booking an airport hotel. Scrambling to the hotel for your flight is a chaotic blur (shoving all your suitcases into the car, finding a ride, dealing with traffic, etc.).

If you have an early morning flight that means you need to wake up in the middle of the night. No matter how much you have prepared, being in zombie mode is not going to help you with your departure. Being close to the airport, maximizes your available sleep time before your trip. I barely get any sleep on planes so being well rested is a huge plus for me.

We live about an hour away (without traffic) from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) so we know the stress from trying to get to your flight on time. Take in account, how hard it is to arrange for airport rides at certain times. Staying at an airport hotel provides much greater flexibility with these times.

Hotels that are actually connected to the airport are more expensive but you do not have to worry about airport shuttles. While some shuttles are on demand, some run on set schedules that sometimes arrive once per hour. At IAH, the “Houston Airport Marriott at George Bush Intercontinental” is connected to the airport terminals via underground tram. While the tram does not run all night, you could still walk along the tram to your desired terminal.

Many hotels also include breakfast in their rates. As we all know, airplane and airport mostly sucks so it’s a good idea to fill up before heading to the airport. As Marriott Gold Elite members (which is included with American Express Platinum membership), we are offered M Lounge access which the IAH Marriott has. While each M Lounge offers different perks, this one in particular offered 24 hour access to snacks/drinks and a breakfast buffet.

For us, the value of booking the hotel room (more sleep beforehand, less stress, and breakfast) outweighs the cost of the room. When you are traveling with a baby, the less stress the better!