Thursday 28th Feb, Len had another boat for us to look at after a frought week in which there were no new boats for us to view in Florida. This time, the boat was in Houston, Texas.
We frantically made plans for us all to fly to Houston on Sunday 3rd Feb. Warren and I had tickets already booked through Houston for our return flight out on the 16th March. For a small fee we were able to change our tickets to stop over in Houston on the 3rd March, continuing from there to SFO on the way home on the 16th. This solved one of our major return flight problems. We would have had only 30 mins to meet our connecting flight from Tampa to SFO on the original ticket.
We didn't feel comfortable going to Houston without Len, so booked him a flight and hotel to accompany us. This was money very well spent. Not only was he another pair of eyes and ears, after our failed efforts elsewhere, but with 40 years in the boat brokerage business, he was an expert in his field. He also knew the selling broker for some 30 years.
We again booked into a Hilton property. Len recommended the Hilton Garden Inn, and we found one in Webster, Houston, about 9 miles from where the boat was moored. It didn't show on the GPS, so we rang the hotel for directions. The young man on the other end of the phone was detached and almost rude in his directions. Upon arrival, we went to check in. Same young man was busy shooting pens into a container on the desk and we had to wait for him to finish this before he unsmilingly greeted us. We asked for a luggage trolley for our large amount of luggage, but none was forthcoming. Explaining this as "people leave them in their rooms....they'll come back, some time". That wasn't good enough for us and we ended up walking all our luggage into the hotel and to our rooms.  We left to go and see the boat, and returned in time for Happy Hour. Sitting at the bar, we ordered drinks which he couldn't fulfill and Len ordered a cocktail specifically asking for ingredients, but the barman started to make it without those ingredients. The order was cancelled as the hotel did not have any of the ingredients for any of our drinks! Reordered something easy...a glass of wine, and, not feeling like going out for dinner, decided to order food at the bar.
Warren ordered a pork loin in apple cider with mashed potatoes and beans. I had ordered the Salmon with bok choy and a soy-style sauce plus salad. Len decided not to eat. When the food came out, the mashed was on my plate with the salmon, and Warren just got the beans. The salad was out of a bag and no effort had been expended to actually 'make' a salad. The sauce for the salmon was so salty as to be inedible. The bok choy that accompanied the meal was swimming in the sauce, so that was also inedible. I complained. The barman said they had received complaints about it in the past. Well, why were they still serving it? No answer to that one.
We left disgruntled. The hotel was not inexpensive for the night, and I had booked us all in for three nights.

Warren and I went for a morning walk the next morning after breakfast. We had not been satisfied with Breakfast either. The wait staff were a little over-eager and attempted to remove our food plates when we were not finished. That and the almost cold coffee poured at the table were inexcusable.
No sooner had we gone out the driveway,  than we found a neighboring Hampton Inn. We went straight to the front desk and asked if they had any rooms available for the following two nights. We told the Manager why and were informed that the two hotels were 'sister' hotels and managed by the same team. She turned out to be the Hampton Inn's area manager. Good thing we talked to her. She arranged everything for us and the rooms were ready for occupation when we returned with our bags less than an hour later.

We returned to the Garden Inn to find Len already complaining. We asked for a manager, and were told he would be in around 10 am. We couldn't wait. We did intend going back to the Hotel to make complaints later in the day. We told the head receptionist we would be moving across the road and explained why. He comped our meals but said he couldn't refund our next two nights. We would have to phone Expedia who had booked the rooms for us. So much for the Hilton guarantee that you have to be 100% satisfied, or they will refund your money!
We went out for the day on Monday. We had moved all our bags into the Hampton Inn before leaving for the day. That felt better. Home ground, as it were. The property does not have a bar or restaurant, but there were so many of both in the surrounding area we had plenty of choice. We came back to the Garden Inn in time to engage the Manager in a dialog. His body language was combative, as was his manner. Len did an admirable job of stating our cause. We could understand the demeanor of the staff, after meeting the Manager. Things really do start at the top!!
We managed to sort out the refund business by having them pay for the next two nights with the Hampton Inn. A call to Hotels.com was not fruitful in the refund department, and they had told a couple of lies at the Garden Inn, in reference to refunds. Another reason to not go there!


We had arrived in Houston on Sunday at noon and immediately gone to view the boat. Food was first though, and fortunately a Subway was right next to the Marina. Fortified, we were able to look the boat over without thinking of our rumbling stomachs.
This boat is a 55 ft Grand Harbour, with an overall length of 57 ft 6". Like the previously viewed Horizons she has heavy stainless steel fixtures, though the windows and doors are Aluminum. She is a solid fiberglass hull which is a plus, and though she is a 1999 boat, she has been well looked after internally.
After viewing her favorably on Sunday afternoon, we decided to go ahead with a Survey. This was arranged for Tuesday morning, bright and early (8am).
We had Monday to do what we wished, but wanted to take another look at the boat. We spent a couple of hours going over and inside her and making sure we were comfy with the boat before the survey. After lunch we drove down to Galveston Island with Len....he had the rental car, so he drove... and rediscovered the place we enjoyed so much on our 2010 visit. We were sad to see not much had changed in the middle of town, and that lots of low cost shops had gone into the Strand. The pier where the Hotel once stood has also been removed, so there are now no interruption to the line of sight down the beach.