We got an inside look at the special hospital suites where kings and presidents stay when they come to Houston for medical care.
When former President George H.W. Bush was in the hospital, he was in a room on Methodist's famed Fondren 12 floor. It was one of the first hospitals in the country to offer luxury rooms 30 years ago. But now it has some competition.
Memorial Hermann's signature suites will cost you an extra $400 a night. In these luxury rooms, they still have all the medical equipment but they're just hidden. You'll find granite countertops, a paneled closet with robes. There's TV, as you would expect for the family, and a couch that converts into what we're told is a comfortable bed.
"You know they have steaks and salmon. It's a pretty extensive menu," said Wendy Collins, whose daughter, Amanda Sandoval, is staying in a Memorial Hermann Signature Suite.
Sandoval says it gave her family more space, and they liked the amenities.
"The food was actually really good, surprisingly," she said.
"Our food is prepared, we have a special chef so it's prepared by the chef for our guests and patients," said Emily Paisley with Memorial Hermann Signature Suites.
At the end of the hall, there's an assortment of coffee and treats available for families all day.
"I felt kinda pampered. It didn't feel like I was in the hospital really," Sandoval said.
At St. Luke's, their terrace suites offer tea time in your room.
Family members can enjoy their tea in the adjoining sitting room, or they can read by the fire. They can't take transplant patients, but almost any other patient can come here. It's an extra $600 a night, but the hospitals -- and patients say -- you get what you pay for.
"I've had the highest patient satisfaction score within the organization, and I've had that for several years and I'm very, very proud of that," said Debbie Matthew, a registered nurse who works at St Luke's 23 Terrace.
"It's just been wonderful. They have pampered her, and the family," Collins said.
Many of these luxury suites offer a concierge, in-room refrigerators, business center, free valet parking, the Disney channel for the kids, and gourmet meals for a family member. It almost makes you want to go to the hospital!
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