Where to Stay Now 2004
I've eaten room-service dinner on a balcony over the River Walk, sipped a smoking martini, enjoyed a crushed-pecan body polish, soaked in a tub with an Alamo view, and generally had a swell time sleeping around (usually swaddled in luxurious linens). Why all this hard labor? So I could tell you about the ten Texas hotels that—at this precise nanosecond in time—are my special favorites.
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Their conversations are probably as mundane as ours, but it sure seems as if the crowds that regularly gather at this artistically landscaped patio bar are talking big and deep, plotting peaceful revolutions or their next film projects over fine wines and microbrews.
Shopping hub:
Westin Galleria, Houston
A multimillion-dollar makeover has left the Westin with spacious, minimalist rooms—all with balconies and many with expansive views—that beg to be festooned with shopping bags loaded with booty from the 375 stores that are a mere elevator ride away.
Deal:
Hotel Lawrence, Dallas
The great rates at this easygoing 1925 hotel belie its recent renovation and primo location in the West End Historic District. The rooms are light and airy, with top-notch amenities and spunky color-splashed bathrooms, and it enjoys the coziest of relationships with Old Red (the former Dallas County courthouse), the 1916 Union Station (with DART and Amtrak lines), and Dealey Plaza. Bonus: You get a deluxe breakfast and milk and cookies at bedtime.
View from a bathtub:
Emily Morgan Hotel, San Antonio
Do you think it's sacrilegious to gaze down on the Alamo while soaking in an oversized whirlpool bath—or do you think it might help you sort through the myths and bad movies that swirl around the Texas shrine? Although several rooms in this recently renovated 1926 Gothic Revival beauty have tubs with a view, the best is in the Plaza Suite.
Family fun:
Woodlands Resort and Conference Center, the Woodlands
In this resort's new two-acre water wonderland, kids can zip down a three-story corkscrew slide that shoots them out through a waterfall, play water volleyball or basketball, eye underwater mosaics, or run amok among the Sprayground's computer-activated jets. If they get waterlogged, rental bikes are available to explore 120 miles of trails through the pines.
Room with a view:
Cabin 103, Chisos Mountains Lodge, Big Bend National Park
It's cruel to even mention this stone cabin, with its iconic view of Big Bend's mountain-framed Window, since it's typically reserved up to two years in advance. But all is not lost: The views from the more easily snagged Casa Grande rooms in Lodge A run a close second.
Winter lobby:
Houstonian Hotel, Houston
Set amid an unexpected eighteen-acre stand of pines in the Galleria area, this tranquil property, better known for its sports facilities, multiple pools, and grand spa, boasts a monumental stone fireplace in the hunting-lodge-style lobby that would put Citizen Kane's to shame.
Urban location:
Four Seasons, Austin
It's as if a country estate has been plunked down in the center of the city. You've got your expanse of landscaped lawn rolling down to the edge of Town Lake and your bat colony that emerges seasonally from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge—and yet you're within walking distance of restaurants, bars, and music venues.
Bar with a view:
Hilton Americas, Houston
Acrophobes beware: The view of downtown from the twenty-fourth-floor Skyline Bar and Grill will either cure you or kill you. Before being seated at one of the tables next to the nearly invisible floor-to-ceiling window-walls, you'd better brace yourself with a signature Sky Cosmo or a pineapple-upside-down-cake martini.
Border town oasis:
Renaissance Casa de Palmas, McAllen
This recently restored hotel, inspired by Spanish Colonial architecture, stars a tropical courtyard with an inviting pool, a tiered fountain, sky-high palms, and three-story ficus trees. Don't miss the 78-year-old Kigelia tree, a native of Mozambique whose deep-purple hibiscus-like blooms open only at night.
Night in the slow lane:
Country Place Hotel, Fayetteville
Take a deep breath, ease into the rocker on the second-floor verandah of the historic Zapp Building, and gaze out at a town square—complete with pecan trees and white-clapboard courthouse—that's straight out of a Norman Rockwell painting.
Directory
All prices are for double occupancy unless otherwise noted. Before you make your reservation, ask about off-season, weekend, and package deals and check the hotel's Web site for Internet specials. At many downtown hotels, be prepared to pay a premium—as much as $25 a day—to park your car.
Ashton Hotel
610 Main, Fort Worth; 817-332-0100, 866-327-4866, fax 817-332-0110, theashtonhotel.com. Rooms from $260, Presidential Suite from $780.
Canyon of the Eagles Lodge and Nature Park
16942 Ranch Road 2341, Burnet; 512-756-8787, 800-977-0081, fax 512-334-2069, canyonoftheeagles.com. Rooms from $109. No TV or room service.
Chisos Mountains Lodge
Chisos Basin, Big Bend National Park; 432-477-2291, fax 432-477-2352, chisosmountainslodge.com. Cabins $93, Casa Grande rooms $83. No phone, TV, or room service.
Country Place Hotel
201 W. Fayette, Fayetteville; 979-966-7771, countryplacehotel.com. Rooms from $95, breakfast included. No phone, TV, or room service.
Driskill Hotel
604 Brazos, Austin; 512-474-5911, 800-252-9367, fax 512-474-2214, driskillhotel.com. Rooms from $200.
Emily Morgan Hotel
705 E. Houston, San Antonio; 210-225-8486, fax 210-225-7227. Rooms from $139, Plaza Suite from $239.
Four Seasons Austin
98 San Jacinto Boulevard, Austin; 512-478-4500, 800-819-5053, fax 512-478-3117, fourseasons.com/austin. Rooms from $260.
Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas
4150 N. MacArthur Boulevard, Irving; 972-717-0700, 800-819-5053, fax 972-717-2550, fourseasons.com. Rooms from $350.
Gage Hotel
101 Texas Highway 90 West, Marathon; 432-386-4205, 800-884-4243, fax 432-386-4510, gagehotel.com. Rooms from $69 (with shared bath) in historic original hotel, from $149 in Los Portales addition. No TV or room service; no phone in historic rooms.
Hangar Hotel
155 Airport Road, Fredericksburg; 830-997-9990, fax 830-990-6096, hangarhotel.com. Rooms $109 SundayThursday, $149 Friday and Saturday. No room service.
Hilton Americas
1600 Lamar, Houston; 713-739-8000, 800-445-8667, fax 713-739-8007, hilton.com. Rooms from $139.
Hotel Icon
220 Main, Houston; 713-224-4266, fax 713-223-3223, hotelicon.com. Rooms from $175.
Hotel Lawrence
302 S. Houston, Dallas; 214-761-9090, 877-396-0334, fax 214-761-0740, hotellawrence.com. Rooms from $119 (Internet specials from $69), breakfast included.
Hotel Paisano
207 N. Highland, Marfa; 432-729-3669, 866-729-3669, fax 432-729-3779, hotelpaisano.com. Small rooms in back of hotel from $79, rooms facing courtyard from $109. No phone or room service.
Hotel San Jose´
1316 S. Congress Avenue, Austin; 512-444-7322, 800-574-8897, fax 512-444-7362, sanjosehotel.com. Rooms from $80. Breakfast room service only.
Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
150 E. Houston, San Antonio; 210-227-9700, 866-842-0100, fax 210-227-9701, hotelvalencia.com. Rooms from $159, with River Walk balcony from $199.
Hotel ZaZa
2332 Leonard, Dallas; 214-468-8399, 866-769-2894, fax 214-468-8397, hotelzazadallas.com. Rooms from $239, signature suites from $350.
Houstonian Hotel
111 N. Post Oak Lane, Houston; 713-680-2626, 800-231-2759, fax 713-680-2992, houstonian.com. Rooms from $169.
Lake Austin Spa and Resort
1705 S. Quinlan Park Road, Austin; 512-372-7300, 800-847-5637, fax 512-372-7362, lakeaustin.com. Two-night stay from $960 per person (includes a fifty-minute, full-body Swedish massage), packages from $1,410 per person for three-night stay; rates include all meals and activities (BYOB).
Lancaster Hotel
701 Texas Avenue, Houston; 713-228-9500, 800-231-0336, fax 713-223-4528, lancaster.com. Rooms from $275.
Magnolia Hotel
1100 Texas Avenue, Houston; 713-221-0011, 888-915-1110, fax 832-201-7598, magnoliahotel.com. Rooms from $179, continental breakfast included.
Mansion at Judges' Hill
1900 Rio Grande, Austin; 512-495-1800, 800-311-1619, fax 512-495-1869, mansionatjudgeshill.com. Rooms from $129, room 24 from $299.
Renaissance Casa de Palmas
101 N. Main, McAllen; 956-631-1101, 888-236-2427,fax 956-631-7934, marriott.com. Rooms from $104.
Riverwalk Vista
262 Losoya, San Antonio; 210-223-3200, 866-898-4782, fax 210-223-4278, riverwalkvista.com. Rooms from $150, Hugman Vista suite $220, Joske's Vista suite $180, continental breakfast included. No room service.
Sam Houston Hotel
1117 Prairie, Houston; 832-200-8800, 877-348-8800, fax 832-200-8811, samhoustonhotel.com. Rooms from $159.
Watermark Hotel and Spa
212 W. Crockett, San Antonio; 210-396-5800, 866-605-1212, fax 210-226-0389, watermarkhotel.com. Rooms from $199 (introductory rate), "spa" rooms from $509.
Westin Galleria
5011 Westheimer Road, Houston; 713-960-8100, 800-228-3000, fax 713-960-6553, westin.com/galleria. Rooms from $99.
Woodlands Resort and Conference Center
2301 N. Millbend, the Woodlands; 281-367-1100, 800-533-3052 (in Texas), 800-433-2624 (outside Texas), fax 281-364-6345, woodlandsresort.com. Rooms from $149.
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