A glowing red grid of shelves around the check-in desk at Hotel Saint Augustine evokes a Piet Mondrian painting more than a display for custom-made incense and other fancy wares. The lounge and listening room—which boasts an 8-track player and a collection of vinyl—engulfs guests in a gorgeous mashup of curvy midcentury furnishings and lush English manor accents like a brass and mirror cocktail bar and velvet lounge chairs. There are 71 rooms and suites, each tucked away in one of the hotel’s five airy wood, brick, and concrete two-story buildings. The structures are arranged around a courtyard of garden paths, so taking a stroll is like exploring a modernist architecture commune. Yet for all the cultivated touches, there is not a single piece of art on the walls.
But with a neighbor like the Menil Collection, why hang art? Built by Dominique and John de Menil, the late Houston philanthropists who devoted their lives to transforming Houston into a modern art mecca, the Menil Collection offers Saint Augustine’s guests the chance to see works by Magritte, Miró, and Warhol just a brief walk from their hotel room. “Our goal was to create an aesthetic that balances discernment and irreverence and blends careful curation with whimsical taste,” says Jou-Yie Chou of the Post Company, which designed Hotel Saint Augustine.
Much of that melding of whimsy with curation derives from the de Menil’s River Oaks residence. “The de Menil’s courtyard house led us to craft the site as a succession of buildings around a series of outdoor spaces so that the guest experience is one of being immersed in an inviting garden,” says Chris Krajcer of Lake|Flato, the architecture firm behind the project.
Hotel Saint Augustine’s immersive pleasures extend to food as well. In addition to the lounge bar, the hotel is home to Perseid, a Gulf Coast-inspired bistro helmed by Aaron Bludorn, the Houston culinary darling whose eponymous restaurant was a James Beard semifinalist last year. Rooms start at $429/night. bunkhousehotels.com
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1 ⁄ The Lancaster
A stay at this elegant 1926 hotel plants you amid the Houston Ballet, Alley Theatre, and the new Lynn Wyatt Square for the Performing Arts. After Hurricane Harvey flooded the 93-room property, owner and art collector Jay Shinn revamped the hotel, installing works by Texas artists throughout. Rooms start at $355/night. thelancaster.com
2 / La Colombe d’or
Housed in a 1920s brick mansion, this art-filled boutique hotel seems closer to the French Riviera than Loop 610. Inspired by a bohemian French inn of the same name, the 32-room Montrose hotel dazzles with ornate chandeliers, a bar area with emerald wallpaper, and a grand piano in the lobby. Linger over a luxurious lunch at the hotel’s French bistro, Tonight & Tomorrow. Rooms start at $517/night. lacolombedor.com
3 / Blossom Hotel
This 267-room high-rise hotel is a stylish and comfortable home base for visitors to any of the 19 museums in Houston’s world-class Museum District. The pet-friendly hotel has a rooftop pool, a medical spa, and a playful white marble lobby dotted with pink tufted chairs and modern light fixtures. Rooms start at $150/night. blossomhouston.com
