Hotel News

New hotel in Irving draws inspiration from Clint Eastwood spaghetti Western

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

3news.co.nz

A new hotel with a "motor court" approach is getting ready to welcome guests. Valencia Group's Texican Court is a 152-room, retro-inspired motor court concept opening in the Las Colinas Urban Center in Irving on November 15.

Texican Court has a prime location across from the Irving Convention Center and Toyota Music Factory, Irving's concert venue, entertainment, and dining destination. It has three distinct courtyards, a circular pool, wood-burning fire pits, rocking chairs, and live music.

The name "Texican" is a nod to the hotel's design featuring Spanish mission-style architecture with a subtle layer of Texas. There's also a restaurant on site called Two Mules Cantina.

Valencia Group president Doyle Graham, Jr. says in a release that they sought inspiration from a film's theme song.

"We wanted to bring the theme song from the spaghetti Western film The Good, The Bad and The Ugly to life through the design of this hotel," Graham says. "When you listen to the song, you can envision the larger-than-life vistas filled with dramatic backdrops and excitement, and we captured the essence of the tension, and drama characterized by this song in the walls of this hotel to create a captivating experience for our guests."

Two Mules Cantina, which keeps up the Clint Eastwood theme via the 1970 Ennio Morricone film Two Mules For Sister Sara, will be open to hotel guests and the public. It's a stucco building with a grand, two-story-high space surrounded by glass partitions at the front and back; large clerestory windows; a large fireplace; and a central bar as a backdrop.

Executive chef is Patrick Hildebrandt, whose prior experience includes Sweet Basil in Vail, the Empty Stomach Group in San Antonio, and The Hollow in Georgetown, Texas.

He says his menu showcases dishes that remind native Texans of their grandma’s cooking but also provides out-of-state visitors the bona fide Texan dining experience with a bit of a twist. The website describes the food as "some of the best Tex-Mex in the Las Colinas urban area," with tacos and margaritas.

Group accommodations and meeting spaces include the Little Chapel, holding 160 people and ideal for meetings, weddings, and receptions; and the Serape Boardroom, which holds up to 18 people.

A throwback to a time when travel was an adventure, Texican Court provides a home away from home for discerning travelers. The colors, fabrics, textures, sights, and sounds were developed by architecture and design firm Rottet Studio.

Based in Houston, Valencia Group provides management, development, branding, and repositioning services for independent, full-service hotels owned by the company, in addition to third parties. Exceptional service, style and location have become brand trademarks.

The company forges a niche with hotels that anchor and add value to urban, mixed-use environments. Its portfolio includes the Valencia brands: Hotel Valencia Santana Row in San Jose, California and Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio. The Sorella brand includes Hotel Sorella Citycentre in Houston. Other brands include Midway and Valencia Group's The George in College Station and Midway's Hotel Alessandra in Houston. The Court concept brands include Lone Star Court in Austin, Cavalry Court in College Station, and now Texican Court, coming soon to Irving.

hotels

Airport News

Cathay Pacific to launch roundtrip flights from DFW to Hong Kong

Cathay Pacific

Cathay Pacific plane in the sky, coming to DFW soon.

An airline carrier is making its debut at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport: Cathay Pacific Airways, based in Hong Kong, is expanding its North America network with the launch of non-stop flights between Hong Kong and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) for the very first time.

According to a release, it's part of a bigger expansion by Cathay Pacific, which is increasing its number of flights to the US and Canada by nearly 25 percent. It will add four direct flights to Dallas per week, and increase flights to cities such as New York, San Francisco, and Vancouver.

The new service will begin on April 24, 2025

Dallas marks Cathay Pacific’s sixth passenger destination in the U.S. and eighth in North America, bolstering the connectivity of its home hub, Hong Kong. The new service will begin on April 24, 2025.

In a release, Cathay Group Chief Customer and Commercial Officer Lavinia Lau notes Cathay's "deep roots" in Hong Kong, as well as its connection to China.

"Cathay continues to build Hong Kong as a leading international aviation hub that connects people to the most exciting places in the world," Lau says. “Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports. With our Cathay Pacific codeshares as well as other flight options, customers can connect to over 190 domestic destinations in the United States, as well as 11 destinations in Central and South America via DFW, further enhancing Hong Kong’s connectivity with North America and important Belt and Road Initiative participating countries.”

Currently, Cathay Pacific operates 88 return passenger flights per week to destinations in North America, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver.

The airline will operate four return flights per week between Hong Kong and DFW using its modern Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with the following flight schedule:

CX898
Hong Kong (HKG) 16:05 departure
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) 17:55 arrival
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

CX897
Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) 23:55 departure
Hong Kong (HKG) 05:05+2
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday

Cathay Pacific is also increasing frequencies on its North America passenger services in 2025. By May, the airline will be operating 108 return flights per week. Aside from the new Dallas service, this will include three return flights per day to New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles respectively, and a daily return flight to both Boston and Chicago.

Cathay Pacific also continues to increase flights on its services to Canada, with two daily return flights to Vancouver and 13 return flights per week to Toronto.

Cathay Pacific’s new passenger service to DFW will also complement Cathay Cargo’s existing freighter services to the city via Anchorage. To cater for the growing demand during the air cargo peak season, Cathay Cargo is operating five additional return freighter flights per week to North America starting this month. In total, Cathay Cargo is currently operating up to 37 return freighter flights per week to North America.

Cathay Pacific began serving the North America market with its first non-stop service to Vancouver in 1983. The airline’s long-established presence in North America demonstrates the continent’s sustained importance to its overall network.

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