World-Class Accommodations
4 Texas hotels book spots among world's best in coveted annual awards
You don't have to travel far to enjoy world-class accommodations. In fact, four Texas hotels have been named among the world's 50 best in Condé Nast Traveler's annual Readers' Choice Awards.
Celebrating its 35th year, the annual list collates the best hotels, airlines, cruises, and islands — all chosen by the magazine's readers from around the world.
Four total Texas properties made the list, three from Austin and one from Houston:
- The Driskill (No. 3)
- JW Marriott Austin (No. 8)
- Four Seasons Hotel Houston (No. 19)
- Hotel Granduca Austin (No. 29)
Snagging a coveted spots in the top five, downtown Austin's historic Driskill hotel earned a nod as the most "authentically Texas" hotel. The magazine notes its "iconic limestone-and-brick facade," and "light, bright guest rooms" with details such as the "Civil War–era pistols that have been repurposed into lamps." The famous 1886 Chocolate Cake also earned a mention: "It costs $8 per slice, and is worth every penny."
Also enjoying the limelight in the top 10 is the JW Marriott Austin, which the magazine touts for its "prime location, of course, just minutes from the Blanton Museum of Art, Lady Bird Lake, and several hundred music venues."
Houston's Four Seasons' equally "prime central location" in Bayou City helped secure its No. 19 spot. Condé Nast calls out the all-marble and mahogany interior, which "manages to straddle the line between Texas traditional and contemporary."
And last in Texas, but not least on the global list by a long shot, Hotel Granduca Austin earned its No. 29 spot for the "innocuous stucco exterior," which "belies serious magic: a European palazzo-inspired courtyard, stationed on the building's backside. The magazine's praise continues" "this hotel feels worlds away from downtown-hipster Austin ... Request a room on a higher floor, which have small Juliette balconies and views all the way to downtown."
