Staycation time
Putting on the Ritz: Trio of Dallas hotels named among best in U.S.
In typical U.S. News & World Report fashion, the ranking machine has devised a foolproof, unbiased methodology to rate the Best Hotels in the USA.
After culling through recommendations from many sources and comparing reviews, accolades and ratings for nearly 2,000 luxury hotels throughout the United States, editors from U.S. News & World Report named their top lodging choices.
Dallas hotels claimed three spots on the list: The Ritz-Carlton Dallas ranks No. 18, the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek ranks No. 33, and the Four Seasons Resort and Club at Las Colinas in Irving ranks No. 51.
The editors had high praise for the Ritz:
The Dallas edition of the luxurious Ritz-Carlton brand has many of the amenities you'd expect from a five-star hotel and more — for instance, not just a pool, but a saline-treated rooftop pool; not just facials and massages, but a 12,000-square-foot spa. However, guests say that the rooms alone are worth the Ritz's high price tag. Spacious and elegant, these high-end digs come equipped with Frette linens on the beds and BVLGARI products in the bathrooms, not to mention massive HD televisions and fully stocked mini-bars.
Houston doesn't fare so well in the 2013 edition of the nationwide list. Only one local lodging — the St. Regis Houston — is counted among the 164 hotels, barely sliding in at No. 152.
Scale the search down to just Texas, and Dallas-Fort Worth has half of the top 10 hotels in the Lone Star State, including the first three slots (Ritz-Carlton, Mansion and Four Seasons). The other Dallas area hotels making the cut are the Rosewood Crescent (No. 7) and The Ashton in Fort Worth (No. 10).
Mokara Hotel & Spa in San Antonio, a refuge for relaxation, came in at No. 108 on the list, and the Four Seasons Hotel Austin on Lady Bird Lake took No. 162.