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serious staycation

Tilman Fertitta's Post Oak joins 4 Houston hotels on prestigious Forbes Travel Guide

Teresa Gubbins
Apr 28, 2022 | 11:33 am

Tilman Fertitta's towering achievement, The Post Oak Hotel, has once again booked a 5-star rating by one of the nation's most prestigious guides.

Fertitta's Post Oak joins three properties in Texas scoring the highest ranking on the highly esteemed, newly released 2022 Star Awards, from Forbes Travel Guide.

Those receiving 5-star awards include The Spa at The Post Oak Hotel; Carte Blanche, a chef-driven restaurant in Dallas; and the Ritz-Carlton Dallas hotel.

In addition, 25 other awards were handed out to Texas properties, including hotels and spas in Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San Antonio — part of a field of 1830 winners around the world.

The Star Awards bestow three levels of rankings: Five Star (virtually flawless), Four Star (exceptional), and Recommended (consistently good). Notably, two redesigned Houston hotels scored 4-star rankings: The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa and Four Seasons Houston.

They're the only global rating system for luxury hotels, restaurants, and spas. The full list is online, and includes these properties in Texas:

5 stars

  • The Spa at the Post Oak Hotel / Houston
  • Carte Blanche / Dallas
  • Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston
  • Ritz-Carlton Dallas

4 stars

  • Archer Hotel Austin
  • Austin Proper Hotel & Residences
  • Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Collection / Austin
  • Fairmont Austin
  • Fearing's
  • Four Seasons Austin
  • Four Seasons Houston
  • Four Seasons Dallas at Las Colinas
  • Garrison / Austin
  • Hotel Granduca / Houston
  • The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa
  • The Joule
  • Mokara Hotel & Spa - San Antonio
  • Mokara Spa - San Antonio
  • Ritz-Carlton Spa, Dallas
  • Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
  • The Spa at the Four Seasons / Austin
  • The Spa at the Joule / Dallas
  • St. Regis Houston
  • Trellis Spa / Houston
  • Well & Being Spa at Four Seasons Dallas at Las Colinas

Recommended

  • The Adolphus
  • The French Room
  • Hotel Emma/ San Antonio
  • Hotel Granduca / Austin

It's an especially gratifying win for Carte Blanche, the only restaurant in the state to earn 5 stars, alongside nationally renowned names such as Daniel, Eleven Madison Park, and The French Laundry.

The only other Texas restaurants to win awards are Fearing's, which earned 4 stars; Garrison in Austin, which also earned 4 stars; and The French Room at the Adolphus in Dallas, which made the Recommended list.

Meanwhile, this is the second consecutive year that Fertitta's Post Oak has nabbed the 5-star rating. “This renowned list recognizes the world’s most outstanding hotels, and it is a true honor to be among the best of the best for the second consecutive year,” said Steven Chou, Post Oak general manager, in a statement. “We are immensely proud to receive this global recognition and maintain our Double Five-Star status for Houston. It is an extremely difficult test to pass, and our dedicated staff works diligently every day to ensure all our guests receive a first-class experience.”

Originally known as the Mobil Travel Guide and considered a renowned leader in the travel industry, Forbes Travel Guide releases prestigious annual Star Ratings recognizing the top luxury hotels, restaurants, and spas, based on rigorous anonymous professional performance evaluations of up to 900 objective standards. The rankings are determined by anonymous professionals.

Hotel stays span a minimum of two nights, and they pay their own way. No one can buy a rating, although participants do pay a fee to be considered. But inspectors are anonymous at all times, so they have the same experience as a typical guest.

Tilman Fertitta's Post Oak Hotel scored 5 stars.

The Post Oak Hotel
Photo courtesy of The Post Oak Hotel
Tilman Fertitta's Post Oak Hotel scored 5 stars.
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hottest headlines of 2025

Houston's richest residents, best suburbs, and more top city news in 2025

Amber Heckler
Dec 22, 2025 | 3:45 pm
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston gala 2025
Photo by Wilson Parish
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Editor’s note: As 2025 comes to a close, we're looking back at the stories that defined Houston this year. In our City Life section, readers will notice several of our local universities earned high praise from prestigious global and national publications. Houston's sprawling suburbs continued to skyrocket in popularity for their livability and safety, and no top-10 list is complete without mentioning the city's wealthiest residents. Read on for the top 10 Houston City Life stories of 2025.

1. 2 Houston universities named among world’s best in 2026 rankings. These two high-performing local institutions – Rice University and University of Houston – are in a class of their own, according to the QS World University Rankings 2026. QS (Quacquarelli Symonds) compiles the prestigious list each year; the 2026 edition includes more than 1,500 universities from around the world.

2. Richard Kinder is Houston's richest billionaire in 2025, Forbes says. The Kinder Morgan chairman is the 11th richest Texas resident right now, and ranks as the 108th richest American. Kinder also dethroned Tilman Fertitta to claim the title as the wealthiest Houstonian.

3. 2 Houston neighbors shine as top-10 best places to live in the U.S. Pearland and League City, respectively, claimed No. 3 and No. 6 in U.S. News & World Report's annual "Best Places to Live in the U.S." rankings. The 2025-2026 rankings examined 250 U.S. cities based on five livability indexes: Quality of life, value, desirability, job market, and net migration.

4. 5 Houston suburbs deemed best places to retire in 2026 by U.S. News. The Woodlands and Spring should be on the lookout for an influx of retirees next year, U.S. News predicts. Three more Houston-area neighbors also ranked among the top 25 best places to retire in America.

5. Activist group calls out Houston highway as a 'freeway without a future'. A May 2025 report from Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) included Houston's Interstate 45 expansion on its list of highways with infrastructure that is "nearing the end of its functional life." CNU claims further expansion of Houston's highway system could eventually lead to the loss of the city's bayous, while also diminishing the remaining flood-absorbing land.

6. 10 things to know about America's first Ismaili Center opening in Houston. After nearly 20 years in the making, the long-awaited Ismaili Center, Houston finally opened its doors to the public. The 11-acre site was painstakingly designed and constructed to offer indoor and outdoor public spaces for all Houstonians to enjoy, connect, and engage.

7. Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta asking $192 million for superyacht. Fertitta, who owns the Houston Rockets and restaurant and hospitality conglomerate Landry's, decided to sell his 252-foot yacht, named Boardwalk, to make room for an even larger superyacht he is expected to receive in April 2026. Among numerous luxurious amenities, Boardwalk also features a helipad.

8. 2 Houston neighbors rank among America's safest suburbs in 2025. Spring came in at No. 19 and West University Place followed at No. 21 in SmartAsset's August 2025 study, which is the first time the two Houston suburbs have made it into the top 25.

9. Houston is one of America's most overpriced cities, study finds. This likely isn't a surprise to some Houstonians. The study, conducted by Highland Cabinetry, said Houston "struggles with heavy pollution and underwhelming income levels."

10. 9 Houston universities make U.S. News' 2025 list of top grad schools. Among the newcomers this year are Houston Christian University and Texas Southern University. HCU's graduate education school ranks No. 21 in Texas, and TSU has the 10th best law school in the state.

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