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    welcome the heights house

    New Heights hotel delivers hip boutique charm and poolside fun

    Steven Devadanam
    May 14, 2021 | 3:05 pm

    A local inn is soaring to new heights with a major new look and name. The former Astro Inn in the historic Brooke Smith neighborhood is now the Heights House Hotel — after a $3.5 million renovation — promising a hip staycation or vacation destination.

    The new hotel (100 W. Cavalcade St.) boasts 133 rooms with free parking; a 7,500-square-foot ground-floor courtyard with a pool with cabanas, patio green space with lounge furniture and canopy with covered outdoor seating. The two-acre property was purchased in 2019 by local business owners Jivar Foty and George Giannukos, according to a press release.

    As CultureMap previously reported, the hotel bar and restaurant, Space Cowboy, serves up tropical cocktails and island comfort food from acclaimed chef Lyle Bento.

    Bright colors are awash throughout the space. Highlights include a 36-foot neon sign and midcentury modern privacy brick around the courtyard, which matches original midcentury ornamental metal columns on the hotel’s balconies.

    A new “Good Vibes Only” mural overlooks the pool and courtyard. The work comes courtesy of artists Sergio Aguilar and Jose Kontos of Monterrey, Mexico. The duo also worked on a 1,500-square-foot installation on the hotel’s south facade that nods to Houston’s Space City culture.

    Inside, rooms start at an $100 per night on weekdays and are dog-friendly (with a pet fee). Room furniture is sourced from the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, per a release, and design elements include down feather pillows, retro mini-bar fridges, and midcentury modern globe lighting.

    Amenities include a 55-inch flatscreen TV, high-speed WiFi, and eco-friendly toiletries. Certain rooms can be connected for large parties; room service is available from Space Cowboy, per a release.

    Expect a buzzing scene at the hotel’s pool, which is slated to open in June. Day passes will be available for non-hotel guests starting at $20; poolside service comes via Space Cowboy. Look for poolside DJs, yoga on the lawn, and themed parties for Halloween, New Year’s Eve, Cinco de Mayo, and other holidays.

    Houston’s hospitality industry professionals can enjoy special early-week rates on Mondays and Tuesdays.

    Meanwhile, the property features three separate event spaces: the interior lobby and bar area, the outdoor canopy and lawn, and the pool and cabana space. All can be rented separately or together to host community and business events — as can the entire property, a release notes.

    Outdoor games, electric scooter and bike rentals, and an IV bar by appointment are also on tap.

    As an added perk, the hotel has a partnership with White Oak Music Hall (located 1.5 miles away), to provide discounted show tickets for guests and even complimentary rooms for out-of-town music acts.

    Those interested in reservations can visit the hotel website or 713-869-7121.

    Rooms feature a hip design.

    Heights House Hotel
      
    Photo by Dylan McEwan
    Rooms feature a hip design.
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    telling stories

    Black-owned Houston bookstore opens new home in historic Third Ward space

    Craig D. Lindsey
    May 13, 2025 | 2:45 pm
    Kindred Stories bookshore Eldorado Ballroom
    Photo by Craig D. Lindsey
    Kindred Stories has moved to its new location.

    Even though its grand reopening will be held this Saturday, May 17, Third Ward bookstore Kindred Stories has already begun a soft opening at its new location inside the Eldorado Ballroom at 2310 Elgin Street.

    Since September 2021, the Black-owned bookstore was located on Stuart St., one of many businesses that came to life thanks to Project Row Houses’ Incubation Program. Last year, the nonprofit informed Kindred and the other business that they had to vacate their premises at the end of this month to allow new businesses to occupy the spaces.

    Thankfully, Kindred already had its eye on the Eldorado location, next to neighborhood eatery The Rado Market (which has a collection of cookbooks curated by Kindred). It’s a space previously held by Hogan Brown Gallery, which abruptly closed in December. “I had caught wind that this space might be available,” Kindred founder/owner Terri Hamm tells CultureMap.

    Hamm turned the moving process into a fun little event for her and her loyal customers. “Last Tuesday, we invited about 20 of our top community members that, you know, are always in the store and have really supported us all of the year,” she says. “We packed up all the books in the space in an hour and, then, we moved everything in an hour. So it was like the beautiful way to close out that space in the midst of the community that has really supported us throughout three-and-a-half years there. And we spent the last four days kind of unboxing and just getting all set up.”

    Hamm says the new location is certainly roomier (around 1200 square feet) than their previous spot, which was only 450 square feet.

    “There's more room to just spend time in the store,” she says. “I feel like that's the ideal bookstore experience, when you can go in and really take your time. I feel like in the other space, it was so small, people kind of felt like they were in a rush.”

    Although Kindred is open and ready to welcome anyone looking for Black-and-proud literature, Hamm insists they’re only 90 percent done. More light fixtures need to be installed. Plants and furniture have to be brought. They even have custom-made wallpaper that needs to be installed.

    “So, we have a few little things that need to happen,” says Hamm, “And, then, I feel like the space will be really, really ready – probably in another six months.”

    In the meantime, it’s business as usual. This month’s calendar of events includes various appearances from authors as well as a couple of book clubs. Hamm is looking forward to new bookworms coming in and discovering what Kindred Stories has to offer.

    “The bestsellers are selling,” she says, “But I feel like, in this space, people are going to get to discover a lot of under-the-radar titles, just because there's more space to see the books and explore.”

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