Texas travel

5 adults-only getaways around Houston and Texas for a blissful post-COVID ‘vacci-cation’

If 2020 was the summer of staycations, 2021 is the summer of “vacci-cations.” You’re now Pfizered-up, Moderna-pumped, and J&J-prepped for some R&R away.

Leave your corona troubles behind, grab a travel buddy, and hit the road for a grown-up getaway. These five adults-only destinations — ranging from romantic treehouses to chic resorts — are easy escapes from Houston (one is in town, another is in Galveston) for nature-inspired tranquility, spa pampering, culture seeking, or outdoor adventure.

There’s just one rule: no kids allowed.

Cosmopolitan castle: Houston Towers, Houston
Houston’s most unique boutique guest house is a fairytale castle that rises in the heart of the city. The Disney-worthy Houston Towers started as a 30-year renovation project for an owner who bought the original 1935 duplex in the 1970s and began converting living spaces and adding turrets inspired by architecture around the world. The current owners purchased it in 2015, continuing the transformation and opening it as an inn. Choose from seven regal rooms and suites, including the Fairy-tale Tower Suite (a hideaway accessed by a private staircase); Skylight Tower Suite (a two-story room with a spiral staircase); and the largest Texas Tower Suite (with fireplace and private balcony). Rooms are furnished with chandeliers, grandfather clocks, and countless antiques, but rain showers, jacuzzi tubs, and big-screen 4K TVs make them modern retreats.

Guests enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast featuring hot dishes that cater to many different tastes, as more than half of guests are international. Located in the Riverside Terrace neighborhood, Houston Towers is near the Museum District, NRG Center, major hospitals, and universities. They define “adult” as “16 and up with manners;” many guests have been musicians auditioning for the University of Houston who can practice on the piano in the ballroom, they say.
Details: Ages 16 and up; rates from $167 per night, with no minimum (rates and minimums can vary by season); houstontowers.com.

Beachfront escape: Club Ten at The San Luis Resort, Galveston
You don’t have to belong to a club to stay on the Club Ten floor of the luxury Galveston resort, but the VIP amenities offered on the adults-only floor make it feel like a members-only experience. All 21 Club Ten rooms (on the 10th floor) come with a private balcony with full ocean view. On arrival, guests are treated to complimentary valet parking, priority check-in, and a bottle of Prosecco for two. After a good night’s sleep in a California King, complimentary breakfast in bed is delivered. Modern bathrooms feature bowl sinks, rain shower heads, Molton Brown amenities, and a special surprise — a television in the mirror.

Throughout their stay, Club Ten guests can enjoy sweet treats and bottled water located in the private-access Club Ten floor lobby, as well as priority seating at on-site restaurants including The Steakhouse, Grotto, Blake's Bistro, and Landry's Seafood House.

Rejuvenate at the resort’s spa with a new Salt Air massage performed poolside in a spa cabana. Then watch the sun dip below the horizon while sipping champagne in a luxe private cabana by the plunge pool.
Details: Ages 21 up and up; rates from $499 per night, no minimum; sanluisresort.com.

Heavenly hideaway: Treehouse Utopia, Utopia
The name “Utopia” couldn’t be more perfect for this magical, hidden-away resort west of San Antonio. Four whimsical treehouses sit between heaven and earth in a serene setting that’s so remote, there’s no advertised address; guests are given a hand-drawn map and gate codes, and are guided to their treehouse by a personal escort. Opened in 2018 by co-owners Laurel Waters (chef and owner of nearby Laurel Tree upscale restaurant) and builder Pete Nelson of TV’s Treehouse Masters, Treehouse Utopia consists of four distinctive abodes built into majestic, centuries-old bald cypress trees high above the Sabinal River.

Each of the four treehouses — the cathedral-like Chapelle, book-themed Biblioteque, circus-inspired Carousel, and large and regal Chateau — is decorated with antiques hand-selected by Waters. Design details like repurposed stainglass windows, clawfoot tubs, and hand-painted tile elevate the treehouses from rustic retreats to luxurious private castles. As a personal touch, Waters stocks treehouse kitchenettes with homemade yogurt, granola, fresh-baked breads, and other goodies to enjoy for breakfast each morning.

It’s easy to spend hours on a personal balcony overlooking the river, watching the fish swim in the crystal clear waters, listening to the frogs, and watching for deer and wild turkeys. For those who want to venture out, Garner State Park and Lost Maples Nature Area are nearby for hiking and biking; and the town of Utopia (site of the Robert Duvall golf film Seven Days in Utopia) has several cute shops and cafes. If you want to dine at The Laurel Tree, however, you’ll need to be there on Saturday — the only night it’s open. Treehouse Utopia is currently booking through the end of the year, and reservations can be hard to come by, so plan to book a few months in advance.
Details: Ages 18 and up; rates from $475, with two-night minimum, treehouseutopia.com.

Hill Country chic: SEVEN at La Cantera, San Antonio
Sharing a highway exit with Six Flags Fiesta Texas, La Cantera is known as one of the most family-friendly resorts in the Hill Country. But climb high into those hills, then even higher to the resort's top level, and you reach SEVEN, the exclusive adults-only floor that stays a bit under the radar. Peace-of-mind perks start immediately with complimentary valet parking, personal concierge greeting, and champagne at a private check-in desk. There’s complimentary happy hour each evening in a private lounge, and free breakfast each morning featuring elevated fare like warm quiche and bagels with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Enjoy a glass of wine or Lavazza cappuccino there, or take it back to your guest room balcony overlooking the peaceful resort courtyard.

SEVEN guests also get their own entrance into the award-winning Loma de Vida Spa. For maximum bliss, schedule a CBD-oil massage at a Sky Loft room then, after a private outdoor shower and snack on the private terrace, spend the afternoon at the spa’s tranquil infinity pool overlooking the award-winning golf course; and keep the craft cocktails coming.

Be sure to book a reservation at Signature, the resort’s chef-driven high-end seasonal restaurant that’s so grown up, they customize your water infusion while you study the endless wine list. An after-dinner dip in the adults-only pool under a starry sky is a dreamy way to end the night.
Details: Ages 21 and up; rates from $250, with no minimum; lacanteraresort.com.

Rustic getaway: Skybox Cabins, Glen Rose
Just a short drive out of Dallas-Fort Worth, at the top of the Texas Hill Country in Glen Rose, Skybox Cabins offers a different experience in each of its five Pinterest-perfect accommodations. There’s the super popular Nest (called “the cabin of dreams” by Southern Living) featuring an outdoor observatory made of Texas cedar wood. There’s the Birdhouse, a treehouse-inspired abode with a second floor entry via a bridge from a tree-top platform; and the Hive, an A-frame house with a wraparound porch in the trees. La Tour is a French rustic-inspired multilevel cabin, and The Glamp is a luxury tent retreat for glamping (yes, it has A/C). They all have fully-stocked private bathrooms, kitchenettes, mini-fridges, and charcoal grills.

Skybox Cabins, established in 2017 by a young family who live on property, sit on 50 country acres filled with native live oaks and cedars and a creek that feeds into the Paluxy River. Hiking, biking, paddle boarding, fly fishing, wildflower-watching, and horseback riding are outside the door, as are Dinosaur Valley State Park, Fossil Rim Wildlife Safari, and the shops and restaurants of Glen Rose. The owners plan to open a fifth cabin next year and are working on properties in town. The existing accommodations — now booking through December 31 — are mostly full for the next three months, but they announce occasional last-minute openings on their website and Facebook page.
Details: Ages 18 and up; rates from $209, with two-night minimum; skyboxcabins.com.

The Nest at Skybox Cabins comes with its own cedar-wood observatory.

Photo courtesy of Skybox Cabins

The Nest at Skybox Cabins comes with its own cedar-wood observatory.

vacation hotels texas luxury

Houstonians welcome

First look at new boutique hotel now welcoming guests in Montrose

Photo by Julie Soefer

The Hotel Saint Augustine has opened its doors.

Montrose has gained a new saint. Long associated with luxuriously quaint boutique properties, the anxiously awaited expansion of Austin-based Bunkhouse Hotels to Houston has finally arrived. The undeniably chic Hotel Saint Augustine may be sparkly and new, but with the succinct efforts that went into the seamless introduction of its presence in the neighborhood, it’s purposefully difficult to notice.

Thankfully, Hotel Saint Augustine lacks what all Bunkhouse properties lack — the gaudiness and unapproachability typically associated with high profile luxury hotels. It’s comfy. Located near what is arguably one of the most serene and lauded museum parks in the country, The Menil Collection, Hotel Saint Augustine’s buildout is so successfully unassuming that the line of which property is an amenity to the other begins to blur — and that’s the goal.

"In the design of Hotel Saint Augustine, we were inspired by both the adjacent Menil Collection and the surrounding neighborhood. The architecture of the hotel references the gray palette of the Menil Collection and the low-rise, residential scale of Montrose,” Lake|Flato partner Chris Krajcer tells CultureMap. “Drawing inspiration from the early modernist houses of Louis Khan and Rudolph Schindler, the architecture is very quiet in spirit, balancing a composition of solids and voids. We crafted the site as a succession of buildings ordered around a series of courtyards, so that the guest experience is one of being immersed in an inviting garden."

Spread out over two acres, five buildings, and expertly curated green spaces, the utilization of muted brick, raw wood, and black steel, catwalk-style elevated walkways allows Hotel Saint Augustine to feel like an extension of its neighbors: The Menil Collection and The University of Saint Thomas.

Upon passing through the main entrance into the courtyard, visitors will notice fragrant Douglas Fir clads the underside of all overhead structures, permeating the air during any time spent on the property.

Notably, the courtyard and Augustine Lounge are open and accessible to the public — you don’t have to be a guest to show up and hang out. The aforementioned Augustine Lounge is comprised of a multitude of seated gathering areas, including an elongated common table with seating to match. This space, along with all others within the lounge, has been designed with an intention for actual utility—it is not for show.

Once engrossed in the space, one can feel the intention. Comfortably-upholstered vintage lounge furniture populates areas around work spaces, one-on-one seated table nooks, a walk-up lounge bar, and 70s-era seating beneath an ambiance-setting, reel-to-reel tape deck confirm that the Augustine Lounge is a legitimate “third place” for the neighborhood. The vibe is decidedly a good, old-fashioned throwback to the original Montrose mantra: show-up, get comfortable, stay awhile.

“For us, Hotel Saint Augustine offers a chance to become part of a neighborhood that deeply aligns with the Bunkhouse ethos,” Bunkhouse senior VP of design and development Tenaya Hills says. “Montrose, and by extension, the Museum District and Houston at large, foster an incredible sense of community, of creativity, of old world and new. We wanted to create a place where everyone could come and feel as welcome and inspired. As the next iteration of our Saint hotels, we aim to provide the same unique feeling of seclusion, of permission to be indulgent, and, most of all, completely at ease.”

Bunkhouse enlisted architectural firm Lake|Flato for this project, accompanied by New York and Wyoming-based Post Company for interior design, with Ten Eyck taking charge of the landscaping. Award-winning Houston chef Aaron Bludorn is at the helm of the highly anticipated Perseid restaurant, which will be open all day, seven days a week beginning in January and also accommodate Augustine Lounge and in-room dining. While the hotel is mainly named in honor of the patron saint of printing and sits across the street from the Menil Drawing Institute, Perseid is aptly named after the annual meteor shower that peaks during — you guessed it — the month of August.

The architecture of Hotel Saint Augustine reflects principles of famed Houston architect Philip Johnson, who was the architect for The University of Saint Thomas, as well as the personal architect to John and Dominique De Menil, while the hotel’s interior is a very intentional nod to the De Menil’s personal interior designer Charles James. James and Johnson were famously as fond of one another as Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. Yet, here they are, paired once again.

Guests of the 71 room hotel may be delighted to learn that over 50 percent of the mostly courtyard-facing rooms and suites have either balcony or terrace spaces, complete with ceiling fans for Houston’s oftentimes stagnant summer days. Speaking of summer days, the quaint circular pool can be heated as well as cooled. Those who opt for a a dip in the pool will find it refreshingly cool.

Rooms and suites (starting at $429 per night) offer opulently-upholstered velvet beds with crisply-pressed and embroidered white linens. Whimsically-upholstered furnishings solidify the cozy atmosphere throughout the rest of the property. Bathrooms turn moody with the introduction of shiny, deep-green tiles, bullnosed marble, and glistening chrome hardware fixtures. Marquee-style vanity lighting intentionally mimics that of the primary bathroom of Dominique de Menil, while thoughtfully wall-hung shelving is provided for storing personal items. Elegantly subtle in scent, in-room spa products are by Los Angeles-based, woman-owned Klur. Aside from the furnishings and the seamlessly integrated minibar and fridge, guest rooms are noticeably stark in hopes of engaging a guest’s subconscious — go explore.

Perched above the future Perseid sits the treehouse-like ballroom. In addition to its 1,850 square feet, there is a 1,200-square-foot pre-event space as well as a 260-square-foot balcony. In total, the ballroom can accommodate 130 seated or 250 standing guests. The mostly glassed-in space offers courtyard views.

Landscape architects at Ten Eyck worked alongside Hempstead’s The John Fairey Garden for years cultivating mostly native plants that will provide lush views year round. No one should worry about the large pecan tree that vastly predates the hotel; it remains in what is now the courtyard and is poised to collect an entirely new generation of fans.

The well-curated retail and check-in space of Hotel Saint Augustine’s lobby is designed in juxtaposition to the other public-facing spaces. Bright red, high-gloss, cubist shelving encapsulates the expertly-mitered Calacatta Viola marble desk that is central to the room. Alongside the somewhat expected offerings of coffee table books and branded accoutrements lie gilded boxes of jewelry, interesting accessories and objets, as well as branded, bright blue tennis balls for any very-welcome four-legged hotel guests to enjoy.

Hotel Saint Augustine chose Louisville-based Miscellaneous Goods Company to provide “Grayhaven,” which will be the signature scent for the hotel. The incense is a combination of moss, pine, and saltwater scents that lend themselves to a decidedly “rich guy library” vibe. The best part about this very singular scent is that when greeting friends for a meal at Perseid, one won’t need to share that they’ve just strolled over from pre-drinks at Augustine Lounge — they’ll already know.

Photo by Julie Soefer

The Hotel Saint Augustine has opened its doors.

Texas travel

5 adults-only getaways around Houston and Texas for a blissful post-COVID ‘vacci-cation’

The Nest at Skybox Cabins comes with its own cedar-wood observatory.

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Houstonians welcome

First look at new boutique hotel now welcoming guests in Montrose

CultureMap Emails Are Awesome
Get Houston intel delivered daily.