Lauded lodging

8 Houston hotels check in among Texas' best in prestigious U.S. News ranking

Timan Fertitta's Post Oak Hotel is No. 1 in Houston and No. 3 in Texas.

Photo courtesy of The Post Oak Hotel

Houstonians looking for a quality staycation have several winning choices, according to U.S. News & World Report’s new list of the best hotels in the country. Eight Houston properties — including Tilman Fertitta’s palatial Post Oak Hotel — rank among the best in Texas in the report.

Leading the list in Houston is the aforementioned Post Oak, which ranks No. 1 in Houston and No. 3 in the top 25 U.S. News-ranked hotels in Texas. “Sleek decor, modern amenities and a standout concierge are just a few reasons why recent guests heap praise upon The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston,” says U.S. News.

As CultureMap reported, in 2020, the hotel received the prestigious Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating, making it Texas’ only Double Five-Star rated hotel and spa, and Houston’s first and only Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel.

Joining the Post Oak among U.S. News’ top 25 hotels in Texas are seven other Houston properties:

The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. Also ranked third among Texas resorts, No 5.
Hotel ZaZa Houston Museum District, No. 9
Hotel ZaZa Houston Memorial City, No. 10
Four Seasons Hotel Houston, No. 15
The St. Regis Houston, No. 16
The Lancaster Hotel, No. 21
Hotel Granduca, No. 22

Elsewhere in Texas, Hotel Emma, arguably the crown jewel of San Antonio’s Pearl district, comes in on the list as the No. 1 Texas property and the No. 7 top hotel in the U.S.

Here are the top 25 U.S. News-ranked hotels in Texas:

Hotel Emma, San Antonio.
Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection, Austin. Also ranked first among Texas resorts.
The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston.
Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas, Irving. Also ranked second among Texas resorts.
The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. Also ranked third among Texas resorts.
Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas. Also ranked fourth among Texas resorts.
The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas.
JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Also ranked fifth among Texas resorts.
Hotel ZaZa Houston Museum District.
Hotel ZaZa Houston Memorial City.
Archer Hotel Austin.
The Joule, Dallas.
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa. Also ranked sixth among Texas resorts.
Miraval Austin.
Four Seasons Hotel Houston.
The St. Regis Houston.
Hotel Crescent Court, Dallas.
Hotel ZaZa Dallas.
Mokara Hotel & Spa, San Antonio.
Four Seasons Hotel Austin.
The Lancaster Hotel, Houston.
Hotel Granduca Houston.
Fairmont Austin.
Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa, near Bastrop. Also ranked seventh among Texas resorts.
HALL Arts Hotel Dallas, Curio Collection by Hilton.

“The travel industry has faced many disruptions over the past two years, highlighting the need to support and recognize hotels that continue to maintain excellent standards,” Zach Watson, senior travel editor at U.S. News, says in a news release. “The 2022 Best Hotels rankings offer a dependable guide for travelers to use when organizing their next trip, whether that’s in a few weeks or later in the year.”

vacation hotels rankings texas

schools with high achievers

These 15 Houston K-8 schools rank among Texas' best for 2025

T.H. Rogers PTO/Facebook

Congratulations are in order for the Rams.

Several Houston elementary and middle schools are at the top of the class when it comes to educating and preparing the next generation for a successful life and career, according to U.S. News & World Report's just-released list of 2025 Elementary and Middle Schools Rankings.

One such school – T.H. Rogers School in Houston ISD – is the No. 8 best middle school in Texas for 2025.

U.S. News ranked over 79,000 public schools on the state and district level using data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on their students' proficiencies in mathematics and reading/language arts on state assessments, and tie-breakers were decided based on student-teacher ratios.

Texas' best middle schools for 2025
Three Houston middle schools achieved spots among the top 10 best Texas middle schools for 2025, according to U.S. News.

T.H. Rogers School has a total enrollment of 1,063 students, with 87 percent of the student population scoring "at or above the proficient level" in mathematics, and 90 percent proficiency in reading. The school has a student-teacher ratio of 17:1, with 62 full-time teachers.

T.H. Rogers School also topped the district-wide list as the No. 1 best middle school in HISD.

Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus also ranked among the statewide top 10, coming in at No. 9 with a total enrollment of 914 students. U.S. News says 82 percent of HGA students are proficient in math, and 80 percent are proficient in reading.

"Houston Gateway Academy - Coral Campus did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state," U.S. News said in the school's profile. "In Texas, 51 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 41 percent tested at or above that level for math."

Right behind HGA to round out the top 10 best Texas middle schools is Houston ISD's Briarmeadow Charter School. This middle school has 600 students, 69 percent of which are proficient in math and 74 percent are proficient reading.

Briarmeadow's student-teacher ratio is 16:1, which is better than the district-wide student-teacher ratio, and it employs 38 full-time teachers.

U.S. News also ranked Briarmeadow as the second best middle school in Houston ISD.

Six additional Houston-area schools ranked among the top 25 best middle schools in Texas, including:

No. 18 – Cornerstone Academy, Spring Branch ISD
No. 19 – Mandarin Immersion Magnet School, Houston ISD
No. 21 – Smith Middle School, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD
No. 22 – Seven Lakes Junior High, Katy ISD
No. 23 – Houston Gateway Academy
No. 25 – Beckendorff Junior High, Katy ISD

The best elementary schools in Texas
Jesus A. Kawas Elementary school in Laredo was crowned the No. 1 elementary school in Texas for 2025, while two Houston-area schools made it into the top 10.

Tomball ISD's Creekside Forest Elementary in The Woodlands is the No. 7 best elementary school statewide, boasting 656 students, 42 full-time teachers, and one full-time counselor. Students at this school, which U.S. News designates is situated in a "fringe rural setting," scored 90 percent efficiency in math and 94 percent efficiency in reading.

Following one spot behind Creekside Forest in the statewide ranking is Sugar Land's Commonwealth Elementary School in Fort Bend ISD, coming in at No. 8. Commonwealth has a student population of 954 with 55 full-time teachers, and two full-time counselors. The school's student-teacher ratio is 17:1, and 90 percent of students are proficient in math, and 94 percent in reading.

U.S. News says student success at Commonwealth is significantly higher than the rest of Fort Bend ISD.

"In Fort Bend Independent School District, 59 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 47 percent tested at or above that level for math," U.S. News said in Commonwealth's profile. "Commonwealth Elementary [also] did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state."

Other Houston-area schools that were ranked among the 25 best in Texas are:

No. 13 – Bess Campbell Elementary, Sugar Land, Lamar CISD
No. 20 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD
No. 23 – T.H. Rogers School, Houston ISD
No. 25 – Griffin Elementary, Katy ISD

"The 2025 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings offer parents a way to evaluate how schools are providing a high-quality education and preparing students for future success," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., the managing editor for Education at U.S. News. "The data empowers families and communities to advocate for their children’s education. Research continues to indicate that how students perform academically at these early grade levels is a big factor in their success in high school and beyond."

dallas fort worth schools rankings us news & world report