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.”

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Unhappy holidays

Porch pirates swipe nearly $2B in packages from Texas homes this year

Porch Pirate Person in Glasses Steals Packages

Getty Images

The Grinch isn't the only one stealing Christmas these days.

’Tis the season for porch pirates. If past trends are an indicator, the Grinch will swipe close to $2 billion worth of packages delivered to Texas households this year, with many of those thefts happening ahead of the holiday season.

An analysis of FBI and survey data by ecommerce marketing company Omnisend shows porch pirates stole more than $1.8 billion worth of packages from Texans’ porches last year. Porch pirates hit nearly one-third of the state’s households in 2024, according to the analysis.

Omnisend’s analysis reveals these statistics about porch piracy in Texas:

30.1 million residential package thefts in 2024.
An average household loss of $169 per year.
An annual average of 2.9 package thefts per household.

“Most stolen items are cheap on their own, but add them up, and retailers and consumers are facing an enormous bill,” says Omnisend.

Another data analysis, this one from The Action Network sports betting platform, unwraps different figures regarding porch piracy in Texas.

The platform’s 2025 Porch Pirate Index ranks Texas as the state with the highest volume of residential thefts, based on 2023-24 FBI data.

Researchers at The Action Network uncovered 26,293 reports of personal property thefts at Texas residences during that period. The network’s survey data indicates 5 percent of Texas residents had a package stolen in the three months before the pre-holiday survey.

The Porch Pirate Index calculates a 25.8 percent risk of a Texas household being victimized by porch pirates, putting it in the No. 5 spot among states with the highest risk of porch piracy.

The Action Network included online-search volume for terms like “package stolen” and “porch pirates.” Sustained spikes in these searches suggest that “people are actively looking for guidance after something has happened. Search trends serve as an early warning system, revealing emerging-risk areas well before annual crime statistics are released,” the network says.

Tips to avoid being a victim
So, how do you prevent porch pirates from snatching packages that end up on your porch? Omnisend, The Action Network and Amazon offer these eight tips:

Closely monitor deliveries and quickly retrieve packages.
Schedule deliveries for times when you’ll be home.
Use delivery lockers or in-store pickup when possible.
Ask delivery services to hide packages in out-of-sight spots outside your home.
Install a visible doorbell camera or security camera.
Coordinate deliveries with neighbors or building managers if you’ll be away from your home when packages are supposed to arrive.
Request that delivery services hold your packages if you can’t be home when they’re scheduled to come.
Illuminate the path to your doorstep and keep porch lights on.

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