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    Best Hotels

    Two Houston hotels make Condé Nast Traveler list of world's best places to stay

    Barbara Kuntz
    Barbara Kuntz
    Jan 8, 2014 | 2:45 pm

    A Houston hotel is “golden” for the fourth consecutive year, while another local institution has reached that shining status for the first time — the only two area hotels selected to the 2014 Condé Nast Gold List.

    Hotel Sorella, which opened in 2009 in CityCentre, keeps the prestigious designation. Sophisticated Hotel Granduca in Uptown Park joins the ranks of the best worldwide.

    Nearly 80,000 Traveler readers scored this year's Gold List properties based on rooms, service, food, location, design and activities. Hotels, resorts and cruises worldwide are considered each year, with 200 U.S. destinations selected as 2014 standouts. Condé Nast reveals the winners in its January issue and online.

    Hotel Sorella earned an overall score of 94.1, placing it as the second best hotel in Texas, after the Mokara Hotel & Spa in San Antonio with a 95.0 rating. Readers make special note of Hotel Sorella's "very modern and minimalistic" property with "easy access to all the major highways." The rooms receive high marks for being"spacious and comfortable," and Alex Bistro and the Monnalisa Bar bring praise. Condé Nast adds a final comment in the report: "The continental breakfast is world-class, the best I’ve experienced anywhere."

    With a score of 90.3, Hotel Granduca carries gold status as the seventh-best hotel in the Lone Star State. Rooms and design tallies help this hotel stand out in the eyes of Traveler readers.

    Also golden in Texas for 2014 are Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas (93.7), Ritz-Carlton in Dallas (93), Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio (92.8) and the Rosewood Crescent Hotel in Dallas (90.9).

    Hotel Sorella in CityCentre

     
    unspecified
    news/travel

    Outside Ideas

    New podcast provides on-the-ground news from Texas state parks

    Brianna Caleri
    May 20, 2025 | 10:15 am
    Better Outside podcast host Morgan O’Hanlon
    Photo courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)
    Podcast host Morgan O’Hanlon captures ambient sound from a river.

    Outdoorsy Texans have a new way to keep track of conservation initiatives within Texas' parks. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will launch a new podcast, Better Outside, on May 21 on all major podcast platforms.

    A press release promises that listeners will "travel the woods and waters of Texas through an array of awe-inspiring stories about conservation, recreation and the outdoors."

    The podcast does mean "travel" in a literal sense, taking listeners out in the field to experience the environments firsthand. They'll have a knowledgeable guide in host Morgan O’Hanlon, who is a senior writer at Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine, as well as TPWD executive director David Yoskowitz.

    “People are at the core of conservation work in Texas,” said Yoskowitz in the release. “I’m excited for you to hear their voices straight from the field, so they can share why the work they do matters and the impact it makes.”

    David Yoskowitz and Morgan O\u2019Hanlon recording Better Outside podcastDavid Yoskowitz and Morgan O’Hanlon record in the studio as well as in the field.Photo courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD)

    Some examples of the work featured include creating a new trail across the state, touring an existing park, and restoring bighorn sheep (which were on the brink of being wiped out by 1900) in West Texas. Another episode in the Hill Country follows feral hog bounty hunters. Although well-informed listeners may already know about some of these subjects, the podcast specifically hopes to focus on hidden gems and expanding horizons.

    “I love adventure sports and am excited to inspire people to try new, and sometimes scary, things,” said O’Hanlon. “In our episode on the Devils River, I took my non-outdoorsy mom on one of the state’s most feared paddling trips. You’ll hear straight from her about the challenges I put her through — and why she would do it again.”

    Better Outside isn't TPWD’s first podcast. It was Under the Texas Sky, which launched in 2019 and followed similar themes, with a notable focus on culture. Some episodes followed the Indigenous history of Texas parks, cowboy poets, and chefs who are involved in sustainable farming and cooking. Under the Texas Sky stopped being made when its host, longtime Passport to Texas radio host Cecilia Nasti, retired.

    The new podcast is sponsored by the Austin-based Whole Earth Provision Co., which originally opened in 1970 as a real-life manifestation of the Whole Earth Catalog, and is now a cross between a camping, home goods, and outdoorsy gift store. It operates six locations in total in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas.

    podcastparksstate parksnaturesustainabilityconservation
    news/travel
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