Hometown Glory

Houston boasts the best hotels in Texas? One national magazine makes that case

Houston hardly carries a reputation for having great hotels, but Forbes apparently disagrees.

Five Houston hotels received Four Star rankings in the new Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating List, giving H-Town the most highly-rated hotels in the state easily.

Although Texas didn't see any hotels earn Five-Star status, 13 Lone Star State hotels were Four Stars. Four Seasons Hotel Houston, Hotel Derek, Hotel Granduca, The Houstonian Hotel and Spa and The St. Regis Hotel are the Houston five on the list.

Only three Dallas hotels earned a Four Star Ranking — Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, The Joule and The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, and Austin garnered just two with the Four Seasons Hotel Austin and Hotel Ella.

The 2014 rankings saw more Four and Five Star properties than ever before overall. Forbes' professional inspectors traveled the globe to visit almost 1,000 hotels, restaurants and spas, testing each against nearly 800 rigorous standards.

Forbes' list recognized one restaurant in Texas as being Five Star worthy — The Inn at Dos Brisas in Washington. It deemed seven restaurants Four Star, but only one of those is in Houston — and surprisingly it's Quattro at the Four Seasons. The publication touted one other Houston restaurant as "Recommended" — Olivette at The Houstonian.

The St. Regis Hotel was named a Four-Star hotel by the 2014 Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating List.

St. Regis Houston Presidential Suite parlor

Photo courtesy of Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau

The St. Regis Hotel was named a Four-Star hotel by the 2014 Forbes Travel Guide Star Rating List.

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Movie Memorabilia News

Texas museum features Wicked movie costumes in new display this winter

Photo by Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures

Glinda's pink bubble dress will be one of the items on display.

Fans of the movie adaptation of the musical Wickedwill soon be able to get up close and personal with the box office smash when the Arlington Museum of Art (right between Dallas and Fort Worth) debuts a collection of costumes and more from the film in 2025.

Running January 17 to April 27, "Wicked Threads: The Artistry of Costume in Oz" celebrates the artistry of the costume design and the 20+ year history of the beloved Broadway musical.

Curated by the Arlington Museum of Art (AMA), the exhibition will feature original costumes, props, and images from the film, provided by NBCUniversal Archives & Collections. Highlights from the exhibition will include Glinda’s “bubble” dress and Elphaba’s “Defying Gravity” costume.

The costumes were designed by Academy Award-nominated costume designer Paul Tazewell, who was no stranger to the world of Oz, having designed five productions of The Wiz.

“Costuming and filmmaking is an exciting form of visual art and storytelling," said AMA Director of Exhibitions Kendall Quirk in a statement. "The AMA is always excited to showcase the work of these artists, especially in our free community gallery spaces. We hope to see emerging designers, filmmakers, and other visual artists come to enjoy these costumes from such a universal story."

The film adaptation of Wicked, which earned over $110 million in its first weekend of release, is based on the musical stage play with music and lyrics by legendary Grammy and Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, and book by Tony nominee Winnie Holzman.

A prequel to The Wizard of Oz, it is the origin story of how Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda Upland became Glinda the Good. It’s a story of an unlikely friendship between two young women — one ostracized, one adored — and how the untapped power of one will reshape their lives and Oz, forever.

"Wicked Threads: The Artistry of Costume in Oz" will be on display in the community art space at the Arlington Museum of Art, where all visitors can view the exhibition for free, with no tickets required for entry.

movies exhibitions-visual-arts