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    Fit for a Queen

    Hot times on Avery Island: Spicy fun, great bird and bear watching in birthplace of Tabasco

    Tarra Gaines
    Jul 31, 2017 | 3:00 pm

    On the Venn diagram of tourist spots perfect for birders and hot sauce lovers, I would bet the only intersection lies on Avery Island, Louisiana.

     

    I come from a family of avid birders. Many of them, born and bred in New Orleans, also love their pepper-laced cuisine. So on my way to Crescent City earlier this summer with some of those said family members, a detour to the birthplace of Tabasco Pepper Sauce, which is also the home of a century old egret refuge, seemed worth a half-a-day-trip.

     

    While I like birds on general they’re-pretty principle and enjoy mild peppery goodness in some dishes, I’m not a fanatic. I do, however, love bizarre and strange Gulf Coast tourist attractions and Avery Island certainly qualifies.

     

    The first wonderfully weird aspect about Avery Island is that the “island” moniker seems somewhat honorific. About a four-hour drive from Houston, and 45 minutes south from Lafayette, this lush (is)land lies on a salt dome that creates a kind of 2,000-acre hill rising 163 feet above the bayous and marsh. So while technically the land is surrounded by water and swamp, we certainly didn’t need a boat to get there. Avery is one of Louisiana’s five salt domes, 200-million-year-old remnants of an ancient saltwater seas, and humans have been digging for salt on it for hundreds of years, continuing to this day.

     

     Spicy Explorations

     

    The “island” offers two main attractions for visitors, the McIlhenny Company Tabasco museum and tour of the facilities for the hot sauce aficionados and Jungle Gardens for nature lovers.

     

    Arriving at Avery, we first hit the visitors’ center to begin our self-guided pepper tour. And yes, the $12 ticket got us cute little Tabasco sample bottles. The “Avery Island Experience” tour allows visitors to take a deep Tabasco dive into salt dome geological, and McIlhenny family, history and then to go step-by-step into the sauce making process.

     

    The Original Red Tabasco Sauce used in a million restaurants across the world contains only three key ingredients, peppers, vinegar and salt, so I wasn’t exactly expecting a dangerous and wacky Wonka factory-type tour, but found myself surprisingly fascinated by the spicy operation throughout, especially while maintaining a vigilant lookout for bears. No really, during the short walk to the greenhouse to view a species selection of pepper plants, we passed by a Louisiana black bear “frequenting area” near a definitely non-indigenous bamboo grove.

     

    Like wine, part of the Tabasco sauce creation requires aging. Once the red peppers are picked and then churned into mash, the resulting mush is aged in white oak barrels for up to three years. Taking a peek into the storage building at the rows upon rows of barrels all covered with Avery Island salt for preserving was a bit like gazing into Tabasco infinity. I also learned that coopering, the making of barrels, casks and buckets is a real job in the 21st century and when I grow up I don’t want to be one as much as put that title on my business cards.

     

    Heading into the main plant facilities, I paused to read what looked to be an official royal seal decreeing McIlhenny Tabasco the official pepper sauce supplier to Queen Elizabeth. I guess even the Queen’s likes it hot on occasion.

     

    We then got an up close — but behind glass walls — look at the blending and bottling process. Also in the main building I got to pet a salt boulder, walk through a simulated salt mine tunnel and admire a giant hanging red jalapeño pepper and mosquito sculptures.

     

    Before ending our Tabasco explorations, we stopped by Avery’s third attraction, the gift shop. Personally, I always consider a good gift shop attractive, especially one that’s less a shop and more of a hot sauced themed emporium. Sure, I found pepper decorated T-shirts and boxer shorts, but the range of types of food that can be laced with Tabasco really astounded me. Go for the sauce tasting station; stay for the jalapeño and raspberry chipotle soft serve ice cream and pepper-flavored cola.

     

     In the Jungle

     

    Next (and nest) up, our tour went to the birds, as we headed two minutes down the road to Jungle Gardens. The 170-acre Jungle Gardens can be explored by foot, but Edward Avery “Ned” McIlhenny who opened the private park for visitors in the 1930s, designed the route for a leisurely sightseeing drive.

     

    The park affords lots of opportunities to stop for short hikes to look for wildlife while wandering along the shores of lagoons and through smaller gardens. I spotted rabbits, deer, and possible a gator, though it might have been a rather gnarly log.

     

    The Jungle highlight and Ned McIlhenny’s conservation legacy is Bird City, a manmade rookery built over a small lake for migrating snowy egrets. McIlhenny began Bird City more than a century ago with eight egret chicks he hand-raised and then released for their fall migration. Six returned in the spring to nest and become the founding egrets of Avery Island’s vast avian-polis of today.

     

    Like the Tabasco tour, Jungle Gardens also presents moments of weird wonderment. For example, a beautiful, 900-year-old (according to the brochure) Buddha statue, with a rather murky history possibly involving the 12th century Chinese Emperor Hui-tsung, warlords, and a late 19th century trip to New York, meditates over a quiet garden of Chinese juniper, bamboo and live oaks.

     

    The journey this Buddha took to land on an ancient Louisiana salt dome – where they make the Queen’s preferred spicy condiment – to hang out with the bears, alligators and egrets remains something of a mystery, but he seemed quite at home in the curious swampy loveliness that is life on Avery Island.

    An upstanding citizen of Bird City.

    Avery Island: Egret
      
    Photo by Tarra Gaines
    An upstanding citizen of Bird City.
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    2025 world's best awards

    6 Houston hotels ranked with the best in the world by Travel + Leisure

    Amber Heckler
    Jul 8, 2025 | 2:30 pm
    The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa
    Photo courtesy of The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa
    The Houstonian is back on top as the best resort in Texas.

    Several renowned Houston hotels and resorts were just declared the best in the world by Travel + Leisure readers, according to the publication's annual World's Best Awards.

    The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa was honored as the No. 1 best resort in Texas, while the prestigious Post Oak Hotel ranked as the No. 7 best hotel in the nation. Among T+L's list of the 15 best hotels in Texas, four more distinguished Houston properties made the cut.

    Every year, Travel + Leisure surveys its readers to determine the ultimate travel experiences around the world, which include the top hotels, resorts, travel destinations, and more. The 2025 survey had more than 180,000 responses from T+L readers with over 657,000 votes across 8,700 accommodations, cruise lines, and other properties.

    The Houstonian Hotel reclaimed the top spot for 2025 after previously slipping into No. 4 in 2024. The publication celebrated this "serene sanctuary" for its numerous sports and fitness activities, plus its rejuvenating 26,500-square-foot spa, pool, and jacuzzi. The resort's location next to Memorial Park also provides guests with the feeling that they've escaped the hustle and bustle of the city.

     The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa “The staff treats you like you are a long-awaited family member," said a T+L reader.Photo courtesy of The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa

    "Resort guests receive complimentary access to the fitness club, which has dedicated spaces for a myriad of sports, including nine tennis courts, a shaded jogging trail, an indoor track, and a lap pool," the report said. "On top of the unbeatable facilities and location, the Houstonian’s memorable hospitality had our voters eager for repeat visits."

    In a press release, general manager Steve Fronterhouse said the entire Houstonian team was honored to receive the worldwide recognition.

    "To be named the best resort in Texas by the discerning readers of Travel + Leisure is not just a reflection of our 27 acres and amenities; it’s recognition of the Southern hospitality and warmth our staff delivers every day," he said. "We are grateful to all of our guests who continue to make The Houstonian their home away from home.”

    The full list of best Texas resorts, in order, are:

    • The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, Houston
    • Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa, Frisco
    • JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa, San Antonio
    • Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, Austin
    • Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Grapevine
    Best hotels in the U.S.
    In addition to being ranked among the top 10 best hotels in the U.S., The Post Oak Hotel was also hailed as the No. 1 best hotel in Houston. The hotel succeeds at providing guests with a flawless level of service and accommodations, while its on-site restaurants and bars add to the overall opulence of the property's amenities.

    "And naturally, there's a world-class spa on site and a Rolls‑Royce showroom in case you need to pick up a new ride," the report said.

     The Post Oak Hotel Stay in style at The Post Oak Hotel.  Photo courtesy of The Post Oak Hotel  

    A T+L reader said The Spa at The Post Oak Hotel is "a destination in itself" and noted that guests could still have a memorable experience in Houston even if they never step foot off the 700,000-square-foot premises. But if guests did choose to explore everything the city has to offer, the hotel provides an over-the-top travel method.

    "There is a rooftop helipad so that you don't even have to sit in Houston traffic if you don't want to," the reader said.

    The full list of Houston winning hotels, in order, are:

    • No. 1 – The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston
    • No. 2 – Hotel ZaZa
    • No. 3 – Four Seasons Hotel Houston
    • No. 4 – JW Marriott Houston Downtown
    • No. 5 – Hilton Americas-Housto

    Other Texas awards
    San Antonio's Hotel Emma and Fort Worth's Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection were the only two other Texas properties to earn acclaim in T+L's list of the "15 Best City Hotels in the U.S."

    San Antonio was also deemed one of the best U.S. travel destinations in 2025, ranking 12th out of 15 total cities.

    In a release, Travel + Leisure editor in chief Jacqui Gifford said the 2025 World's Best Awards "reflect a travel landscape in motion."

    "From a high-desert city in the American Southwest to a quiet Greek island, our readers are seeking depth, character, and a strong sense of place," Gifford said. "We're thrilled to honor the hotels, destinations, and travel companies that are delivering those transformative experiences."

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