Whether you’re looking to book a staycation or you have family or friends visiting from out of town, the reputable Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards leave little doubt where to stay.
2013's distinguished award list includes 15 top-notch Texas hotels with four Houston-area hotels among the top dozen receiving the notable honor.
It's an impressive showing for a city not particularly known for great hotels. Houston seems to be on the cusp of changing that stigma as making this prestigious list, first introduced in 1986, is no small feat.
The results are based on a standard five-point scale — excellent, very good, good, fair, and poor – for categories such as activities, food/dining, location, overall design, rooms and service. This year a record breaking number of Conde Nast readers, nearly 80,000, cast 1.3 million votes for more than 16,000 properties worldwide.
Out of the 15 top-tier Texas properties on the list, the Hotel Sorella at CityCentre earned the No. 2 spot. With a superlative score of 94.1, Hotel Sorella is not only the highest-rated Houston hotel, but a close second to San Antonio’sMokara Hotel & Spa, which received the state's top honor.
Other Houston hotels voted first-rate: Hotel Granduca at No. 7, The St. Regis Hotel at No. 11 and The Houstonian Hotel at No. 12.
Hotel Valencia Riverwalk in San Antonio, Hotel Saint Cecilia in Austin and Rosewood Mansionon Turtle Creek in Dallas made the rankings as well.
In addition to the Conde Nast Traveler Readers' Choice Awards, Hotel Sorella, on an award-winning roll, is the only Houston hotel named on the magazine's exclusive Gold List 2013 — chosen by a panel of Conde Nast Traveler editors and travel experts. Sorella, which opened in late 2009, is getting used to such honors. It also made the Gold List in 2011and2012.
