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Hotel perks, staycation ideas + 9 more Texas travel tips for August

Celebrate Labor Day with the family at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas in Irving.

Photo courtesy of The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas

Summer travel is reaching its end in August, as the season starts to wind down and children get ready to go back to school. Why waste those last precious moments hanging around the house when you could be exploring a new city or a small Hill Country town? Travelers looking for Labor Day weekend getaways, staycations, or summer road trip ideas can find them here, in our big roundup of 11 top ideas for a fun-filled Texas getaway in August.

In the Hill Country

Travelers who seek a little more seclusion and a retreat-like atmosphere can take a day trip to Dripping Springs to visit Camp Lucy for the resort's yoga and meditation classes, a guided vineyard or property tour, and many other daily activities. Until August 31, Camp Lucy is offering 15 percent off standard room rates with the promo code "SUMMER." Nightly rates begin at $262 with the discount.

It's not a true day trip in the beautiful Texas Hill Country without a little wine to sweeten the deal, especially during harvest season, when many local wineries invite the public for grape-stomping events. Award-winning Stonewall winery Pedernales Cellars will host its inaugural Harvest Weekend Celebration, August 17-18, with a barbecue picnic and live music 10 am to 5 pm Saturday, and a paint and sip event 11 am to 2 pm Sunday. Visitors can also make their own "grape stamp" using corks to stamp paint onto the winery's branded t-shirts. Tickets for the Harvest picnic are $25, and tickets for the paint and sip activity are $50.

Pedernales Cellars will host its inaugural Harvest Weekend Celebration from August 17-18.Photo courtesy of Pedernales Cellars

In Austin

Visitors can feel like locals with Haywood Hotel's "Summer Staycation" package for stays through September 15. The package includes free hotel parking, free bicycle usage, a free concierge service, and a $100 gift card to one of the many top-notch restaurants in East Austin. The deal also includes a free activity of the guest's choice, which could be free swim passes to Barton Springs Pool, a distillery tour at Still Austin, indoor mini golf at Holey Moley, and more. Room rates begin at $179 per night.

As August is National Wellness Month, Hotel Saint Cecilia is going all out for its "Sleep Soundly" package, a sleep-focused turndown service that encourages mindfulness through relaxing amenities. The package includes a custom Hotel Saint Cecilia Chambray Notebook and Blackwing Pencils for journaling, a custom-made Lola James Harper x Hotel Saint Cecilia Candle, a bottle of Onda Solid Sleep Tincture, and a "Sleepy Time" cocktail that uses the tincture to help provide a good night’s sleep. The Sleep Soundly package is a $150 add-on, and nightly room rates begin at $433 in August.

Hotel Saint Cecilia Austin tea set Hotel Saint Cecilia is celebrating National Wellness Month with a special sleep-focused add-on package for guests.Photo by Grand Pifer

The Loren at Lady Bird Lake has a sweet offering and a suite deal this month. From August 1-31, Dallas' acclaimed La Casita Bakeshop will pop up — offering two cakes, pastries, cookies, and more — as part of the Cafe at the Loren's Cafe Collaboration series. The hotel has also extended its "Suite Deal" through August 31, with a 15 percent discount off best available rates for suite stays for two or more nights. The deal also includes a $50 daily food and beverage credit that can be used at the hotel eateries. Nightly rates for a suite with the "SUITEDEAL" discount code start at $400.

At home in Houston

The Houston-area location of the famous Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark chain is right on track to open its doors to the public on Wednesday, August 7. Located in Webster, Great Wolf Lodge broke ground in September 2022. CultureMap got a sneak preview of the resort in July, showcasing the play structures and enormous waterslides that reach at least four stories into the cavernous main area of the lodge. Ahead of the opening, Great Wolf Lodge is offering 25 percent off single-night stays and 30 percent off multi-night stays with the discount code "COUNTDOWN." Rates begin at $149 per night.

A rare showing of artwork by the late, legendary Beatles guitarist John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance - The Art of John Lennon, will be on display for a limited time at Off the Wall Gallery at The Galleria in Houston, August 20 through September 7. The pieces in the exhibit are lighthearted and open, focusing on Lennon’s themes of peace and human communication while showing a light side to the often controversial artist, leaning heavily into human figure doodles and animal scenes.

Hotel ZaZa Memorial City is bringing the classic rockstar life to guests with its new "Party Like A RockStar" package, which will include a bucket of energy-fueling goodies like High Noon Hard Seltzers, Celsius Energy Drinks, Dot's Pretzels, and Sahale Snacks. The package is available during the entire month of August, and guests can now reserve the hotel's poolside cabanas for the first time ever to complete the rockstar experience. Standard room rates at Hotel ZaZa Memorial City begin at $269 per night.

In Galveston

Galveston's boutique and food-focused Hotel Lucine is offering two different beach break packages for those who need one last getaway before the summer season ends. The weekday exclusive "Beach Break" package gives guests 15 percent off stays of two or more nights, plus a daily breakfast credit and unlimited drip coffee during their stay. The "Summer Breeze" package offers 15 percent off stays for two nights, with increasing discounts for longer stays of up to 25 percent. Nightly rates begin at $165.

Hotel Lucine It's time to schedule that last beach trip to the coast before the summer season ends.Photo by Johanna Andruchovici

Across North Texas

The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas in Irving is enticing families to spend Labor Day weekend at the fan-favorite luxury resort, August 30 through September 2, with its new "Safari Summer Send Off" package. The deal includes valet parking, late checkout, and two Ritz Kids passports that send children on thrilling adventures, like a daily safari-themed scavenger hunt; nightly movies on the lawn (The Lion King, Madagascar, and Rio); interactive and educational animal activities; and much more. Rates for the package begin at $710 per night.

The Western-luxe Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection in Fort Worth has made Time magazine's new list of the 100 greatest places in the world. Bowie House is the only place in Texas that was included on the prestigious list, with the publication praising everything from its decor, to its spa, to its setting in Fort Worth, which it describes as "booming."

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Now hear this

New Texas museum shines spotlight on Tejano music history

Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum, San Antonio, tejano music

Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Roger Hernandez serves as board president of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum.

For a city that proudly calls itself the capital of Tejano music, San Antonio has long been missing a permanent place to honor the genre’s pioneers and preserve its history. That gap officially closed In December with the opening of the Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum at 1414 Fredericksburg Rd.

The music couldn’t have found a better steward than its founder and board president. Roger Hernandez has had his finger on the pulse of Tejano music for decades. His company, En Caliente Productions, has provided a platform for countless performing artists and songwriters in Tejano, conjunto, and regional Mexican music since 1982.

Hernandez says his wife, who ran a shop at Market Square years ago, would often get questions from visitors about the location of a physical Tejano music museum, a thing that simply did not exist. In 2022, he banded together with friends, family, and other local Tejano music supporters to make the nonprofit Hall of Fame a reality.

“I decided I've been in the music scene for over 40 years, it's time to do a museum,” Hernandez recalls.

Hernandez says a brick-and-mortar Tejano music museum has long been needed to remember musical acts and other individuals who grew the genre across Texas and northern Mexico, especially those who are aging. Recently, the community lost famed Tejano music producer Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla, the renowned Tejano singer/songwriter and father of the late superstar Selena Quintanilla-Perez. Both deaths occurred roughly one week after the Totally Tejano museum opened to the public.

“They're all dying. They're all getting older, and we need to acknowledge all these people,” Hernandez says.

The Totally Tejano Museum — named after Hernandez’s Totally Tejano Television Roku streaming — has 5,000 square feet of space packed with plaques, photos, promotional posters, musical instruments, and other memorabilia honoring the pioneers and stars of the beloved genre. Mannequins wear stage outfits from icons like Laura Canales and Flaco Jimenez, and a wall of photos remembers late greats. Totally Tejano Television plays legendary performances on a loop, bringing the exhibits to life.

The newly opened Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum includes a growing collection of memorabilia. Photo by Edmond Ortiz

Hernandez says the museum will soon welcome permanent and rotating exhibits, including traveling shows, a Hall of Fame section, and an area paying homage to Chicano music crossovers, such as the late Johnny Rodriguez, the South Texas singer-songwriter who blended country with Tex-Mex music. Plans call for the organization to hold its inaugural Hall of Fame induction in February 2026.

Eventually, a 2,000 square feet back room will be converted into additional display space and host industry gatherings, community symposiums, and record and video release parties. The museum also plans to add a gift and record shop and a music learning room where visitors can listen to early Tejano music and browse archival photos. Hernandez is already talking with local school districts about educational field trips.

Much like Tejano itself, the museum is a grassroots production. Hernandez and fellow board members have used their own money to rent, renovate, develop, and maintain the museum space. The board also leads the selection of the Hall of Fame honorees and curates the exhibits.

Hernandez has been heartened by the museum’s reception, both from media outlets and music fans around Texas and beyond.

“We had a radio station come in this morning from Houston to interview us,” he says. “People have come in from Lubbock, Texas. We have had people from Midland, Texas. We have another person who emailed us who’s coming in from New York. People are learning all about us.”

That includes many of the musicians who helped shape the genre. Johnny Hernandez, Sunny Ozuna, Elida Reyna, and Danny Martinez from Danny and The Tejanos are among the luminaries who have already graced the halls.

The Totally Tejano Hall of Fame and Museum is now open 10 am-6 pm, Tuesday-Sunday, and closed Monday. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. Fans can call 210-314-1310 for more information.

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