hotel accolades

2 luxe Houston hotels make Travel + Leisure's 500 best list for 2026

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Houstonian.com

Two of Houston's most luxurious hotels — The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa and The Post Oak Hotel — have earned prestigious acclaim in Travel + Leisure's annual report of the 500 best hotels in the world for 2026.

The T+L 500 List rounds up the highest ranked properties from the magazine's annual World’s Best Survey. Results are grouped geographically across eight global regions: the U.S.; Canada; the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean; Mexico, Central America, and South America; Europe; Africa and the Middle East; Asia; and Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific.

The T+L 500 List is a separate publication from the World's Best Awards, which is the in-depth breakdown of the world's top hotels, resorts, travel destinations, and more. Both Houston hotels have made consistent appearances in that yearly report, too.

There were nearly 190 U.S. hotels that made the list this year, and only 10 hail from Texas.

Founded in 1980, The Houstonian is highly regarded as one of the city's most most popular hospitality properties, and not just for its elegant guest rooms. The property encompasses a sprawling 27 acres for the hotel, a fitness club, multiple on-site restaurants, and more. The Trellis Spa is renowned for its indulgent experiences and treatments, and the reimagined conference center and Grande Ballroom on have recently reopened for event hosting. Even more elevated upgrades are expected in the fall.

The Trellis Spa is the signature pampering space at The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa. Photo courtesy of The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa

Owned by Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta, The Post Oak Hotel can rest on its laurels as one of only two five-diamond properties in Texas, and it has held onto its coveted One Key rating from the Michelin Guide since 2024. This posh hotel has crafted a reputation for luxury while also showcasing Houston's status as a top foodie city, whether by hosting cocktail bar pop-ups or James Beard Foundation events.

Both hotels have also snapped up other awards from national publications like U.S. News and World Report and Forbes.

Other Texas properties that made the T+L 500 List are:

Austin Proper Hotel
Bowie House, Fort Worth
Commodore Perry Estate, Austin
Hotel Drover, Fort Worth
Hotel Emma, San Antonio
Hotel Vin, Grapevine
Omni PGA Frisco Resort & Spa
Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas

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Community Meat-up

Tickets on sale for Texas Monthly's picnic with 30+ top barbecue joints

Photo by Randi Reding

Festival-goers got to try smoked meats by Texas Monthly's No. 1 barbecue joint, Burnt Bean Co., at the last TM BBQ Fest.

Texas Monthly is headed to Lockhart, about 150 miles west of Houston, for its TM BBQ Fest on Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8. Tickets are now on sale for the Top 50 Picnic, held Sunday.

Early bird tickets were only available to TM BBQ Club members, and are sold out. Tier one tickets went on sale on July 1, priced at $130 for general admission and $200 for VIP, which includes entry one hour earlier and two drink tickets. Prices go up to the second tier September 7, Labor Day.

As an important source of news across the state, Texas Monthly covers everything from arts and culture to politics. It holds a special niche in barbecue, thanks to its definitive 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas list, which comes out every four years.

The picnic happens more frequently, on an annual basis, giving Texans a chance to try 30-plus spots on the list in one place rather than having to traverse the state like barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn.

This year's lineup hasn't been released yet, but it's a good bet that some of Houston seven members of the top 50 list will participate. They include Truth BBQ (No. 10) and six more in unranked lower 40 positions: Corkscrew BBQ (Spring), Pinkerton's Barbecue, Bar-A BBQ (Montgomery), Jennings & Co. (Montgomery), Brisket and Rice, and Rosemeyer BBQ (Spring). Seguin (near San Antonio) joint Burnt Bean Co. is the reigning No. 1 spot and did participate in the picnic in 2025.

Saturday's event, the BBQ World's Fair, is a free public event. Anyone can enter with an RSVP and enjoy an artisan marketplace, live-fire cooking demos, live music, and the festival atmosphere. But to eat, they'll have to purchase a $51 tray. Both events support the nonprofit Feeding Texas and its network of food banks.

Texas Monthly, which is based in Austin, travels to Lockhart for the festival because it is widely known as the Barbecue Capital of Texas. In barbecue's infancy as a cuisine, it was a way to use meats that hadn't sold at the market. Lockhart's longtime barbecue scene — including restaurants like Kreuz Market, Smitty’s Market, and Black's Barbecue — stretches back to those days. There's also tons of local lore about the different barbecue families and their public feuds, as detailed in the documentary Family Beef.

Although Lockhart looms large in barbecue history and culture, Barbs B Q is the only Lockhart restaurant that made Texas Monthly's current top 50 list. If visitors to Lockhart during the festival want to take barbecue home for later, there are several local spots outside the fest that would be happy to wrap something up.

texas monthly barbecue festivals