Four Seasons Hotel Houston, Photo Credit: The Four Seasons
Summer has arrived in Houston and, with it, soaring temperatures that make you want nothing more than to lounge by a pool sipping chilled cocktails beneath a shady umbrella. The best way to beat the heat? Plan a Texas-style getaway with one of these five luxurious hotel packages, designed to help you stay as cool as possible during the year’s warmest months.
Four Seasons Hotel Houston
One of the best things about the Houston Weekend Getaway package at Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star Four Seasons Hotel Houston is the fact that it presents options: house car service is available throughout downtown or to the Galleria on weekends; bicycles can be rented, if you want to see the city on wheels; on Saturday evenings, movie night takes place on the pool deck with complimentary popcorn and a decadent candy bar.
There’s also a full American breakfast for two, as well as early check-in and late checkout options. But the very best choice might be to laze by the pool all day as attendants circulate every hour with complimentary treats that range from chocolate to ice cream — very cool, indeed.
The Houstonian, Photo Credit: Lindsey Becerra
The Houstonian Hotel, Club and Spa
Four-Star The Houstonian’s lush, 18-acre grounds set the stage for the Get It While It’s Hot Weekends package, available for Friday or Saturday night bookings through August. Great for couples and families, the deal offers a chance to spend as much of your weekend as you want in one of The Houstonian’s three resort pools.
Among other things, the package includes fresh lemonade and lemon cookies upon arrival in your Deluxe Guest Room, breakfast for two at Forbes Travel Guide Recommended Olivette restaurant, a fully kitted-out beach bag filled with a plush towel, sunscreen, après sun lotion and water, as well as unlimited access to The Houstonian’s 200,000-square-foot, members-only fitness club.
Hotel Granduca, Photo Credit: Shannon O’Hara
Hotel Granduca
For a weekend getaway that the ladies of Sex and the City would approve, look no further than Four-Star Hotel Granduca’s Reconnect with the Girls package, designed for those who love la dolce vita.
Your grand excursion begins with a bottle of chilled prosecco and fresh fruit waiting to welcome you to your plush 1,250-square-foot two-bedroom suite. When you and the girls are ready to hit the hotel’s salt-water pool, a cabana with a custom refreshment cart will be reserved under your name. And the decadence doesn’t end there: While you’re lounging poolside, a 30-minute foot massage will be conducted.
Come sunset, you’re invited for complimentary cocktails on the Il Giardino patio. As if that weren’t enough, there’s also brunch for two in Ristorante Cavour and gift bottles of the signature Granduca fragrance, which you can take home with you to commemorate all the fabulousness of your girls’ getaway.
Marriott Marquis Houston, Photo Credit: Erika Brown
Marriott Marquis Houston
The city’s newest downtown hotel destination offers a Texas-sized amenity you never knew you wanted until you saw it: a 510-foot lazy river shaped like the Lone Star State.
Located 110 feet above street level with spectacular views of the surrounding cityscape, the river is the perfect place to float away the weekend, especially when you book Marriott Marquis Houston’s Texas Staycation package.
Available every weekend this summer with a minimum two-night stay, this deal offers you a gratis upgrade to a pool-view room upon check-in, late checkout and a $50 daily credit. Our advice: Use it for poolside bites or cocktails hand-delivered to your inner tube, cabana or lounge chair from High Dive, the rooftop terrace restaurant.
Hotel Sorella Citycentre, Photo Credit: Hotel Sorella
Hotel Sorella Citycentre
What’s better than a frozen treat when it’s hot outside? An ice-cold cocktail served in a martini glass with a Popsicle dunked inside of it.
Dubbed the “poptail,” this alcohol-infused libation was the inspiration for Hotel Sorella’s Summer of Poptails package, which includes luxurious accommodations for two plus complimentary Wi-Fi, parking, fitness center use and breakfast for two, along with — you guessed it — two poptails of choice.
Try the Cosmologic, made with citrus vodka, lime juice, triple sec, cranberry juice and garnished with a cran-orange Popsicle, for optimum poolside refreshment.
