The Biggest and Boldest

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey y'all, and welcome back to All Things Houston, a
visitor's Guide. Your go to podcasts were exploring the heart
of Texas' biggest and boldest city. From world class museums
and space exploration, torate rodeos, in global cuisine and vibrant neighborhoods,

(00:21):
Houston has something for everyone. Whether you're here for business, barbecue,
or Beyonce, We'll show you the best places to eat, explore,
and experience like a local. Get ready to discover what
makes h town truly unforgettable. And right now, I'm really

(00:41):
maybe because it's Friday for me. I don't know when
you're listening to this, but it's Friday evening and I'm
really just thinking, you know how, I would just like
to go to a really nice hotel. I live in Charleston,
so I would love to go downtown Charleston tonight and
stay at one of the really nice hotels, get a suite,
take my wife out to Hall's chop House for a

(01:05):
great dinner and some wine, and just be able to
chill for just for one night. I mean to me,
that would be great. So I want to live some
opulence tonight. So that's that's where I'm coming from. So
we're gonna talk hotels, We're gonna talk accommodations, We're gonna
talk with vrbos in Houston, and I'm gonna fly through

(01:28):
the budget stuff because I'm not in the mood for
the budget stuff today. I know that we sometimes we
need the budgets that we really do, but today I
want to spend a little more time on the luxury
end of things. So, you know, Houston, I don't know
if a lot of people think of Houston as a
as a vacation destination, but I'm gonna tell you something.

(01:49):
I think it'd be a cool place. What was that
bar that huge country honky talk but used to be there.
I don't know if it was a Gillies or something
like that. There are a lot of movies that were
filmed in that place. I always want to That's on
my bucket list. If it's still open, somebody tell me
because I need to check that off the box. Right. So, Houston,

(02:10):
it is such a big place, man, and it offers
a diverse range of hotel accommodations to the to suit.
It really suits everybody, all budgets, all preferences, any amenity
you want, you can find it in Houston. So whether
you're seeking the ultimate luxury experience, a comfortable mid range stay,

(02:32):
or a budget friendly option, we're not talking much budget friendly.
I'll hit on a little bit, you'll find just a
ton of choices to match your needs. This section of
this episode, we're going to explore the various tiers of
accommodations available. We're going to highlight the key features at

(02:53):
different price ranges to help you make an informed decision.
Because listen, I know I'm going opulent, but we all
have to make our own decisions that's best for us
and our families and our businesses and all that kind
of good stuff. So these are just I'm just giving
you all the information, but I'm I'm gonna highlight some,
i mean, just out of selfish reasons. Here, let's start

(03:15):
with the luxury segment Houston, and I'm gonna be honest
with you, I've never been to Houston. This is all
on research and all on you know, people that have
been to Houston and who you still live there. That's
where I get my information. If I haven't been to
a city, I'm well traveled, never been to Houston. So
Houston boasts several world class hotels that there's my word opulence,

(03:39):
you know that really redefine opulence and provide unparalleled surface
that you may not expect in Houston, but maybe it's there.
The Post Oak Hotel, all right, an uptown Houston, for example,
is renowned for its renowned I'm making up words, you
can tell this Friday afternoon, and I'm ready for that

(04:00):
glass of wine. I haven't gotten a thick tongue. I
haven't even had any. So it's renowned for its sophisticated ambiance,
lavish rooms, and exceptional amenities. Expect to find exquisitely appointed suits.
I'm all about a sweet right, So that's what I
don't want to do is go to a hotel and

(04:20):
probably spend a lot of money to my nice hotel.
And I get there and it's a one roomer, right,
you got one room. You got a little so called
kitchen at you know, with a refrigerator the smaller than
one I had in college, and maybe a couch and
one bathroom. Right, that's not no, no, nope, I'm heading

(04:43):
right back down to the desk, right the front desk,
and we're gonna have a talk. Because when I'm paying
the money, and I'm staying in a nice place. I
want a two rooms. Sweet, getn't call it a suite
all day you want, I mean, I don't care if
it's one room. That ain't no, sweet, you know what
I mean. So I like to have a little room

(05:04):
to stretch out, even if it's just me on a
business trip. I want some room. I want to be
able to I don't want to be working in the bed.
I don't want to be watching TV into bed all
the time. When I do have a little downtime, I
want to be able to get up and walk around.
I want a table that I can sit at. And
here's one thing that really sells me in a room
when I'm traveling with my wife or my kids, whatever.

(05:28):
A half bath. I'm going to say that again, A
half bath. You can call it what you want, but
you know what it's for when you're traveling with a
member of the opposite sex, Okay, because you don't well,
you know, you don't want to ruin. You don't want
to you want to mess up the romance. Right, So
now you've got a full bath. And these things are awesome, right.

(05:51):
So they have these great big tubs, lots sometimes a
separate tub and these huge showers with two shower heads
or a rain shower and the wand you know, so
you can you can point that water anywhere you want to.
They're awesome, Okay, And I love that part. Usually a
double vanity, usually a little bit of a separate pooper.

(06:13):
You know. That's but the half path, the half bath
is key to keeping the romance alive. Now that's a
secret between me and you. But when you see your
room with that half path, jim on it. Okay, all right,
I'm glad we got that straight. Now, you guys know

(06:33):
all the secrets. Let's see somewhere. The heck was I
on the Post Oak Hotel, which I do understand, and
I did go on the website. It's amazing looking place.
The breathtaking city views, top tier dining experiences, state of
the art spa. I never understood the state of the
art part, but this spa, from what I saw on

(06:55):
the website is amazing. Coach, you know what, when you
get done listening to me and my boaring self and
my opinionated self on a Friday afternoon, go to the
website yourself. Check this out. This is the place you
want to go. Even if you're not planning on going
to Houston, you just happen to stumble on my voice.
God bless you. You know, take a look at Houston,

(07:16):
take a look at the Post Hotel. They need to
put me on the payroll right now. The prices here
are going to naturally reflect the premium quality, ranging from
several hundred to thousands of dollars per night. Similarly, the
Four Seasons Hotel, everybody knows the Four Seasons, that's up
with me. On the same parallel as the Ritz Carltons,

(07:38):
the Four Seasons of Houston provides an experience of refined
elegance and meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of
the guest experience, from the impeccably designed rooms to the
personalized concierge surface. Their location, I mean, wow, it's near everything.

(08:01):
I mean it's near the major business districts and or
all the cultural attractions, offering easy access to Hustan's prime locations.
So this is not only an amazing hotel, it's an
amazing hotel and a prime location. So that's a win win.

(08:22):
So these hotels often cater to business travel, you know,
so you can go the Four seasons and it could
be on the beach and you're still going to see
a lot of business people there. That's a good thing.
So that's another win. This is a win win win
situation with the four seasons of the high end leisure
tourists seeking a truly unforgettable stay along with business travel wars.

(08:43):
Another iconic choice in the luxury category is the Hotel
Zaza Museum District. Now. I talked about the Hotel Zaza earlier,
and that was in Dallas, and I went on that website.
I did not go on the one in Houston. I
just ran out of time. I do some of these

(09:04):
informational websites for different cities. So if you're planning on
travel and look me up, I got some other places
for you to go. So it offers a unique blend
of modern design and artistic flair. I think what I
saw on Dallas this is a cool place, and I'm
sure the one in Houston's a lot like that. It's
a contemporary experience along with excellent service and amenities. It

(09:27):
makes a popular choice among a more fashion conscious clientele.
And you know that's me, man. I am a trendsetter
when it comes to fashion I started the whole skinny
jeans thing, you know, and I still hadn't let that go.
And I'm almost Selby fifty nine in a couple of days.
Fifty nine year old and skinny jeans. Well, I embarrassed

(09:48):
my kids so bad sometimes and cowboy boots man, good thing.
I'm still in pretty decent shape. Again. Expect to pay again,
way too much about me, I know, TM, I expect
to pay a premium for this level of service and accommodations.
These luxury hotels often include access to exclusive lounges, I'm

(10:08):
in private pools please, and other luxurious amenities not usually
found in more budget friendly options. Considering factors such as location,
specific amenities and desired level of service will help you
weigh the options. With this sector, It's crucial to check
reviews and compare prices across different booking platforms to secure

(10:30):
the best possible deal. Okay, well, obviously, say, I don't
know which hotel group the four Seasons is in, but
I'm generally a Hilton guy. It's just where I started,
and I still you know, I have millions of had
millions of points. I've been eating through those, so you know,

(10:51):
start there when you're looking, and start at the Hilton,
not say the Hilton Honors website and get all the
factual things you can about a certain hotel. You're going
to probably get really the best prices if you're an
Honors member for Hilton, and then go to like expedia
dot com or Bookings dot com or hotels dot com

(11:13):
or Kayak dot com and compare, and then look at
some real reviews outside of the specific hotel chains reviews
and see what they are. And don't just look at
the first one or two that might be five stars.
Everything's Sonkey Dordan great thumb through you know, fifteen or

(11:33):
twenty of those real quick. Make sure that all the
star levels are pretty consistent, and if you start seeing
some lower ratings, read why and see if that's a
consistent issue throughout. And that way you're going to make
sure you don't get to a hotel, especially one that
you're paid big bucks for like the ones I just mentioned.
And I know the ones I just mentioned are fine,
they're awesome, but you don't want to get to a

(11:56):
place like that. They spent all this money for or
burned a lot of points for, and the place just sucks.
I mean it can be the most beautiful thing on
the outside, but get inside and it's miserable. The people
are miserable. They don't want to be there, they don't
want to work, they don't speak your language. It's not
they're not cleaning properly. The bartenders unattentive. I mean, that

(12:18):
would make me mad right there. And if you ask
for anything extra, which you should get whatever the heck
you want in places like this, and they act like
it's a big deal, you know, maybe that's time to
go somewhere else. That's when you go find the Rits.
That's when you go find the Four Seasons. That's when
you go find the Posto Hotel. And that's that's all
I got to say about that. If you're going to
pay the price for a really nice hotel, make sure

(12:42):
it's worth it when you get there, and don't don't
be scared to voice your opinion and your disappointment, because
if it's a hotel worth a flip, they're going to
make it right for you. And if they don't, you
call me and if I answer, I'll help you out anyway.
So we're going to hit on the mid range sector
real quick. I really just want to stick on the options. Uh,

(13:03):
it's a wide variety of hotels offering all the comfortables
and you know, convenience without breaking the bank. So we're
talking obviously the all the bigger hotel chains, Holiday and Hilton.
There's you know, I'm talking about the Marriott's, the Marriotte, Marquee.

(13:25):
You know, there's so many. But anyway, I'm not gonna
sit here and list them all. But you know what
you get with that. You're gonna get a nice clean room.
You may get like a two room suite, but I
can almost guarantee you're not gonna get the half path.
You got a pony up for that. So so then

(13:48):
you're gonna get You're gonna probably get ample parking. You're
gonna's gonna be close enough to things in the area
that you want to to frequent with all the attractions
and restaurants. Some of them are going to have on
site restaurants and little on site bars. They're usually a
little overpriced and the food is okay, but it's an option,

(14:09):
and you know, I don't know if I would stay
in a place that didn't have some sort of restaurant
and a bar, because I need those. That's important. For me,
you know. So then if we go down to the
more budget conscious travelers, which I mean, I've been there
plenty of times when it had to be a budget
travel but I still wanted to go have a good time.

(14:30):
So Houston offers a variety of affordable options that allows
you to experience the city without exceeding your or spending
your limits. Several reputable hotel chains such as Holiday Inn,
Express Hampton In and you know they offer clean, comfortable,
well located rooms at competitive rates. You know you're going

(14:50):
to get free Wi Fi, you might get a pool,
but you're not going to get the other things. You're
not going to get the half bath, I promise you
in that one. So these are all over Houston, Midtown,
there's some other airport, They're everywhere, and we all know
what I'm talking about. So I'm not going to go
into every little detail. I do want to touch on

(15:12):
the vrbos because some of those can be quite opulent,
and you don't need a half bath on that because
there's probably four or five bathrooms if you do it right.
So the beyond the traditional hotels, alternative accommodation options are
increasingly popular among travelers seeking unique experiences or greater flexibility
Airbnb and vrbo. Now you noticed that I went old

(15:37):
school on VRBO. I don't want to hear you, me
or anybody else say the V word that they invented
for marketing, because it's awful. I hate it. I refuse
to say it, and I refuse to listen to it.
And anybody that thinks is cool is not very intelligent
and does not have a good sense of humor. Okay,

(15:58):
if I made my point, don't say I'm disappointed in
Nick Saban though. I know he's making a lot of
money for this VRBO commercials, but he's saying the V
word and he should be ashamed. He's a good coach, though,
and I think he's a good man. No way I
could have played for him. I did play college football,
major college football, and it's just not that I wasn't

(16:19):
good enough, though I probably now I'm really You know,
when we start telling stories from a long time ago,
we have a right to indulge a little bit and
you know, fudge a little bit. So but anyway, I
was a pretty good football player back in the day.
It's a long time ago, mid eighties, so these options

(16:40):
can be particularly attractive for the vrbos and the airbnb.
So you can go and you can rent a house
with one, two, three, four, five bedrooms. You can rent
it for a week, you can have all the bathrooms.
You're gonna maybe have a garage. It's going to be private.
You can take your whole family, you can take business friends,

(17:01):
you can take friends. You can just take yourself and
get a little alone time at downtime. Take your wife,
make it romantic, or your significant other. So that's to me,
that can be a little bit more on the opulent side.
You're not going to get all the service like you
do in a hotel, but you can go to the
grocery store. You can buy your filets and your baked potatoes,

(17:22):
and you're bacon to wrap the filets, and hopefully there's
a cast iron skillet there or a grill outside, and
you can make your own amazing dinner. Tell oh, it's
about dinner time anyway? Can you tell them all about
food and wine? Another budget friendly and I mean very
budget friendly alternative stayed in a hostel. I've never done that.
My wife has done that in Europe, and she didn't

(17:44):
really have any bad things to say. I just that
would be tough for me at my age. But I
think that if you're a young traveler and you're probably
going to share a room, you're probably gonna have like
a community bathroom shower or not saying there'd be more
than one person in the shower with you, but you know,
it's it's probably one that everybody shares at different times,

(18:08):
I hope, unless you really get to know somebody there.
So hostel is definitely an option, and I think they
are becoming more and more popular. So the ideal accommodation
for you is what's important. So get on the Houston
and check out the websites of each hotel. Check out

(18:29):
the opulent ones that comes with my highest recommendation, and
you know, can also check out the holiday and expresses
and all the mid range and a little bit more
budget stuff. Whatever it takes to get you there on
a vacation where you can relax and enjoy yourself, enjoy
your significant other, enjoy your family, get some business done.
Whatever it takes, just do it. That's what this is

(18:52):
all about. It's not about every little detail. It's about
getting somewhere and doing something fun, relax a little bit.
So anyway, I'm done for the weekend, Y'allso y'all have
a good day. I don't know what day this is
for you, so I can't say have a good weekend.
But you know, whatever weekend is next for you, I
hope it's amazing. So I'll talk to you next time.

(19:12):
Because as soon as I get done with this, I'm
closing up my iPad and I am going to call
up and make some reservations downtown Charleston and we're gonna
go get us some halls, chop house, and it's our
twentieth year anniversary, so we're gonna stay downtown Charleston have
a great time. No, not Houston. That would be a
long drive for us, but Houston would be a great

(19:35):
place to celebrate my twentieth year anniversary my wonderful wife.
All right, well, listen again until next time. God bless
you all.