staycation

Summer Isn’t Over Yet — Soak Up the Sun(day Funday) at Laura Hotel

Summer Isn’t Over Yet — Soak Up the Sun(day Funday) at Laura Hotel

The rooftop pool at The Laura

FROM THE MOMENT guests scale the marble staircase to check in at the Laura Hotel, it’s clear that a staycation here is a grand affair. The still-new gem, which was previously the Hotel Alessandra, has everything needed for an end-of-summer escape — from inventive cocktails in the bar to hip vibes at the pool.

With floor-to-ceiling views of the city, the bar offers an extensive barrel-aged whiskey program with fun twists on whiskey-favs. The making of the banana old fashioned is as impressive a show as it is a cocktail: While the whiskey smokes in a barrel, bananas are caramelized on the spot as a flavorful garnish. The final product is a semi-sweet, boozy summer dream.

Meanwhile, at Hull & Oak, expect fine dining with a Texas-comfort-food twist. The hummus, for example, is made with hatch chiles and topped with jalapenos, and the country-fried chicken is plated for two, and comes with fixins like pickled peppers and collard greens.

Ready to detox? The Texas flair continues in the spa with massages utilizing oils made with local wildflowers and berries. And don’t miss the Meditative Massage, which calms the vagus nerve — responsible for the regulation of internal organ function — via steaming compresses and specialized massage therapies. All guests of the hotel also get a pass to LifeTime Fitness, located across the street.

The pool overlooking Downtown is adorned in sleek, all-white pool furniture and usually features pretty people and hip vibes. Get a late checkout and stay for the summer’s final Sunday Funday on Sept. 3, boasting a DJ and drink specials. Pro tip: no room reservation needed, as cabanas are available for rent to Houstonians, and include a bottle of bubbly. Cheers!

The Laura Hotel

Bloody Marys at Hull & Oak

Fried Chicken for two at Hull & Oak

Inside Hull & Oak

Peas in a Pod cocktail

Inside Hull & Oak

The Laura Bar

Inside The Laura Hotel

Inside The Laura Hotel

Food
coolest people

Couples and Spa Aficionados Are Seeking Out This Equestrian and NFL Wife’s New Hotspot

LeBrina Jackson (photo by Shamir Johnson)

LEBRINA JACKSON, A noted equestrian with a fascinating story of overcoming challenges to succeed and grow, has always been an entrepreneur with a nurturing spirit. Even as a child growing up in Fifth Ward, she sold homemade popsicles — with fruit juice frozen into Styrofoam cups — for fifty cents, to cool her customers down on hot summer days.

Keep Reading Show less
People + Places
art

This Weekend: HGO Takes on Rarely Staged — and Oft Controversial — Wagner Opera

(photo by Robert Kusel)

Parsifal

TO BE BLUNT, there’s opera, and then there’s Wagner. By the time Richard Wagner had completed Parsifal in 1882, he was using the word bühnenweihfestspiel (“festival play for the consecration of a stage”) instead of “opera” to describe this four-and-a-half-hour epic, where music, drama, lighting, architecture, and quasi-religious ritual come together to create what the Germans called “gesamtkunstwerk,” or a total work of art. In the past decade, only two U.S. opera houses have had the guts to take on Parsifal, which makes the upcoming Houston Grand Opera production even more of a must-see, given how rarely this complex and controversial opera is staged.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment