In 1967, brothers Albert and Michel Roux spun culinary London on its head with their legendary La Gavroche restaurant, both going on to global, Michelin-starred fame. Earlier this year, Albert, who counts Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White among his proteges, made his American debut, opening the free-standing Chez Roux at the revitalized La Torretta Del Lago Resort & Spa in Montgomery, an hour north of Houston on Lake Conroe.
Exquisite French cuisine from the man knighted by Queen Elizabeth for transforming Britain’s once infamously bland culinary scene...in East Texas? Count on departures from the ordinary across Texas, a land uniquely suited for business-minded escapes; there is even the town of Retreat, population just north of 300, in Navarro County.
And if "embracing life’s simple pleasures" is the cure for these tough economic times, as prescribed by Willard Spiegelman of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, then the Lone Star’s many business-ready getaways, from Houston’s exquisite seven-room Colombe d’Or to the Chihuahuan Desert’s 103-room Lajitas Resort & Spa, are just what the professor ordered.
Coastal Connections
Established in 1983 as an animal- and horticultural-based healing center, Galveston Island’s Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center has evolved into a world-class conference, educational and recreational facility. Set on 242 lush acres, Moody Gardens offers 428 luxurious rooms and over 100,000 square feet of meeting and convention space, accented by two grand pyramids containing a living rainforest, a giant aquarium and an IMAX theater. A barrier-free expo center headlines the center’s convention capabilities.
Galveston Island is also home to The San Luis Resort, Spa & Conference Center. Built on the foundations of historic Fort Crockett, this 30-acre, year-round beachfront resort, with a 40,000- square-foot conference center, offers a mix of business and leisure amenities. The San Luis Hotel’s 244 rooms come with private balconies and unobstructed Gulf views. Also on the property are the 240-room Hilton Galveston Island and the newly renovated, 178-room Holiday Inn Resort on the Beach. The outdoor H2O lounge is a lively focal point, with private poolside cabanas for the more reserved.
In waterfront League City just south of Houston, the 240-room South Shore Harbour Resort and Conference Center overlooks scenic Clear Lake and offers over 25 meeting rooms with 25,000 square feet of space.
Urban Aristocrats
The former Dallas home of Texas cotton magnate Sheppard W. King, the palatial Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek is among the world’s most celebrated retreats. Accommodating up to 300 for meetings and 400 for receptions, this 127-room, hill-terraced pearl is five star at every turn. From its landscaped courtyard and 32-foot-high marble rotunda to its seven private dining rooms and sunny promenade prefunction area, the Mansion defines Texas meetings elegance. Among the VIP touches: complimentary Lexus sedan service within a five-mile radius and the complimentary use of four 2008 Lexus vehicles.
Until you have visited Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa, it may be hard to envision an 18-acre wooded oasis in the heart of a major city. Yet Houston’s most alluring meeting venue does just that. From its Grande Ballroom to its landmark Manor House, the 289-room Houstonian remains a first-class choice for corporate meetings and social celebrations. Guests can use the elite Houstonian Club fitness center; the Redstone Golf Club, a short distance away; and the Trellis Spa.
Surrounded by 400 rolling acres of North Texas hills, the Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas might be just minutes from downtown Dallas and DFW International Airport, but there is no mistaking the sense of being totally removed. Long-time home of the PGA’s annual Byron Nelson Classic, this deluxe property comes with private villas, a knockout sports club and spa, and superb function space.
Reminiscent of a Texas estate house, perennial AAA Four Diamond winner The Westin Stonebriar is a standout 301-room haven in the Dallas suburb of Frisco. Handsomely decked out in native Texas materials, the upscale Stonebriar has 301 guest rooms with balconies and 24,000 square feet of meeting space.
Head for the Hills
Hill Country is the natural setting for several internationally acclaimed, conference-ready resort hotels focused on the great outdoors.
One of Travel + Leisure’s top global picks this year, San Antonio’s 500-room Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa, formerly the Rogers-Wiseman Ranch, is 300 acres of bliss. The generous meeting space includes the oak-lined Courtyard Deck and the championship golf course-facing Luckenbach Pavilion, and the private balcony views induce a pure Texas state of mind.
At 405 acres, the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa near Austin is more expansive still, with a whopping 230,000 square feet of outdoor function space. All 491 brand-new rooms, many with private balconies or patios, come with generous work space; a popular on-site activity is the "Don’t Mess With Texas Animals" nature tour.
The designers of the Westin La Cantera Resort wanted this 508-room getaway to tell a compelling Texas story; their research produced tributes throughout, like Tio’s Lobby Lounge, evoking King Ranch, once the largest of its kind in the U.S. Perched atop one of San Antonio’s highest points, this evocative golf and spa retreat offers more than 39,000 square feet of meeting space and inspirations like the El Fortin Lawn’s limestone arches.
Other Hill Country addresses include Austin’s legendary AAA Four Diamond, 4,000-acre Barton Creek Spa & Resort, and on the shores of Lake Travis, the 168-room, IACC-accredited Lakeway Resort and Spa.
Coined the "Pebble Beach of Central Texas," the 7,000-acre Horseshoe Bay Resort, northwest of Austin in Marble Falls, counts three championship golf courses and seven dining facilities among its prodigious offerings. Accommodations include the 385-room Horseshoe Bay Resort Marriott hotel, with the Events Lawn, the two-story Highlands Bar and the Yacht Club among the meetings options—and there’s fly-in service to the private airport via Air Horseshoe.
Once the home of actress Olivia de Havilland, the Guadalupe River Ranch, just north of Boerne, has hosted Fortune 500 retreats and family reunions for years. Reflagged as the Tierra Sagrada Conference Center & Conservation Community, the resort remains open to groups during its current refurbishment. Boerne is also home to Tapatio Springs Golf Resort & Conference Center, its 27-hole championship golf course ranked a "Top Ten Texas Course" by The Dallas Morning News.
In New Braunfels, tennis legend John Newcombe’s Tennis Ranch offers 10,000 square feet of conference space and outback-style team-building adventures.
Nestled just north of Houston, the 440-room Woodlands Resort & Conference Center, a founding IACC member, has been a national conference leader for decades. With five restaurants and lounges, and 60,000 square feet of meeting space, the property’s amenities include the Forest Oasis Waterscape, 145 miles of nature trails and 36 holes of golf. Enlivening corporate retreats, too, is The Woodlands’ program of themed events.
