The case for a staycation is simple: you live twenty minutes from one of the best boutique hotels in Texas, and you’ve never actually stayed there. Hotel ZaZa has been on the Uptown Dallas skyline at 2332 Leonard Street since 2000, pulling in a two-time Michelin Key recognition for 2024 and 2025, and it remains the most personality-forward hotel in the city. The rooms alone justify the trip. Everything else is a bonus.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Picture this. The sun is dropping fast over the Pacific, going from gold to copper to something close to red, and you’re sitting on a cliffside terrace with a cold drink, watching the light hit a 200-foot rock arch rising straight out of the sea. Below you, two oceans meet — the Pacific on one side, the Sea of Cortez on the other — and the line where they collide is visible from where you’re sitting. Pelicans work the thermals. A whale surfaces maybe a quarter mile out, exhales a plume of white mist, and slides back under. The waiter arrives with something involving good tequila and fresh lime. You are at the edge of the Baja California peninsula, and this is a Tuesday.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
June is a good month to leave the house. Three Dallas-area hotels have programming worth circling on the calendar — a Route 66 celebration in Grapevine, an elevated happy hour in Westlake that makes oysters and caviar feel entirely reasonable on a Tuesday, and a Beyoncé-themed evening in Dallas that is exactly what it sounds like and better than you’d expect.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
McKinney’s historic square is about 30 miles north of Dallas and worth every one of them. The buildings date to the 1800s, the shops are locally owned, and on a good weekend the whole thing hums in a way that’s hard to manufacture and easy to enjoy. Two days here goes fast.
The historic downtown square is the whole point of the trip — more than 120 shops and two dozen-plus restaurants packed into a walkable stretch of 19th-century buildings. Come on a Friday. Stay through Sunday. You won’t run out of things to do.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
There is a town in the northwest corner of Arkansas that sits in the Ozark Mountains on streets so steep and winding that no two of them ever intersect at a right angle. The whole downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Victorian buildings are painted in colors that would embarrass a Key West postcard. It has a legendary haunted hotel, a world-class piece of architecture hiding in the woods, a big cat sanctuary, and a local culture that has always attracted artists, eccentrics, and people who just needed somewhere different to be. It is about six hours from Dallas and most people have never been. The town is Eureka Springs, and it is worth every mile of the drive.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
On Sunday, April 5, from 11 AM to 2 PM, guests can enjoy spring-inspired stations of carved smoked prime rib, made-to-order omelets, classic breakfast staples, house-baked sweet treats, and more. To make the day even more special, Open Palette is delighted to offer $4 Build Your Own Mimosas for the adults and a fun Egg Hunt for the kids, all set to live music.
Easter Day Brunch is $70/adult, $30/child under 12, and free for kids under 4. Reservations are available now on OpenTable.
Continue readingFiled under Steven Doyle
Discover Hotel Vin Grapevine, where style, wine, and experiences come together in a boutique setting. Located in the heart of Grapevine, Texas, the hotel blends sophisticated design with thoughtfully curated events, creating a destination that feels alive whether you’re staying overnight or just stopping by. From rooftop bars with sweeping city views to family-friendly celebrations and seasonal pop-ups, every corner of Hotel Vin invites guests to slow down, linger, and savor the moment.
Continue readingFiled under Crave
Hotel Dax, which will bring a new era of boutique hospitality to Addison when it opens in the coming weeks, has hired a restaurant veteran to lead its culinary program. Executive Chef Dustin Lee has already begin working with the four restaurants on property, including American bistro Top Brass, lobby-based Bar Dax, outdoor pool lounge Low Key, and Brewed, operated by the popular local coffee brand. Lee will also oversee in-room dining and catering at Hotel Dax.
Lee grew up in the oilfields of West Texas. After studying art at Stephen F. Austin University, he traveled the world, curating events for clients, investors and foreign dignitaries at some of the world’s finest restaurants and venues. Lee has studied the art of cooking in more than 40 countries including China, Argentina, Kazakhstan and India.
Continue readingFiled under Crave
