September 2021
Drumroll Please! Season 19 of Top Chef is Heading to…
Seemingly before the last tear of joy has been shed on each season’s finale of Top Chef, fans of the show turn their attention to the next season and begin speculating, hoping, dreaming about the next locale. Well, wait no more! Top Chef Season 19 will be planting its ...
Bravo's Top Chef Selects Houston for Season 19
With a focus on celebrating culture and diversity, the Emmy and James Beard Award-winning culinary competition Top Chef selects Houston (ranked the nation’s most diverse city) for its series’ 19th season.
15 Romantic Things to Do in Houston
Houston is the city for foodies, artists, adventurers, and playful pairs seeking both metropolitan culture and small-town charm. No matter what romance looks like to you—a high-end dinner, an afternoon on the lake, or a day at the spa—it all goes down in H-town.
Everything We Know About Top Chef Season 19
Reality TV loving foodies, it's time to sharpen your knives. Top Chef, an OG in the reality cooking competition world and still one of the most popular shows in that space, is coming back for a 19th season with more Quickfires, more cheftestants, and almost certainly more Restaurant Wars.
Houston to Host Top Chef Season 19
H-Town holds it down as the nation’s most diverse city, and with that blend of nationalities and cultures, the city's food scene flourishes. That is why Bravo saw fit to name Houston the host of hit show Top Chef's Season 19.
The Best Dive Bar in Every State
Located inside Houston’s oldest structure and listed on the National Register for Historic Places, La Carafe is a must-visit location.
Meet in HTX: Your Guide to What's New in Houston 22'
Houston. It was the first word spoken from the surface of the moon. It is the most diverse city in the country. It has a legendary food scene. And it also happens to be a particularly smart choice for a destination meeting or event.
August 2021
Deep in the Art of Texas
Established in 1995, The Texas Cultural Trust is the leading voice for the arts in the Lone Star State.
Houston First officially welcomes Michael Heckman as president/C
Houston First Corporation, the official DMO for Houston, has named Michael Heckman as its next president and CEO. For the last 12 months, Heckman has served as the acting president and CEO after being appointed to the position by Mayor Sylvester Turner. He was charged with overseeing full operations of ...
Outdoor Food Festival Comes to Houston
COMMUNE is coming to Houston this weekend. Organizers call it "a series of micro-events run by a collective of acclaimed chefs. An 'anti-food-festival,' one that is equitable, gives back to the community, champions social justice, and is committed to addressing systemic issues facing the hospitality industry."
Room Request! Hotel ZaZa Museum District
With 315 rooms, the Hotel ZaZa Museum District is situated in the heart of the vibrant Museum District in Houston.
Luminous architecture, fine art and urban gardens are among Hous
Sometimes in Houston, it’s possible — for a little while — to forget the pandemic altogether, said Michael Heckman, acting president and chief executive of Houston First Corp.
Houston's Destination Marketing Organization Names Its New CEO
The Houston First Corp. has named Michael Heckman as its CEO following a year in which he held the position in an interim capacity. The destination management organization owns the 1,207-room Hilton Americas-Houston hotel, and manages the George R. Brown Convention Center along with 10 other city-owned properties, and ...
Extreme hotel makeovers, COVID edition
The new Trellis Spa at this Texas hotel is the result of a major 2021 investment.
July 2021
Houston's Best Neighborhoods
Visiting a city like Houston can feel overwhelming. Like many places in Texas, Houston is spread out, and attractions aren’t centered in just one area.
How To Create The Perfect Picnic
“Downtown Houston is where I live and like to unwind, so when I want to stay close to home, I head to Buffalo Bayou Park. I try to snag a space within the Eleanor Tinsley Park section. The greenspace is so picturesque and right off the bayou, making it a ...
50 Mini Vacations That Won't Break the Bank
Looking for a getaway that really feels like you've left home, even if you only have the weekend to work with?
Immigrant communities that capture the real American Dream
I'm Nigerian but born and raised in Houston, the largest population outside of Nigeria...Whenever I would go back [to Nigeria], there's so many nuances that people expected me not to understand because I didn't live there. Like, y'all — it's mini Nigeria in Houston.
New Series Celebrates Immigrant Communities Throughout U.S.
It was a Sunday, they'd just come back from church. The largest Nigerian church in America actually started in the living room of the house I grew up in, and they go to our [same] church.
A Bigger Canvas
The dazzling new Kinder Building at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston confirms the city's status as a cosmopolitan art mecca. Visiting groundbreaking galleries, mind-expanding installations, and under-the-radar incubators nurturing homegrown talent. Michael Agresta opens his eyes to a world of possibilities.
June 2021
10 Best LGBT + Bars Across the United States
Houston’s Ripcord has been the spot for gay men to gather and mingle since the 80s and is located in the LGBTQ+ friendly Montrose neighborhood.
Convention Centers Invest in Hybrid Offerings as Events Resume
Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center has been outfitted with a fully-fledged broadcast studio, the Avenida Houston Virtual Studio, to “give event planners even more flexibility in how they operate their conventions,” says Michael Heckman, Acting CEO & President of the Houston First Corporation.
10 Hotel Pools Worth Traveling for This Summer
As they say, everything is bigger in Texas, and the Marriott Marquis Houston does not disappoint with its Texas-shaped lazy river rooftop pool.
13 Amazing Asian American-owned Hotels in the U.S.
In February 2021 - just months before the Blossom Houston Hotel was set to open in the spring - owner Charlie Wang should have been completely focused on getting every detail of his 267-room, 16-floor property ready. But when he heard that some of his employees were dealing with broken pipelines in ...
This Juneteenth, Houston Activists Are Shining a Light on the Ci
What many don't know, however, is how central the city of Houston became to the history of those communities—as well as what we celebrate on June 19 to this day.
18 of the best Hilton Hotels in the US to earn or use points
An obvious choice for business travelers, Hilton Americas-Houston connects to the George R. Brown Convention center via skywalk, yet this downtown flagship property is also a great choice for city explorers on the go.
How and Where to Celebrate Juneteenth in 2021
In Houston, a Jubilee Dinner will celebrate freedom throughout the African diaspora with food.
2021 Convention Cities Index Showcases Best Destinations
Selecting a convention destination can be difficult in the best of times; in a pandemic, it's even trickier. Among key considerations now are space for social distancing; ample direct airlift; and safety factors, including health concerns.
Five of America's Most Invincible Hotels
After a rollercoaster 15 months of sudden closures and dismal occupancy rates, hotels across the United States are cautiously greeting travelers again thanks to a string of creative measures, with once-exotic technological novelties like...
Destination Spotlight: Houston
Destination Spotlight 76 - Visit Houston's CEO Michael Heckman helps us share many reasons why the city deserves some of your travel dollars
May 2021
Bigger in Texas
Its original Trellis Spa always drew me to sit for a spell in quietude. But that was the old Trellis Spa (bless its heart). Folks, hold onto your horses because the new Trellis Spa, reimagined by Blu Spas, Inc., can strut sitting down.
Chris Williams On Feeding Communities With Dignity
After creating a restaurant and menu inspired by his great-grandmother's genius, turning his focus to sustainable support in Houston.
Lonestar Getaways
53 Out-of-this-World Escapes For Wine Lovers, Movie Buffs, Adventure Seekers, and More.
April 2021
10 Autism-Friendly Vacation Spots for Families
Many cities, parks, museums, and other attractions have sensory sensitivity programs to help make autism-friendly vacations easier to plan.
Beaux Arts Houston: How to tour Texas’ top art scene - Haute Liv
Perhaps Texas’ artsiest city is Houston, a sprawling, culturally diverse metropolis born on oil profits, sports teams, and a storied space program.
Celebrate Solar New Year With Inspiration From These Southeast
Houston chefs share their favorite holiday memories
2021’s Most Diverse Cities in the U.S.
Houston ranked No. 1 among nations most diverse cities in Wallethub, which is the final installment in WalletHub’s diversity study series. It combines household diversity and religious diversity with our previous reports on socioeconomic diversity, cultural diversity and economic diversity.
Inside Texas' First Hemp-Based Vodka Company
In 2019, Houston Native Ben Williams launched one of the only fully black-owned distilleries in the country. Now, Highway Vodka is taking the Lone Star State liquor scene by storm.
The Weekend Guide: Barbecue, Rothko, and Space History in Housto
From its world-class museums to its wild outdoor spaces, Space City demands a second look.
What to Do in Montrose, Houston's Most Walkable Neighborhood
A Stetson’s toss to the west of high-powered, high-cultured, high-heeled downtown Houston sits a neighborhood a world away from the fast-paced drama in America’s oil capital.
DuJour Cities: Houston
Highlights include new restaurant openings and hotel openings and renovation news (i.e. Four Seasons Hotel Houston’s renovation, etc). Please click here (p. 126-127).
The Good Place
Urban parks are more important now than ever before. Three American cities - Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles - feature rich green spaces, new and old, that provide history, community and sanity in the 21st Century.
A Crawfish Feast Where the South Meets Southeast Asia
Spring is turning into a comeback season at Crawfish & Noodles, a Houston restaurant famed for the Viet-Cajun style that has spread around the country.
March 2021
Eat Your Way Around the World With These International Cookbooks
Houston is one of the largest cities in the nation, but it’s also one of the country’s most diverse. In fact, one in four Houstonians are foreign born. So it should come as no surprise that the bustling city’s ever-evolving culinary scene reflects its multicultural influences.
15 Amazing Resorts & Hotels That Welcome Pets
From the Emerald City to the Sunshine State, we’ve rounded up the best family-friendly resorts in the US that welcome pets with open arms.
Hotels with ties to women’s history
Here are some of the hotels that have unique ties to women and celebrate their achievements.
Historic Hotels Honor the International Women’s Day
News Accommodations Historic Hotels Honor the International Women’s Day As part of Women’s History Month celebration, we look at the stories of women behind some of the world’s most iconic hotels
February 2021
Spring Welcomes 69 Notable Hotel Openings Around The Globe
This spring, dozens of hotels around the world will open their doors for the first time during the months of March, April and May.
Meet The Black Men Behind Texas' First Hemp-Based Vodka
Sometimes your calling comes to you in a dream, but for some it comes by accident.
Zagat Conversations: ‘Being A Black Entrepreneur Is Like A Freed
Highlights from a three-day Slack chat among Black chefs, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, and journalists.
25 Best College Towns
So, okay, Houston isn’t exactly a town—in fact it’s one of the most populous cities in the United States—but there are a lot of colleges which are located in and around this huge city.
So Far in 2021: True Tales From Great Destinations
Destination Inspiration: For everybody buried under the Nor’easter, here’s a heartwarming hello from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
January 2021
A Family Road Trip Through Texas (and Down Memory Lane)
A family-friendly guide to a three-day Texas road trip—plus, one writer reminisces on the Texan cities that nurtured her relationship.
Roads Less Traveled Roads Less Traveled
8 underrated U.S. destinations that should be on your radar in 2021
The Texas Traveler
The late, great Anthony Bourdain dedicated a “Parts Unknown” episode to Houston in 2016, signifying that it had finally become a food destination.
