Hotel Derek

Across the street from Houston‘s infamous shopping mecca, the Galleria mall, sits Hotel Derek. The name is a play on the “derrick” oil drilling rig, a nod to the city’s black gold roots, which continues on the inside with black granite lobby floors. It’s also gives you convenient access to Houston’s 610 loop.

Houston’s Hotel Derek invites you to be yourself by injecting your own personality into every element, with out-of-the-box thinking that includes a Western movie projected every night onto a wall of the outdoor pool, and a Starbucks coffee spot that morphs into a popup Eurobar in the evenings—a super-trendy experimental spot off the already well-stocked bar, the VIN. The restaurant has a great menu, but it’s the breakfast buffet that is a revelation; the chef clearly goes out of his way to make an impression. Formerly a victim of the excessive moneyed masculinity of late 1980s décor, the property went through a transformation in 2013 of both remodeling and culture. It now prides itself on boutique, contemporary fun that attracts a similar vibe in its clientele. Whimsical touches throughout the hotel include a painted cow in the lobby named Mooshine, and oil derrick art and décor throughout (the name Derek is a play on the black gold that made Houston so rich). Every piece of the hotel is well-designed and well-thought-out, from the amenities in the gym to the delightful rooms, which are both beautiful and exceptionally comfortable. The business traveler is catered to with a portion of each room devoted to a workspace, and free wi-fi throughout the hotel that’s not even password protected. The Hotel Derek also welcomes animal lovers; dogs are welcome, with 25% of the $100 pet fee donated to the SPCA.