Fort Worth, Texas
Hotel Drover
Autograph Collection Hotel
What it is
A much anticipated new ultra-luxe-meets-Wild West hotel in the former stockyards, with a cabana-flanked outdoor pool and live music venue, The Backyard.
What it isn't
For John Wayne-types who favor rusticity. This is citified luxury with a western twist (note the chandeliers sparkling by the fire pits).
What we think
Supple saddle leather headboards (locally made at the stockyards by Rio Furniture). Wood floors that look sprung from a 19th century saloon. Guest rooms here are filled with touches you crave when you’re in Texas, but they’re equally matched by the niceties that oil money tycoons demand, including fluffy white robes, Marshall bluetooth speakers for blasting Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and artisanal bath toiletries by Los Poblanos. Starter rooms begin at 315 square feet, so for a more sprawled out stay (you are in Texas, after all), we recommend booking the Fireplace Suite, which has 890-square-feet for free-range roaming, including a deep soaking tub and (yup!) stone fireplace for cozy nights in.
You're here because
You’re something of a hotel pool snob, and you freely admit it. So the fact that this fountain-fed al fresco pool has gratis sunscreen and plenty of lounge chairs and cabanas makes you very, very happy.
The Moment
S’mores taste so much better at this outdoor fire pit than they ever did during your camping trips as a kid. Or maybe it’s that your Texas Two-Step cocktail, with Silver Star whiskey, has you feeling 17 again.
Restaurants & Bars
97 West Kitchen & Bar - open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this restaurant offers re-imagined ranch classics, comfort food and Tex-Mex
Location
Right along Marine Creek in the centuries old Fort Worth Stockyards district, now a buzzing hotspot for the glitterati the cowboys of yore wouldn’t recognize. A 17 minute drive away, the Kimbell Art Museum is a must, not least because it's housed in an iconic 1972 building designed by Louis Kahn. (Instagrammers, start your engines.)