The Tamesis
In the 17 years since I moved to New York City from Houston, this sprawling Texas city has experienced an arts and cultural renaissance. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has undergone an upgrade and a $470 million expansion that includes the addition of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Building for Modern and Contemporary Art; Super Bowl LI and the 2024 College Football National Championship will be held at NRG Stadium in Houston; and the city now has three Michelin-starred restaurants. Naturally, this extends to the hotel industry, and on a recent visit to H-Town (affectionately called H-Town by locals), I stayed at one of Houston’s newer hotels, the St. Augustine Hotel.
The 71-room hotel is one of nine Bunkhouse hotels, a group of boutique hotels in Texas and Mexico that are inspired by the communities in which they are located. When looking to Houston (Bunkhouse has previously opened hotels in Austin, Mexico City and Todos Santos), one area in particular stands out. “Montrose has long been considered one of Houston’s most interesting neighborhoods,” said Tenaya Hills, design director for Bunkhouse Hotels & JdV by Hyatt. “It’s creative, a little quirky and very liveable, with so many influential institutions, businesses and people who have shaped its character over time. We weren’t trying to introduce something new to Montrose, we wanted to create a hotel that felt like it belonged there, was rooted in the creative spirit of the neighborhood and was part of the community.”
Photo: Nicole Franzen
For this reason, the Hotel Saint Augustine is located opposite the famous Menil Collection. Like all Bunkhouse hotels, it is named after a patron saint, evoking the unique character of the Houston and Montrose communities. The city was co-founded by Augustus Chapman Allen, and Houston is home to St. Augustine grass, the patron saint of printing, a tribute to the Menil Collection School of Painting.
