The Van Gogh Exhibit at the Houston MFA
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On this page, I want to describe the beautiful hotel that Nancy chose for us to stay in. It was a very upscale hotel, with every amenity one might imagine, and we enjoyed it immensely. One of the neat things about this hotel was that it was right at the north end of Hermann Park, a major attraction in Houston, which provided a great place to walk Jax in the mornings. The pictures from those walks are on the next album page.

Where is the ZaZa Hotel Houston?

You probably don't know a lot about the Houston area (unless you live there) so let me first tell you a bit about that and where the ZaZa Hotel is located.

Houston is one of many cities that grew up totally in the age of the automobile. Every city, even the very old ones, has an expressway or two nowadays, but Houston is the poster child for one of the most typical arrangements of arterial highways- the hub and spoke system. Three Interstate highways (10, 45, and 69) run through the Houston central core. Interstate 10 goes from Santa Monica, California, to Jacksonville, Florida. Interstate 45 connects Dallas, Texas, and Galveston, Texas. And Interstate 69 (an anomaly in the Interstate Highway numbering scheme), runs generally from the Mexican border in South Texas to Port Huron, Michigan, on the Canadian Border. But this route is far from continuous; one of the completed segments runs through the Houston metro area.

Houston has an expressway ring, allowing through traffic to bypass the downtown core; this loop is I-610. (Houston is so large that there are many other non-Interstate freeways and toll roads, as well as at least two other ring expressways.) The ZaZa Hotel is inside this ring, south of I-69 in the southwest corner of the area enclosed by I-610.

The area where the ZaZa is located, which is called the Museum District, is about two miles southwest of the downtown core, most of which is in the center of the I-610 ring and bounded by I-10, I-45, and I-69.

We got to the ZaZa originally by coming into the Houston area from the northwest on US Highway 290, which is a major expressway in the Houston Metro Area. When it reached the I-610 ring, we turned south for a few miles to the intersection of I-610 and I-69, which crosses the ring coming from the southwest. We took that freeway a few miles to the Main Street exit, and turned south on that pretty, divided street. A mile or so south the ZaZa Hotel was on our left.

At the Hotel ZaZa

An Aerial View of the ZaZa Hotel

One of the pictures we took (see below) shows the hotel from its northwest corner where the porte d'cochere and restaurant are:

The ZaZa Hotel

Here are a couple more pictures of the outside of the ZaZa Hotel:

ZaZa Hotel (northwest view)

The ZaZa Hotel from the South

The hotel is right on Main Street, just at the top of Hermann Park- a 445-acre urban park at the southern end of the Museum District. The park is located immediately north of the Texas Medical Center and Brays Bayou, east of Rice University, and slightly west of the Third Ward. Hermann Park is home to numerous cultural institutions including the Houston Zoo, Miller Outdoor Theatre, the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and the Hermann Park Golf Course. The park also features a reflecting pool, numerous gardens, picnic areas, the McGovern Centennial Garden, and an 8-acre recreational lake.

To describe the hotel, here's some information from their website:

"Situated in the heart of the vibrant Museum District, world-renowned Texas Medical Center and thriving downtown central business district, Hotel ZaZa Houston is an unexpected feast for the senses. Introducing business and leisure travelers to a larger than life experience, this unique choice in Houston boutique hotels boasts a collection of exquisite guestrooms and suites, including Pool Villas, Concept Suites and The Magnificent Seven Suites, award-wining dining at Monarch Bistro and a relaxing day spa onsite. An unforgettable destination for meetings, weddings and other special events, our Houston hotel boasts 22,000 square feet of function space and an extraordinary location near some of the best shopping, art galleries and museums in Texas. Escape to a haven influenced by faraway lands at the premier choice among boutique hotels in Houston and reinvent your concept of the luxury hotel experience. "

Certainly glowing words, but then you'd expect that. The hotel was very, very nice, as was our room and private bath:

The Hotel ZaZa was very, very nice, and Fred and I want to make sure that we give a big shout-out to Prudence and Nancy for allowing us to stay with them in this beautiful boutique hotel! Not only was the room beautiful, but the view to the northwest was incredible; here is a panorama from our balcony:

The buildings at right in the above panorama are the beginning of the downtown core, but from our balcony we didn't have a direct view of that core. The buildings on the horizon in the center of the view are actually west of downtown, in an area that encompasses the Houston Galleria. Here is a closeup view of those buildings.

The ZaZa Hotel had a decorative theme I've not seen before; in the elevators and throughout the hotel are wall paintings that are, well, hard to describe. The mural in one elevator lobby is at left, and some more of these paintings are below:

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

These decorative elements were quirky and interesting and most of them were colorful as well. The hotel was certainly not a cookie-cutter property; every place you looked there were interesting things to see.

(Click on Thumbnails to View)

As we wandered around the hotel during the days of our stay, we had the occasion to take a few pictures- along with one picture we took when we drove up Main Street one evening to an Italian restaurant for dinner; those pictures are at left.

Not only was the Hotel ZaZa a charming example of boutique hotels, but it was in an excellent location as well.

The Neighborhood Around the ZaZa Hotel

The hotel was situated right between the Museum of Fine Arts (two buildings) to the north, and Hermann Park to the south. Also near the hotel across Main Street were some private residences, and to the east of the hotel a mixture of high-rise residences and also parts of the Medical Center.

A Nearby Residence with an Interesting Topiary Group

The streets to the east of the ZaZa Hotel are peaceful and shaded.

When we went to walk Jax in the morning, we mostly stayed close to the hotel, although, as you will see on the next page, we did make a fairly extensive circuit through Hermann Park on one particular morning.

Prudence and Jax with Nancy

Prudence and Jax with Fred

The picture below was taken on one of our afternoon walks through the neighborhood:

Fred, Me, Prudence, Nancy, and Guy (and Jax)

If you've been going through these pages sequentially, you've already walked through Hermann Park, which was just south of the hotel.

You can use the links below to continue to another album page.

	The Van Gogh Exhibit at the Houston MFA
	Return to the Index Page for our Trip to Houston