• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

The Ritz Carlton   (Photo: Courtesy of the Ritz Carlton)

See the newest star of Texas at months-old Ritz Carlton (from $329), which has replaced the Mansion on Turtle Creek as the go-to spot for Dallas’s social set thanks, in part, to former Mansion chef Dean Fearing's crossing enemy lines. Premium rooms (suites, really) are twice the size of deluxe rooms for just $30 more.

Take an exhilarating plunge in the sixteenth-floor outdoor infinity pool—it gives the illusion of spilling into the downtown skyline—at the W Victory Park (from $289). The year-old hotel maintains its minimalist W-ness while giving a nod to the Lone Star State with its Mega Texas Room, where everything—from the beds to the bath sheets—is oversize.

Stick with the program by booking the themed Texas suite—all leather, rustic cowhide, and dark wood—at Uptown’s Za Za (from $295). Raid the “butler’s pantry” (there’s one on every floor) for homemade gooey brownies or chocolate-chip cookies.

On the edge of upscale Park Cities, the Mockingbird Hilton—a big draw in the sixties—has been reincarnated as the tastefully understated Hotel Palomar (from $249). Get a lift to nearby Forty-Five Ten (an 8,000-square-foot “boutique” where Oprah and Laura Bush stock up on Givenchy) in the hotel’s complimentary Mercedes.

Published on Oct 31, 2007 as a web exclusive.