Brittany and I just got back from a weekend in Houston at the Omni Hotel and I’m so dang relaxed and refreshed!
Her, I and Knox (her pup) jumped in the car after work on Friday and drove to Houston (about 2.5 hours from ATX). After a car ride filled with catching up and some Disney sing-a-longs, we pulled up to the Omni, quickly checked in and did a little self guided tour to get our barring’s straight.
La Reserve
For our first night, we decided to make reservations at their on-site whiskey bar La Reserve. I was STARVING by the time our reservation came, so I quickly pulled up their menu and saw that outside of an extensive list of cocktails, they served tapas and entrees as well — praise.
So we headed down to grab some drinks and dinner and had thee best experience! The whiskey bar was a total vibe (I felt like I was in an old school cigar bar – minus the cigars). It was dark and moody with intimate little seating areas, a fireplace, shelves of classic books and walls of black and white prints.
We walked in and were quickly greeted by Herbert – their senior mixologist – he showed us to our seats and then started talking whiskey to us. Now I’ve eaten at a lot of restaurants and been to a lot of bars, but I’ve never met anyone quite like Herbert. He was so passionate about his job and about whiskey that it quickly turned Brittany and I, two tried and true wine lovers, into whiskey aficionados.
Herbert understood the flavors we liked and brought over cocktails that he thought would pair best with our pallets and our meals. They were all gold. We ended the night with a drink he called The Closer – it tasted just like a melted recess pieces!
Outside of cocktails, La Reserve was a great restaurant as well. If you go, get the hummus as an app and the red fish for dinner *chefs kiss.
After dinner, we went back up to our room, made one more old fashioned because we were feeling like whiskey pros (they gave us a little DIY kit when we chcked in) and then crashed in our comfy bed.
Breakfast + The Pool
The next morning, we woke up bright and early, grabbed breakfast at their on-site restaurant Birdies which was so dang cute! If you go, get the avocado toast – it was perfection. The whole menu looked good though – it was a great mix of options.
After we finished up breakfast, we decided to hit the pool for a few hours of r&r. The Omni has two resort-style pools with plenty of seating which we loved. Right when thought the day couldn’t get any better (hello perfect weather) they came around with food and drink menus. We hung out there for a few more hours and then made our way to the Mokara Spa.
The Spa
I don’t think you guys know how excited I was to be in a spa again lol I hadn’t been in one since 2019 and my knotted shoulders and congested face were definitely causalities of my procrastination. Brittany ended up doing a massage and I did their signature facial. Both services were amazing and so relaxing – I already want to go back.
After our spa experience and some time in the relaxation room and hot tub, we headed back up to the room to change for dinner! We made a reservation at Liberty Kitchen that night at 7 so that we could see a little of Houston and bring Knox to dinner as well. Since it was only 5, we decided to do Happy Hour downstairs first. We grabbed a glass of house wine in the lobby and then swung by the whiskey bar to say hello to Hebert and grab one more whiskey cocktail.
Dinner
Before you know it, it was dinner time. The restaurant was only 5 minutes from the hotel #convenient and so we arrived right at 7, valet parked and grabbed our table. I don’t know if it was because I was really hungry or if that food was just that good – but that meal was easily one of the best I’ve had in Texas. We ordered oysters, deviled eggs, lobster bites, fired avocado…and like 5 more things lol and everything was excellent.
Once we were done, we headed back to the hotel, full and happy, and had a little night cap before bed.
The next morning we woke up, got ready and headed back to Austin! It was a short and sweet weekend, but just what we needed! I love doing little girls trips like this and hope there’s many more in our future 🙂
