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Friday, January 21, 2011

The French Room in Dallas receives AAA Five Diamond Award for 2011

AAA
AAA has recently awarded 179 establishments the AAA/CAA Five Diamond Award® for 2011. The AAA award listing accounts for only 0.3 percent of the total 59,000 AAA listed lodgings and restaurants that receive the prestigious honor. “It is encouraging to see an increase in the number of AAA Five Diamond establishments this year,” said Michael Petrone, director of AAA Tourism Information Development. “The recent economic downturn has presented many challenges for the travel industry including increased closures and fewer new restaurant openings."
Executive Chef of the French Room Jason Weaver
Executive Chef Jason Weaver of The French Room
Congratulations go to The French Room restaurant located in The Adolphus in Dallas and featured here at Southpoint.
Lobby of The Adolphus
The Adolphus Hotel
The Adolphus is a museum unto itself, and includes a rare 1893 Steinway piano which was destined for the R.M.S. Titanic. The piano was owned by the millionaire Benjamin Guggenheim, who died after refusing to get into one of the few available lifeboats just before the Titanic sank in 1912.

Watch in February as we visit The French Room in a new expanded feature.

View here for a full listing of the AAA Five Diamond Award list for 2011.

Posted by Carl Burnham at 3:47 PM
Edited on: Wednesday, January 26, 2011 9:10 PM
Categories: Accommodations, Restaurants, Travel News

Monday, January 17, 2011

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

Recently we visited the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin. With three floors of interactive displays, exhibits, films, and the IMAX Theatre there is a lot of history to absorb on the Lone Star State.
Read about in our new feature and view a video overview here courtesy of the Museum:



Watch a sneak peak of the upcoming movie Born To Be Wild showing soon at the IMAX Theatre in the Bob Bullock Museum:

If staying in Austin we recommend Bear Creek Retreat in Manchaca near Austin.
Best Rated Austin Hotels | Get Tickets to Austin Area Events
Posted by Carl Burnham at 12:06 PM
Categories: Attractions, Destinations, Videos

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

National Park free entry days

Like free stuff? Sure you do! We have been to many of our National Parks over the years. From Denali to the Smokies, each is unique in their own way.

Plan a trip to a National Park this year around these days and get a free entry.
One of our favorites, Rocky Mountain National Park

Add these dates to your calendar for these fee-free National Park days in 2011:

* January 15-17

(Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)

* April 16-24

(National Park Week)

* June 21

(First day of summer)

* September 24

(Public Lands Day)

* November 11-13

(Veterans Day weekend)

Search for a National Park via the NPS website.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Dallas Abuzz for Super Bowl XLV

Excitement is building around the Dallas area for the upcoming Super Bowl XLV where the NFC and AFC Champions will play in the new Arlington stadium February 6th which will be televised on the FOX network.
Dallas Cowboys Stadium at Arlington, Texas
Serving as hosts for the NFC and AFC Champion teams, the honor goes to two area Omni hotels, the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas and the Omni Hotel in Fort Worth. The two Omni hotels were picked by the NFL after a thorough review process. The Omni Dallas at Park West also operates in the area.

We will be highlighting the Omni Mandalay Hotel in Las Colinas in a special feature in the near future so stay tuned. Scheduled for opening in 2012, a fourth area Omni Hotel is in the works to be built at the Dallas Convention Center.
Omni Hotels
We are always impressed with the warm interior designs at Omni Hotels and the very friendly staff. Read more about in our recent Omni Hotel destination features:
Atlanta | Corpus Christi | San Antonio

Going to Dallas for the game? Let us know, and post photos on our new Southpoint Facebook page!
Posted by Carl Burnham at 9:16 PM
Edited on: Wednesday, January 12, 2011 1:52 AM
Categories: Accommodations, Attractions, Destinations

Thursday, January 06, 2011

Hotel ICON in Houston to be rebranded

The Hotel ICON has recently been purchased by Magic Johnson's joint venture company Canyon Johnson Urban Funds, with plans to have it become a part of a hotel chain to be announced. We wish the acquisition well and hope that the 135 room Houston hotel retains the special charm that we found throughout.
Built in 1911 as a bank, many historic reminders remain including a huge bank vault at the hotel check-in desk.
Read our Hotel ICON feature and watch our video:

Book a stay at the Hotel ICON in Houston.


Posted by Carl Burnham at 1:13 AM
Edited on: Monday, January 17, 2011 11:58 AM
Categories: Accommodations, Destinations, Travel News, Videos