You don’t need a flapper dress or pinstripe suit to experience the glamor of a Roaring Twenties theater weekend in Houston. A stay at the 100-year-old Lancaster Hotel, a Texas Historic Landmark in the heart of the city’s Theater District, makes it easy to slip into the spirit of the era while you’re in town for a show.
My daughter and I spent a weekend at The Lancaster, where the old-school hospitality made her feel like a celebrity, from the moment a valet open her passenger-side door. We enjoyed a weekend of being fancy ladies, from champagne at check-in to tiny desserts at afternoon tea, before walking a mere four minutes to see the Houston Ballet perform.
The Lancaster Hotel Turns 100
This year, The Lancaster Hotel celebrates a century as Houston’s premier luxury boutique hotel for performing arts patrons. Built in 1926 to accommodate city auditorium audiences, this five-star hotel is now surrounded by arts venues.
Today, guests of The Lancaster Hotel are just steps from Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera performances at Wortham Theater Center and Houston Symphony shows at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. The Alley Theatre and the Hobby Center, home to plays and Broadway musicals, are also an easy walk away.
My daughter and I drove in from Austin to see Houston Ballet perform “Manon.” Staying at The Lancaster Hotel made our whole weekend feel like a special occasion.
Houston’s Art Hotel
In 2018, The Lancaster underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation, with a vision of transforming the historic property into Houston’s Art Hotel. Today, more than 200 contemporary works adorn the walls, making a stroll through the hotel a colorful art adventure.
You can take a self-guided tour of the collection, which features hundreds of works by Texas artists. Pick up a directory at the front desk and scan QR codes with your phone to listen to audio clips about the artists and their work.
Afternoon Tea in the Mezzanine
On Saturdays and Sundays, The Lancaster Hotel serves a traditional afternoon tea twice a day. If you’re planning a weekend stay, make your tea reservation when you book your room because the service is popular with locals and can fill up quickly. Valet service is included in the price of the three-course meal.
For our Autumn Afternoon Tea, we started by choosing from a selection of black, green, white, and caffeine-free teas for our personal pots. My daughter selected the seasonal hot cinnamon spice tea, and I opted for the traditional Ceylon black tea. You can sample as many flavors as you like throughout your meal. The white wedding tea was a popular choice around the room.
Once our teas had steeped, the server delivered a three-tier stand filled with delicacies. Our seasonal goodies included four tea sandwiches (coronation chicken was my favorite), freshly baked cranberry orange scones with lemon curd and imported Devonshire clotted cream, plus four petite desserts per person. It’s an impressive amount of food, so come hungry.
Dinner and a Show
Still full from afternoon tea, my daughter and I dressed for the ballet and headed downstairs to Cultivated F+B for dinner. The restaurant was buzzing with theater-goers who all had the same idea, and we didn’t have a reservation. Whoops. I now know that The Lancaster is a popular pre-theater dinner and drinks spot for locals.
Fortunately, a table opened up just as we arrived, and the staff managed to squeeze us in. We ordered airline chicken breast with a sun-dried cherry demi sauce, broccolini, and a side of truffle fries. With curtain time approaching, there was no time for dessert, but fortunately we’d already sampled it the night before. My daughter recommends the chocolate namelaka with crunchy matcha crumbles.
Following our delicious meal, we walked to the Wortham Theater Center in less than five minutes, arriving just in time to settle into our seats before the show started at 7:30 p.m. It was so nice not to have to deal with driving and hunting for parking.
Itinerary for a Houston Theater Weekend
Here’s how my daughter and I spent our theater weekend at The Lancaster. Use this itinerary as a starting point to plan your own Houston getaway:
Friday
- 7 p.m. Check in at The Lancaster Hotel and enjoy your welcome glass of champagne
- 8 p.m. Head to the Cultivated F+B for dessert and an espresso martini or coffee
Saturday
- 9 a.m. Ease into the day with a complimentary breakfast buffet
- 10 a.m. Get ready at your leisure
- Noon. Head to the Mezzanine for afternoon tea
- 2 p.m. Explore Houston (here, I must confess, we went shopping at Houston Galleria, which was not the most cultural choice)
- 6 p.m. Enjoy dinner at Cultivated F+B before the evening’s performance
- 7 p.m. Take a short walk to a nearby theater for a ballet, opera, symphony performance, or play
- 10:30 p.m. Celebrate the luxury of skipping the post-show traffic and being just minutes from your bed
Sunday
- 9 a.m. Have one more lovely breakfast at the hotel
- 11 a.m. Make the most of the complimentary snacks and drinks in your room, an underrated perk
- 12 p.m. Check out and head home, refreshed from a weekend of good food and art
Plan Your Visit
To plan your Houston theater weekend, start by browsing the Houston Theater District website to find upcoming performances that interest you.
Then, check out The Lancaster Hotel’s special offers to see if there’s a deal that works with your schedule. If afternoon tea is on your wish list, be sure to check the tea schedule and reserve your spot in advance.
To build the rest of your itinerary, Visit Houston is a great resource for local events and attractions.
Heidi Gollub has been a travel writer and editor for 16 years. Her work has been featured in Forbes, Fodor’s, The Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY. She lives in Austin with her family.
Heidi has been writing about Austin adventures since 2010, when she founded a hyperlocal events website that later became part of Austin.com. She was an inaugural local expert with Visit Austin, Texas, and spent several years contributing the best free fun in Austin to local news stations.
