The Commodore Perry Estate is a private members club where hotel guests gain access to a century-old southern estate for the duration of their stay. While the building that holds the MICHELIN-selected restaurant Lutie's on site is a newer build, the mansion itself retains the charm of its 20th-century origins. Inspectors found guests here lounging in deep armchairs and sipping cocktails on a long, sun-drenched patio above the estate’s immaculately manicured gardens.

It just might be the most stylish building in Fort Worth, Texas; it’s surely the city’s most extraordinary luxury hotel. Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection is indeed a member of the same hotel group responsible for some of California’s most desirable stays, and while it’s consistent with the brand’s high standards for design and comfort, you certainly can’t say it hasn’t been painstakingly localized, from cowhide armchairs in the lobby to the local artworks and upscale Texan cuisine.

146 rooms and 7 suites afford room for the design to subtly stretch; accommodations are split between the original brewery’s tower and contemporary digs in the River Cellars. Let it never be said that South Texans don’t know the meaning of luxury; besides Frette linens, Malin + Goetz bath amenities, and 48-inch HDTVs, a slew of tough-to-replicate touches elevate the experience far beyond the norm. Dark-wood and aged bronze accents. Freestanding, clawfoot tubs. Seersucker robes by Dos Carolinas.

While many Austin boutique hotels emphasize their down-home roots, the Proper Hotel is unapologetically urban, and architecturally, it’s as contemporary as they come. Kelly Wearstler’s interiors are sensitive to the local context, and adapt to the colors, the patterns, and the materials of Texas, and make use of the work of local artists and artisans. There’s not a chance you’ll forget where you are — even without the views of Shoal Creek, Lady Bird Lake, and the Austin cityscape.

Behind its stylish good looks is a whole village of dynamic, creative locals, from the hotel’s architects and designers to the management and guest services staff to the artists whose works hang on the walls. As for the accommodations, even at the entry level you’ll find big, sunny rooms with lofted ceilings, HDTVs, designer bath products, and beds whose state-of-the-art mattresses and fluffy down comforters are as dreamy as they come.

This 1930s Art Deco skyscraper would be hard to miss even if it didn’t have “PLAZA” emblazoned on it in glowing red letters. This was a hideout for Hollywood stars on vacation in West Texas, during the days before jet travel, and today it trades on its combination of historical personality and contemporary style. Rooms are spacious, with far-ranging views over the city and beyond, and all come with marble bathrooms, Le Labo bath products, Nespresso machines, and Tivoli sound systems.

Hotel ZaZa is a bit of the south of France, transplanted to the south-central United States. The oversized guest rooms are individually decorated, all in a plush and urbane style, with chic contemporary furnishings and luxe amenities like Italian linens and bathrooms with whirlpool tubs and separate rain showers. It’s the concept suites that have made it the hottest hotel. Each is decorated after a different theme, from Japanese Zen to the Texas Suite, complete with cowhide-print upholstery.

Standard rooms are deluxe, but not as overtly hedonistic as the Magnificent Seven, the eight luxury suites, each featuring an entirely different theme, played out in the fabrics, furniture, extras, and amenities like whirlpool hot tubs and plasma screens. Smaller suites range from Geisha House, lavishly decorated in shades of red, to Houston We Have a Problem, whose gathering, eating, and sleeping areas have been tricked out in NASA-friendly blues, grays, and whites, telescope included.

Hotel ZaZa Austin is an eclectic blend of eras and influences, from bohemian to modernist, from retro to contemporary. The one conspicuous absence is any Lone Star kitsch. Rooms are not just stylish but substantial as well, with plentiful lounge and work space and marble bathrooms stocked with Bigelow bath products. On the ground floor, ZaSpa is open to guests and locals alike, while Perfect Strangers, the lobby-level café, is the spot for breakfast and hand-pulled espresso drinks.

Where the Museum District edition is ornate and almost Baroque, the Memorial City version is clean-lined and bright, inspired in part by the mid-century modernism of Palm Springs. There’s art everywhere, including David Hockney prints in the corridors, and the suites stop at nothing to establish a memorable visual identity — the Magnificent Seven suites are all wildly different, as are the four Concept Suites.

The Hotel Saint Cecilia takes off running in the direction of “luxury guest house” and never really stops. Of course Austin-style luxury includes not just those wildly expensive Hästens handmade mattresses, but an in-house vintage vinyl library as well. Put it this way: the Hotel Saint Cecilia’s blend of bold modern colors and impeccably curated antiques wouldn’t even register as upscale in Houston or Dallas; here in Austin it’s clear at a glance that this is the place to stay.

“Industrial-inspired” doesn’t mean cold — the concrete surfaces are warmed by blond wood, graphic wallpaper, and colorful artworks, as well as contemporary fixtures and furnishings that are as practical as they are stylish. The spaces aren’t overly large or ornate — you’re meant to spend plenty of time outside your room — but they’re more than comfortable enough, with Marshall bluetooth speakers, Bellino linens, and Growth Alchemist bath products.

On Lower Greenville Avenue in Dallas is something genuinely surprising: a restaurant, Sister, and a café, Duro, both “Italianish” in concept. And upstairs from both is a hotel: Casa Duro, a three-room guest house, or a trio of apartments, by the same owners, where their appetite for Italian culture is allowed to run wild. From the outside they’re discreet, but once inside you’ll be bowled over by the depth of their detail — the interiors feel not so much designed as painstakingly collected.

It’s as stylish as you’d expect, and while the construction is brand new, its style is a pleasantly lived-in mix of Texas modernism and antique Spanish influences. The bedrooms are eclectic and richly textured, a thoroughly localized take on the Soho House style. Fine details like Marshall sound systems and Cowshed bath products are present at all levels; as you move up the range, the rooms introduce extravagances like kitchenettes, powder rooms, and freestanding bathtubs.

That’s a portmanteau of “Swiss” and “Texan”. Hotel Swexan draws on this dual heritage to conjure the effortless charm of continental service standards plus larger-than-life Texan swagger. It’s a walkable oasis in Uptown Dallas, and there’s no shortage of must-try activities without even leaving the grounds. Call it cowboy entrepreneur: spacious, no-expense-spared rooms with commanding views, but also a freewheeling sense of humor and up-for-anything energy in the decor.

The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek most definitely lives up to its name: it doesn’t seem like a hotel, but an extravagant house. The 143 room structure was built, in 1925, as a residence for cotton baron Sheppard King, and is the ultimate in old-fashioned Dallas opulence. Here, you live it up like the tycoons of the past. A lot of people call it the best hotel in the States. Stained glass and fountains surround the house, and imported marble covers the floors both upstairs and down.

There’s no place quite like the Carr Mansion, an 1866 Greek Revival mansion that’s lived several lives before its most recent transformation into an adults-only boutique bed and breakfast. The house is fantastically well-preserved and beautifully updated, thanks to inspired work by the Austin-based designer Shannon Eddings, and while its new proprietors haven’t been shy about furnishing its interiors in a tasteful modern-luxe style, they’ve been careful to keep its unique personality intact.

The Post Oak Hotel at Uptown Houston’s lobby features an enormous Swarovski crystal chandelier and a number of Frank Stella originals, and this no-expense-spared philosophy extends to the rooms, which start out at 500 square feet and include lavish marble bathrooms with Acqua di Parma bath products and even a small set of in-room dumbbells. There’s an impressive spa as well, with a well-equipped fitness center, and a lovely outdoor pool, plus two restaurants, a cocktail bar, and a patisserie.

Fort Worth’s historic Stockyards district is a well-preserved monument to the cattle-driving industry, and the inspiration for Hotel Drover, a hotel that seeks a balance between Old West character and contemporary boutique-hotel style. It’s surprisingly successful — unmistakably Texan but without crossing too far into kitsch, and sophisticated enough to balance out the broad rustic gestures. There’s a backyard featuring a swimming pool, a hot tub, and plenty of lounge space and outdoor games.

The Fairmont Austin Gold Experience isn’t an ordinary hotel, but rather a hotel within a hotel — four private floors within the relatively staid Fairmont Austin, within which is offered an experience that’s a cut above the already luxe Fairmont norm. It’s got its own reception desk, its own private lounge, and access to all the rest of the hotel’s facilities and services, including the pan-global Revue, the wood-fired Garrison, and the Latin-flavored Rules & Regs.

Tucked into Montrose’s leafy streets, Hotel Saint Augustine is a thoughtfully composed stay with a strong design point of view. Spread across five buildings, it mixes eras and materials like burled walnut, red lacquer, Calacatta Viola, with sculptural furniture and vintage finds. Guest rooms offer a softer counterpoint to the richness of the public spaces, some with screened porches set among the trees. It is smart, well-made, and exactly what this part of Houston was missing.