coolest pools

Top 10 Houston hotel pools for a family-friendly vacation this summer

Houston has plenty of hot patio bars and parks, but savvy visitors know one of the best ways to beat the scorching summer is by hitting up a cool pool. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite hotel spots to take a dip. Expect poolside cocktails, movie screenings, plus summer deals, promos, and more. (Don’t forget your shades, sunscreen, and wide-brimmed hats).

Marriott Marquis Houston
It’s the Texas-shaped lazy river in H-Town that we all want to navigate. This rooftop pool is perched 110 feet in the air and surrounded by the soaring downtown skyline. The Marriott Marquis Houston’s amenity deck features a full-service poolside bar and grill. Check this off as arguably the most Instagram-worthy pool in all of Houston.

Family-friendly: Yes

Cabanas: Yes

What to drink: The Refresh: a delicious cocktail perfect for poolside featuring Effen Cucumber vodka, lime, simple syrup, and soda.

How to access: Hotel customers only (registered hotel guests are given wristbands at check-in). Book a minimum 50-minute spa treatment at the in-house Pure Spa (excluding salon treatments) and voila — access granted.

Post Oak Hotel
The Post Oak Hotel is owned by Houston’s favorite billionaire, Tilman Fertitta, so you know the pool is out of this world, like everything else on the property. (The white-and-black-accent decor truly sets this stylish and luxurious pool apart.) Our favorite feature? Order anything to eat or drink from anywhere on property — you can even order sunscreen — and it will be delivered to your poolside chair (or cabana).

Family-friendly: Yes

Cabanas: Yes

What to drink: The Post Oak Margarita: tequila, fresh lime juice, Hibiscus cordial

How to access: Hotel customers only

Hotel ZaZa Museum District
Representative of the city’s big Texas style, the event dubbed Poolside at ZaZa is a place to see and be seen among outdoor bars and pools in Houston. With indulgent specialty cocktails and a boutique-like atmosphere, Poolside at ZaZa provides a luxurious pool retreat among H-Town’s scenesters.

Family-friendly: Yes

Cabanas: Yes (and villas)

What do drink: Splurge for bottle service (or indulge in their daily offering of adult popsicles).

How to access: Other than being a hotel guest, a day pass to use Hotel ZaZa’s pool is available for a $150 service (minimum), one hour before and three hours after any spa treatment at ZaSpa.

Four Seasons Hotel Houston
Lounge poolside at one of Houston's most old-guard, resort-style pools. Refreshing cocktails and tasty snacks are available to order at the pool deck café and due to its brand popularity, you may even find yourself lounging poolside next to a celeb or two. The saltwater pool is truly an oasis in the heart of downtown Houston and is a five-star experience across the board.

Family-friendly: Yes. Four Seasons even offers Family Movies by the Pool on Saturday nights with fresh popcorn, candy, and a veritable Willy Wonka-style buffet to keep kids entertained.

Cabanas: Yes

What to drink: Try the Strawberry Sales with grapefruit vodka, strawberry, lemonade or the Cucumber Cooler with cucumber, rosemary, lemonade.

How to access: Hotel guests only — unless you book a 50-minute treatment at Hotel Spa, where you’ll be granted access to the pool/fitness areas

Hotel Sorella
West Houston’s Hotel Sorella (in CityCentre) reigns supreme when it comes to the westside, and boasts a rooftop, infinity pool that creates an instant oasis of relaxation. With some clever planning, you may find that you have the place all to yourself — except for the friendly bartender who’s ready to serve you.

Family-friendly: Yes

Cabanas: Yes

What to drink: Beat the heat with a Cosmologic pop tail: citrus vodka, triple sec, lime and cranberry juice served with a house-made cranberry/orange/lime popsicle.

How to access: Hotel guests only

Hotel Granduca
Book a stay at Hotel Granduca to experience the pool at this true Italian-style getaway. Hotel Granduca’s saltwater pool — which is always set to a perfect temperature of 78 degrees — offers a picturesque escape right in the heart of Uptown. (Granduca is Houston’s only hotel to make TripAdvisor’s 2018 list of top 25 luxury hotels in America.) Nestled amidst a collection of lush greenery, the intimate and serene venue is enhanced with ornate Italian-style cabanas. Enjoy poolside dining at the hotel’s restaurant, Il Giardino.

Family-friendly: Yes

Cabanas: Yes

What to drink: The Granduca Spritz: a mix of Elderflower liqueur, lemon, and prosecco.

How to access: Hotel guests only

Hotel Alessandra
Get ready for this intimate and sophisticated rooftop getaway with one-of-a-kind panoramic downtown views. Alessandra offers a dedicated food and drink menu at the pool, making this is one of Houston’s newest and most raved-about spots.

Family-friendly: Kids are welcome, however the pool caters more to adults.

Cabanas: No

What to drink: Try the Poolside Peach poptail for ultimate refreshment.

How to Access: If you’re not a guest of the hotel, you can book a spa treatment, which provides all day access to the pool.

SPLASH at Hotel Derek
Offering everything you could want or need when it comes to luxury and poolside amenities in the Galleria area, Hotel Derek has opened its Splash Pool and Movie Wall to locals for a little “float and flick.” Revolve Kitchen + Bar’s summer menu, fruity cocktails, and local craft beers are available to attendees.

Family-friendly: Yes

Cabanas: No

What to drink: Tap & Pour is a pop-up craft beer bar serving more than 20 rotating Texas craft beers on tap, such as a locally brewed 8th Wonder seasonal beer.

How to access: Hotel customers only, except for the summertime series Float & Flick, which is open to public for $20 per person (July 6, August 3, and September 7).

The Woodlands Resort
Travelers seeking a lush, green oasis this summer will find it, and then some, in this family-friendly escape. The resort offers the spectacular Forest Oasis: Lazy River & Waterpark, which is perfect for kids (and adults) of all ages. The ideal place to spend a hot afternoon, it features a 30-foot Tower with a double-helix waterslide, as well as a 1,005-foot lazy river that weaves through the forest.

Family-Friendly: Yes

Cabanas: Yes — four new luxury cabanas are available to rent, offering guests their own personal lap of luxury. Each cabana provides shaded seating for up to six in roomy, chic, and private space with contemporary interiors complemented by modern conveniences, like cable TV and complimentary Wi-Fi.

What to drink: Try the Frozé All Day: Elk Cove Vineyards rosé, fresh lemon, and strawberry puree, topped with a New Amsterdam Red Berry floater

How to access: Resort guests only

Market Square Tower
When it opened, Market Square Tower’s pool quickly went viral with its heart-stopping views. Get ready to be the envy of all your Instagram followers by taking a dip in this luxury downtown Houston apartment’s clear-bottom pool that hangs 500-feet above downtown Houston.

Family-friendly: Yes

How to access: Locals need to move in or become besties with a resident as only residents and their guests get to enjoy this stunning beauty.

The Italian-themed Hotel Granduca pool.

Courtesy photo

The Italian-themed Hotel Granduca pool.

vacation hotels

Light it up, y'all!

Sensational Texas holiday display battles on TV's Christmas Light Fight

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight

Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach

The Austin section has guacamole and music tributes.

Patrick Mach harbored a Texas-sized dream to compete on ABC’s The Great Christmas Light Fight. When he finally got the call, he built Texas.

The Mach Christmas Display — a massive walk-through attraction in the North Texas town of Ennis — will compete on the hit reality competition on Thursday, December 19. They’ll battle against three other families around the country for $50,000, a trophy, and serious bragging rights.

“It’s a bucket-list item to be on the show,” Mach says. “I’ve always wanted to be on since season one.” (The show is now in season 12.)

The Mach family — Patrick and wife Natasha and their four kids, Natalie (17), Ethan (16), Noelle (12), and Brandon (11) — all pitched in to create the display and will appear on the show.

The family lives on a “mini-ranch” in the Ennis-Alma area, about 40 minutes south of Dallas. (Ennis is famous for its Bluebonnet Trails each spring). Three-and-a-half acres of their 10-acre property are taken over by their Christmas lights extravaganza each holiday season. It even has its own electrical meter.

“Texas” uses half-a-million lights, 200 inflatables, and custom-built pieces to depict 40 cities and towns across the Lone Star State (though not actually in the shape of Texas). Each is marked with a green city-limits sign and has a vignette that represents the city.

“Live Music Capital” Austin has a guitar with strings that “play.” (A custom Texas Capitol building will be constructed for next year’s display.) San Antonio has a giant, 8-foot-tall Alamo outlined in lights and a River Walk bridge crossing a blue river. “Space City” Houston has rockets and Buzz Lightyear.

Mach Christmas Display, Great Christmas Light Fight, Dog Ridge The Dog Ridge, Texas section, of course, features dogs.Photo courtesy of ABC

Fort Worth gets longhorns and a Texas Motor Speedway-inspired racetrack, complete with “Lightning McQueen” and “Tow Mater” Disney/Pixar characters. Dallas features a custom wireframe outline of the skyline, plus Dallas Cowboys inflatables and a whole section devoted to the State Fair.

The smaller Texas town displays are just as creative: Glen Rose has dinosaurs, College Station has Texas A&M-inspired military drummers, New Braunfels has a polar bear floating the river, and Ennis, of course, has bluebonnets.

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight The Glen Rose section has dinosaurs.Photo courtesy of ABC

In a nod toThe Great Christmas Light Fight host Carter Oosterhouse, they added Carter, Texas — yes, an actual town in Parker County — just for the show. It included a mural of Oosterhouse riding a bull. The host, Mach says, was impressed.

Love of Christmas
The Machs’ drive to light up a Texas-sized spectacle comes from their deep love of Christmas. Patrick and Natasha met on a dating app when she “hearted” his Christmas-y photo. On one of their first dates, during the pandemic, they watched a Great Christmas Light Fight marathon. He proposed to her on his Christmas lights display at home. They married in a Christmas-themed wedding three years ago, and Santa even showed up.

Patrick Mach had grown up loving Christmas and putting up displays with his father, from whom he learned carpentry. His dad gifted him an old-fashioned blow-mold nativity scene in 2004; he then passed away on December 30, 2006.

“So since he passed so close to Christmas, every year I did a little more to keep mind off what happened … then it just became so big,” Mach says.

In fact, Mach had been nominated for the Light Fightevery year since 2019. He never thought he was ready.

“It took a few years to commit,” he says, “then 2023 came around and we said, ‘Let’s go.’”

The family found out they’d made the show in September 2023. Filming would take place around Thanksgiving. Each member of the family, plus an army of friends, worked from a “battle plan” to design and build the display, which would be greatly expanded for the show.

“From 2022 to 2023, we doubled the display,” he says. “It was all hands on deck. We were still working on it the day they showed up (to film).”

The shoot lasted a few days and was an “awesome experience,” Mach says. The crew became like family.

“Behind the scenes we were always cutting up, laughing, the kids made friends with the producers,” he says. “We still text message with the producers every so often, and one camera guy brought us a Christmas display item that he doesn’t use and wanted to go to a good family.”

Two things that surprised him behind the scenes: how strict they were about using copyrighted characters and images (no Grinches allowed) and how tiring the filming was.

“After we filmed, I slept the best I'd slept in months,” he jokes.

Mach Christmas Display, Ennis, Great Christmas Light Fight The Mach family with Great Christmas Light Fight host Carter Oosterhouse.Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach

He remains tight-lipped about the outcome of the show. But if the family does win, he’d like to put the $50,000 toward a well-deserved vacation. They're the fourth Texas contenders on this season of Light Fight; so far, none has been victorious.

Gift to the community
Win or lose, the Mach Christmas Display will remain on for the public to walk through and enjoy on select nights through the holidays. (Watch their Facebook page for the schedule.) There’s no charge to see it, but they do collect donations for local charities such as Toys for Tots, Helping Hands of Ennis, and the SPCA.

It can be a little tricky to find, and GPS doesn’t always route to the right place, so they advise visitors to use the pin they’ve dropped on Google Maps.

Although the Machs have attracted visitors from several hours away, they remain focused on sharing their love of Christmas with their community.

“Ennis is a smaller town, and this is our way of giving back to the community,” Mach says, “of giving families something to do around the holidays because there’s nothing around here like this.”

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The Machs’ episode of The Great Christmas Light Fight will air at 7 pm Thursday, December 19 on ABC and will be available to stream on Hulu the next day. The Mach Christmas Display is open on select nights through the holiday season; follow their Facebook page for the schedule and more information. The address is 171 FM1183, Ennis, 75119. Follow the directions at the pin on Google Maps. For lists of Fort Worth's best Christmas lights, go here and here.

Photo courtesy of Patrick Mach

The Austin section has guacamole and music tributes.

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