Windsor Court Hotel

The 324-room Windsor may rise high above the Central Business District, but don’t expect all work and no play here. After a $22-million restoration that added a distinctly French allure to the classic English-inspired digs, the hotel is swinging again in more ways than one. Jazz bands serenade crowds in the Polo Club Lounge and museum-worthy sculptures, paintings, and tapestries line the lobby and halls, making the hotel easy on the ears, the eyes, and, thanks to the elegant Grill Room, the stomach. Guest rooms are appointed with Italian marble bathtubs and modern touches such as iPod docking stations. Another highlight: the gracious, helpful staff is as sweet as the city’s famous pecan pralines.