Cinco de Mayo Party Package
Let us help you celebrate Cinco de Mayo this weekend!
Valid for May 4, 5, and 6th Only
Rates starting at $109 + tax
Package includes:
- Free parking
- Chips and Salsa
- Two beers
For more information contact us or Book a Room!
Houston International Festival Offers Multicultural Flavor
There’s no better way to celebrate spring than at an outdoor festival! The 2012 Houston International Festival happens this weekend and the next (April 21-22 and 28-29) in the streets, parks, and plazas of downtown Houston. There’s a full schedule of music and dance performances, educational and cultural exhibits, kids’ activities, and vendors of food, arts and crafts – all with an international flair.
The Houston International Festival may have begun as an arts festival in 1971, but it has evolved into an annual celebration of diversity and culture. This year, the spotlight will be on Argentina. Festivities kick off on Saturday with “Eternal Tango,” featuring the Hector Del Curto Orchestra and Dancers, to be presented in the Hobby Center’s Sarofim Hall. Other event headliners include Los Lonely Boys, Galactic, War, and Steel Pulse. (For a complete listing of performers, visit the website at http://www.ifest.org/lowdef-performance-schedules/.)
But there’s much more to this event than music. Upper Sam Houston Park will be transformed into a simulated walking tour of Buenos Aires, where visitors can enjoy Argentinian art, food, and street performances. Houston’s eco-friendly community will be featured at “Village Green,” a bazaar of recycled crafts and locally produced goods. Internationally inspired clothing designs will be showcased at “Alta Moda Voyage,” a daily series of fashion shows. Kids can participate in crafts and culture from all over the globe at Green Mountain Energy Kid’s World.
Hours for the festival are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and tickets are available at the gate or online at http://ifest2012.eventbrite.com/. The action takes place in the environs of City Hall, Tranquility Park, and Sam Houston Park in downtown Houston.
Need a convenient place to stay while you’re in town? Look no further than The Lancaster, an elegant and historic boutique hotel located in the heart of Houston’s theater and business district.
For more information contact us or Book a Room!
2012 Parking Coupon!
A new deal good through summer 2012! When reserving a room online through our website valet parking is available for only $10/night! See coupon for rules and restrictions.
Bartender Dino Catches Bloggers Eye
A local blogger visits Bistro Lancaster and is impressed with our bartender, Dino.
Ginny Braud writes:
“Dino’s got a great attitude and genuinely cares about making guests feel welcome. It’s pretty damn refreshing.”
Thanks Ms. Braud for the write up and thanks Dino for the great attitude you bring everyday!
Read the complete story at Houston Press Blogs.
Savvy Hotel Owner, Turned Historian, Discovers Houston’s First Red-Light District
The Lancaster Hotel, known as the Auditorium Hotel prior to extensive remodeling and name change in 1982, celebrates its 85th year anniversary this year. That spurred one of the owners to dig into history books, old photos and even primary records such as maps, deeds, censuses, newspapers and tax records to put together a factual and clear picture of the history of the hotel and the two adjacent historic buildings just north of it.
“What started out as a quest to find maps and photos illustrating the beginning of my great-grandfather’s dream to build his second first-class hotel in Houston soon turned into a much more extensive search to uncover some heretofore unknown history about our city,” enthuses Miki Lusk Norton. “I was amazed to find out there was a red-light district in the central business district that predates what historians had called the first red-light district in Houston, ‘The Reservation’ in the Hardcastle section of the Fourth Ward. Today, the area is home to the Historic Oaks of Allen Parkway Village. The first red-light district, where my great-grandfather, Michele DeGeorge, built The Auditorium Hotel, was called ‘The Hollow,” she explained. In the 1800s, The Hollow was bounded by Milam, Louisiana, Capitol and Prarie and was home to many female boarding houses. Maps from 1896 identified these boarding houses on the current sites of The Lancaster Hotel, Alley Theatre, Jones Hall, 515-517 Louisiana and 717 Texas Avenue. The 1900 census takers listed the occupation of the majority of the female tenants as “prostitute.” In 1905, a city ordinance decreed that the houses of ill repute were a blight on the central business district. “The soiled doves flew the coop,” Norton said, “and relocated to the newly designated ‘Reservation.”
About The Lancaster Hotel:
The Lancaster is located in the heart of Houston’s business, financial, court, historic and theater districts at 701 Texas Avenue at Louisiana. Still owned by descendants of the original developer, the hotel has hosted performing artists, as well as business and leisure travelers since 1926. At Houston’s first boutique hotel, guests experience friendly, personal service with full attention to detail. In support of heritage tourism, Houston Urban Adventures starts both of its walking tours, the Heart of the Tunnel Walk and the Historic Downtown Pub Crawl, in the lobby of The Lancaster Hotel.
Houston Historical Pub Crawl!
Get a unique exposure to Houston history by enjoying a historic Houston pub crawl! A popular Houston tour visits five atmospheric bars dotted throughout the downtown historic district. Listen to tales of ghosts, murder and suicide as you sip drinks in some of the city’s most legendary buildings. See sparkling chandeliers, select songs on old-fashioned jukeboxes or talk to a tailor or artist as you mingle with the locals inside buildings dating from 1861 to 1926.
Highlights:
- Visit five of the most atmospheric bars in Houston’s downtown historic district.
- Hear stories and legends while sipping drinks.
- Call by a tailor shop that becomes a bar at night.
- Meet the local ghosts in Houston’s most haunted building.
- Visit a hotel basement where celebrities entertained World War II soldiers
Proud to be the only historic hotel in Houston, The Lancaster brings it’s own historic atmosphere to your stay.
For more information on the Houston Pub Crawl Tour, contact Urban Adventures!
Complimentary Wine Hour!
Take a moment to relax from your travels, unwind from your meetings, rest after your day touring Houston. Meet fellow guests and unwind during The Lancaster Hotel’s Complimentary Wine Hour. Offered 5:30p to 6:30p Monday through Thursday and available to hotel guests (21 and over of course!), the complimentary wine hour is a way to decompress from your day.