Lone Star Presidential Stays: Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas and Austin

Texas has given the nation three presidents and witnessed one of its darkest days. These hotels capture that history: a downtown grand hotel that holds one of the most poignant presidential stories in America, a wooded Houston retreat that a Texas president treated as home, and a Dallas mansion that hosted a president in 2026.

Hilton Fort Worth

When it opened in 1921 as the Hotel Texas, this downtown landmark was the most luxurious address in Fort Worth. On November 21, 1963, after a long day of campaigning across Texas, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrived here past midnight and retired to Suite 850 on the eighth floor. Local patrons had transformed the plain suite into an art gallery for the visit, borrowing paintings and sculptures from collections around the city; the exhausted couple barely noticed them until morning.

The next morning, Kennedy addressed a rain-soaked crowd in the plaza across the street, then returned to the hotel to speak at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast before leaving for Dallas. It was his final night.

Suite 850 was divided into smaller rooms during a 1980s renovation, but the hotel honors the visit throughout, and today the Hilton Fort Worth is a fine base in the heart of Sundance Square. Across the street, General Worth Square holds the JFK Tribute, a bronze sculpture marking the spot of his last public address.

The Houstonian Hotel, Club & Spa

Set on eighteen acres of pines and oaks near Memorial Park, the Houstonian feels like a secluded country lodge despite the city humming just outside. George H.W. Bush made it his official Texas residence in the 1980s, and throughout his presidency he and Barbara Bush stayed in Suite 271 whenever they came home to Houston. The Secret Service fitted the suite with bulletproof glass and a window that doubled as an emergency exit. In 1990, President Bush hosted meetings of the G7 economic summit at the property's Manor House.

Today the renovated Bush Suite, the former Suite 271, is decorated with photographs from the family's years at the hotel and is one of the Houstonian's most requested rooms. The property's famous health club, spa, and wooded trails are reasons enough to stay, and Barbara Bush's chocolate chip cookie recipe, acquired by the hotel during those years, is a sweet souvenir.

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek

Set in a 1920s mansion along leafy Turtle Creek, this is one of the most celebrated luxury hotels in Texas, where the grandeur of a private estate meets the polish of a Rosewood. On September 9, 2026, President Donald Trump flew into Dallas, held meetings at the hotel, attended the Republican National Committee's midterm convention at the American Airlines Center that evening, and returned to the Mansion for the night. Guests can dine in the mansion's elegant rooms, relax by the pool, and explore the Uptown neighborhood nearby.

The Driskill

Cattle baron Jesse Driskill opened his Romanesque hotel on Sixth Street in December 1886, and it remains Austin's oldest operating hotel. No president is more closely tied to it than Lyndon B. Johnson. On September 6, 1934, a young congressional secretary named Lyndon Johnson had breakfast in the Driskill's dining room with Claudia "Lady Bird" Taylor on their first date; he proposed by the end of the day. Decades later, the Johnsons gathered with friends in the hotel's Jim Hogg Parlor to watch election returns, including on the night in November 1964 when LBJ won the presidency in his own right. During his presidency a suite was kept permanently reserved for him whenever he came home to Austin.

The hotel was nearly demolished in 1969 before the community rallied to save it. Today the renovated LBJ Suite, with portraits of the president and Lady Bird and a balcony over Sixth Street, honors that history, and the Driskill Bar is one of the city's classic places for a drink.

Plan your stay: Explore more hotels in Fort Worth, Houston, Dallas and Austin

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About this guide: Presidential connections are drawn from public sources, including official White House schedules, presidential and historical archives, and reputable news outlets, as well as the hotels' own published histories. Hotel names, ownership, and amenities may have changed since publication. This information is provided for general interest, is not guaranteed, and should be independently verified. Hotelaholic is not affiliated with or endorsed by any U.S. president or government agency.