THE WOODLANDS RESORT
Arrive: George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Houston
Vehicle: Range Rover Evoque
In a state better known for cowboys, BBQ and 10-gallon hats, Houston is something of an anomaly. It has all of those, but it also has one of the world’s longest surf-able waves (thanks to supertankers exiting Galveston Bay), great crawfish, and a city-wide obsession of sorts with the Czech pastry known as kolache. Diverse environments require adaptable vehicles, and so the Range Rover Evoque (part of Hertz’s Prestige Collection) makes sense. As capable off-road as its more truck-ish looking siblings, the Evoque also features fantastic on-road handling and more compact, urban styling. There’s also plenty of room for friends and golf clubs, and so it’s perfect for the 30-minute drive to The Woodlands Resort and for any day trips beyond that. Set at the edge of 28,000 acres of natural forest, The Woodlands’ accommodations are lovely and a perfect complement to the incredibly rich property, which offers 36 holes of golf, dining, a spa and one of the best waterparks we’ve found. Panther Trail golf course is here, with its elevation changes and island finishing green. It won’t take long to confirm that its accolades are well-deserved, while it will take even less time to understand how the sister Oaks Course got its name. We’d spare some time for the resort’s upscale spa and fitness facilities—useful as we also suggest heading to the Kolache Shoppe, a 50-year-old bakery that offers 25 varieties of the baked edibles. And if the Evoque inspires you to enter your mind’s “Adventure mode” and you decide you want to surf an oil-tanker wave, call up Capt. James Fullbright at Tanker Surf Charters and prep your legs for a ride that can go up to five miles if conditions are right.