Hotel Saint Augustine, the newest boutique hotel from the hospitality brand Bunkhouse Hotels and from developer The Marchbanks Company, has opened in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood. Located across 2.2 acres, the hotel has 71 hotel rooms and suites, a Gulf Coast-inspired restaurant, an event space, all-day lobby lounge and listening room, and circular heated pool.
The hotel is the Bunkhouse brand’s inaugural hotel in Houston. In keeping with the brand’s tradition of naming hotels after patron saints, Hotel Saint Augustine’s origin is inspired by several references—the patron saint of printing, given its proximity to the Menil Drawing Institute; one of the cofounders of Houston, Augustus Chapman Allen; the Saint Augustine grass found throughout the city; and a nod to the month of August.
“Adding a Bunkhouse hotel in Houston has been our team’s dream for a long time,” Amar Lalvani said in a statement. Lalvani recently took on the role of president and creative director, lifestyle, Hyatt after leading The Standard and Bunkhouse Hotels brands for the past decade. “Houston is an underappreciated capital of culinary, culture, art and design, and those things are all core to the Bunkhouse mission. We can’t wait to become a part of such a rich and diverse local community and introduce new visitors to a city we love.”
“We are thrilled to join the Houston community, and more specifically, Montrose neighborhood, as we open the doors to Hotel Saint Augustine,” said Omar Abreu, general manager, Hotel Saint Augustine. “Montrose’s rich cultural history, unique and welcoming charm, and its proximity to multiple beloved art institutions make it a destination for locals and travelers alike.”
“For over 20 years, people have been talking to me about the need for a hotel in the Museum District. Not just any hotel—they wanted it to be the right one: a property at the correct scale with a commitment to seamlessly blending into the neighborhood both aesthetically and by offering public spaces where local Houstonians want to gather,” said Greg Marchbanks, CEO, The Marchbanks Company. “The entire team on this project thought deeply about these objectives and how they manifest in every part of the experience right from the beginning, and I feel that we really hit the mark with Hotel Saint Augustine.”
The Design
The interior design was led by Post Company, the New York- and Wyoming-based design studio. The design honors Houston’s artistic heritage, drawing inspiration from the museum district and of Houston itself. While the Hotel Saint Augustine is not affiliated with Houston's Menil Collection museum, the property does seek to engender the ethos of the Menil family and the museum. To complement the hotel’s location adjacent to the Menil Collection campus, the artwork throughout the property has intentionally been kept minimal to evoke serenity through elements found in the hotel, such as furniture, textures, lighting, objects and landscaping choices.
The lobby, which fronts Loretto Drive, sits in the main building behind an entry courtyard. The reception desk is wrapped in burled walnut with Calacatta Viola marble accents, while theatrical drapery in sheer linens divide the adjacent open parlors and seating areas, creating various nooks for gatherings throughout the day. Deep blue walls and ceilings in the lobby and bar pull the space into an immersive, moody palette, while large framed windows peek out to the courtyard and screened porches to bring the outdoors in. At the bar, antique mirror panels reflect the hotel’s surrounding landscape, while a listening room has a refurbished Otari MX5050 BII-2 Restored Tape Recorder and reel-to-reel player alongside a record player.
With architecture by Texas firm Lake|Flato, and landscape architecture by Texas studio Ten Eyck, the indoor/outdoor hotel is comprised of five small two-story buildings that blend into the neighborhood’s residential character, intersected by four landscaped courtyards and winding outdoor pathways. Greenery includes heritage oak trees, eyelash sage, dwarf rock palm and blue rabbit’s foot fern. Each building is connected by open-air bridges and porches to create a residential feeling, with gray elongated brick and combed wood siding to complement the area’s natural landscape, which is a central element of the design. Hotel Saint Augustine maintains its connections to the Montrose neighborhood via multiple entry points throughout the city block.
Food and Beverage
The property’s food-and-beverage concepts are overseen by the hotel’s restaurant partners: Houston’s well-known chef and restaurateur Aaron Bludorn, and Bludorn Director of Operations Cherif Mbodji, who have opened three restaurants in Houston, including Bludorn, which was a semifinalist in the 2024 James Beard Awards.
Perseid, the hotel’s premiere all-day restaurant, is a take on the quintessential neighborhood bistro, with a menu that celebrates the diverse global influences shaping Houston’s food and culture. The cuisine, which blends Texas Gulf Coast flavors with French-inspired touches, combines elements of refined comfort with traditional techniques, all while emphasizing bold, distinctive flavor.
The Augustine Lounge and Listening Room is situated within the hotel’s lobby in the main building. Additionally, Saint Augustine’s flexible event space that sits on top of Perseid is designed to accommodate up to 250 guests with porches overlooking the courtyard and pool, and a food-and-beverage program from the Bludorn team.
Guestrooms
Across multiple buildings, Saint Augustine has 71 room types, from 200-square-foot “Petite Queen” rooms to “Atelier” suites with private outdoor living space. Monochromatic hues of blue, deep red, sage, and mustard envelope each bed with ceramic wall tiles to emphasize a true color study, while drapes and velvet textures add a level of indulgence into the space. Oversized sculptural lighting and surrealist fixtures such as the amoebic-shaped wall mirrors disrupt the expected proportions of the space, and nickel and chrome finishes add moments of modern texture.