Owners the Zimmermans announced the addition and renovation completion of La Colombe d’Or Hotel. A glamorous art oasis in the eccentric Montrose neighborhood.
Originally built in 1923 as a residence for Houston’s Fondren family, the La Colombe d’Or Mansion was acquired in 1979 and transformed into a hotel featuring suites, a restaurant and bar, an art gallery, and Le Grand Salon de la Comtesse—a Rococo ballroom outfitted in English oak, gilded-frame mirrors and chandeliers once built for French royals in the 1730s and purchased by the Zimmermans in 1995. In a collaboration with global real estate firm Hines, the property was reimagined, and a high-rise named The Residences at La Colombe d’Or now stands adjacent to the mansion. The result is a spectacular new destination hotel and residences that deliberately contrast in architectural styles but are effortlessly connected by timeless interior design.
The mansion, classified as a historical landmark, greets all hotel guests upon arrival with its intimate, residential scale, lush landscape, and charming front porch. Upon entry inside, the lower level keeps the home’s original layout but reimagines the spaces for a full-service hotel experience. An intimate reception lobby, a lounge, restaurant dining room, and craft cocktail bar make up the majority of the ground floor plan, designed by Rottet Studio. The second floor, accessed by a central grand staircase adorned with a collection of art, houses the mansion’s five art-filled, one-bedroom suites ranging from 470 to 721 square feet.
The tower, an addition to the estate’s property, includes 18 hotel suites on the lower level of The Residences at La Colombe d’Or and is accessed by a pass-through sculpture garden from the mansion. With architecture by Muniz + Albin and interiors by Rottet Studio, the design creates the feel of a modern and open pavilion with flowing spaces to showcase art in a gallery-like setting. Upon entering the tower, guests are greeted by a grand corridor filled with art leading to two separate wings of guestrooms.
The Garden Bungalows, a collection of nine suites grouped around a courtyard, are situated across the street from the tower. With interiors designed by gin design group, this experience offers guests a respite from the bustle of the city with a whimsical nod to the mansion. Reminiscent of bohemian Parisian apartments in the midcentury, mod wallpapers, moody lounges, and sculptural custom furnishings upholstered in velvets and boucles of mossy greens and sensuous red tones live in harmony.
Photo: Courtesy of the Zimmermans
