Where to stay in Dallas?
 

Hi,
I'm traveling to Dallas in late August for fun and would like an idea where to stay. We are interested in shopping, good restaurants and nightclubs (Top 40's, Hip hop, R&B). What part of town would you recommend we stay? We will have a car but would prefer not to drive all over the city for entertainment purposes.

Thank you,
Grouptravel

I'd say the Uptown area will be good for you. It's just north of downtown Dallas and has lots of shopping, restaurants and nightclubs, and it is very walkable. I know the Crescent and Mansion at Turtle Creek are there, and I'm sure there are smaller/less expensive hotels, too.

I don't know what your budget is so I'll list several in the Uptown/Oak Lawn area:

Hotel ZaZa: hip, boutique hotel

Stoneleigh Hotel: recently renovated great old hotel with new modern decor

Warwick Melrose Hotel: historic hotel

Crescent Hotel: large, upscale hotel

Mansion on Turtle Creek: luxury hotel with the best service anywhere (good summer rates going now)

The Ritz: new and very nice $$$

Hotel Lumen: Modern boutique hotel in area around SMU so farther away from restaurants and bars than those listed above

For shopping, you can take a short drive to Northpark Mall. Galleria is only a 15-20 drive depending on traffic.
West Village is near these hotels as well and is a hip, young area with lots of boutique-shopping and outdoor dining, too.

Hope that helps get you started.
BeachGirl

Thank you for the responses. I think we'll stay at the Hotel Zaza. It looks like a fun place. Are there nearby restaurants you would recommend? We like all types of food.

Thank you,
Grouptravel

Hey there,
Dallas is the place for restaurants, for sure. These on my short list are yum-licious!

laduni.com

trulucks.com

mattitos.com

With regards to your shopping question, check out:

West Village (McKinney Ave/Lemmon) -- a short drive from Hotel Zaza), which is best for small boutique shops;

Northpark Mall -- about 7 miles north from your hotel, Central Expwy/Park Ln and is an excellent choice for shopping. Not only does it have major dept stores, but also has AMC movie theatre and several decent restaurants. And because this mall was originally built by Raymond Nasher (Nasher Sculpture Garden in downtown Dallas) the mall also has art work sprinkled throughout.
http://www.northparkcenter.com/

grouptravel- where are you coming from? And what type of food do you like?

For atmosphere and pretty good Mexican food, try Monica's in Deep Ellum. They often have live music, too:

http://www.monicas.com/

Deep Ellum and Lower Greenville are two good areas for partying/clubbing.

http://www.ondaweb.com/deep_ellum/

For shopping, the suggestions above are perfect. Stick to Northpark Mall. No need to head to Galleria unless you have all day to shop.

It's going to be HOT in late August, so make sure you bring your swimsuits! ZaZa has an amazing pool and spa. So treat yourselves! :)