One Day in The Woodlands, Texas

The three main reasons to visit The Woodlands, Texas are golf, concerts, and shopping. You can easily spend an entire weekend on these activities here. The Woodlands Mall is pretty much the center of activity downtown. Besides shopping, it is surrounded by hotels, convention centers, restaurants and office buildings, making the downtown area a very nice mixed use community. Just a few blocks walk gets you to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion, a great place to see a concert or other performance. There are several golf courses in town, too. But, golf not being my thing, I filled my day with a walk along the waterway, some shopping, then a concert at the pavilion.

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The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention...
The location of this hotel is what I liked the most when I visited. The Woodlands Waterway is a great place to take a walk. I enjoyed a few hours wandering up and back the waterway between the hotel and the mall. There was a fountain that does a water show with music and lights that was fun to watch. The hotel is convenient walking distance to the mall and the pavilion and tons of other shops and restaurants. The housekeeping staff in particular took very good care of me. The room was always clean and comfortable. I highly recommend this hotel.
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Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion is a very nice concert amphitheater in a wooded setting. It has a capacity of 17,000 people and is the most popular place in the Houston area to see a concert. There are some reserved seats closer to the stage, and a grassy hill for general admission tickets. Food and drinks were expensive, but the bathrooms were clean. Overall, the venue is fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert from my general admission seat on the hillside. Remember to bring plenty of cash for drinks and snacks and a blanket or low chair to sit on the grass. Any concert here is a perfect activity to have as the center of your whole visit to The Woodlands.
With the buffet, mimosas were only fifty cents.
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Woodlands Mall (The)
The Woodlands Mall is basically your typical mall as far as shopping goes. But besides the food court, there are a bunch of high quality restaurants that are not your typical food court fare; places like the Cheesecake Factory, Brio Tuscan Grill, Rockfish Seafood Grill and P.F. Changs. I like to shop okay, but when there are restaura... More >
The Woodlands Mall is basically your typical mall as far as shopping goes. But besides the food court, there are a bunch of high quality restaurants that are not your typical food court fare; places like the Cheesecake Factory, Brio Tuscan Grill, Rockfish Seafood Grill and P.F. Changs. I like to shop okay, but when there are restaurants like this to add to my shopping experience, it makes it even more worth it. I suggest planning your visit such that you can eat at more than one place, such as lunch at one place and dinner later at another, or dinner and then dessert somewhere else. There are just too many good options that it is hard to pass any up.
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Cinemark Tinseltown 17 and XD: The Woodlands
I definitely recommend the Cinemark Tinseltown Movie Theater at the Woodlands Mall as a great place to watch a movie. High ticket and snack bar prices sometimes make me complain about going to the movies, so it was pleasing to deal with a friendly staff. Every employee smiled when they talked to me; when I bought the ticket, when I b... More >
I definitely recommend the Cinemark Tinseltown Movie Theater at the Woodlands Mall as a great place to watch a movie. High ticket and snack bar prices sometimes make me complain about going to the movies, so it was pleasing to deal with a friendly staff. Every employee smiled when they talked to me; when I bought the ticket, when I bought snacks, and when I left after the movie. I was very pleased with that. Besides being a clean, friendly and comfortable theater, there was a restaurant and a game room inside, so its easy to keep the family entertained for hours.
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Fleming's Prime Steakhouse
Flemings Prime Steak House was definitely my favorite place to eat in The Woodlands. We started with their happy hour special which featured 5 cocktails, 5 wines by the glass and 5 appetizers for $6.00 each at the bar until 7 oclock. I sipped a glass of merlot and we all shared the sweet chile calamari and the Cajun shrimp off the ap... More >
Flemings Prime Steak House was definitely my favorite place to eat in The Woodlands. We started with their happy hour special which featured 5 cocktails, 5 wines by the glass and 5 appetizers for $6.00 each at the bar until 7 oclock. I sipped a glass of merlot and we all shared the sweet chile calamari and the Cajun shrimp off the appetizers menu. They were all delicious, which was made obvious by the way our party of six devoured them. We made our way to the dining room, because the bar menu is limited to appetizers and burgers, and some of us were anxious to try the steaks. I was disappointed to learn that the prime rib dinner was only available on Sundays, but the New York strip I ordered medium rare definitely made it better.
Flemings Prime Steak House was definitely my favorite place to eat in The Woodlands.
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The Gooses Acre Bistro and Irish Pub
The Gooses Acre claims to have been designed and built in Ireland and then shipped to The Woodlands, Texas to ensure a genuine Irish Pub experience. I didnt bother to confirm this story with any of the staff, but I found it irrelevant to the good time I was having there. We went on Sunday morning to check out the champagne brunch they have every week. There was a delicious brunch buffet that was very well maintained and ... More
The Gooses Acre claims to have been designed and built in Ireland and then shipped to The Woodlands, Texas to ensure a genuine Irish Pub experience. I didnt bother to confirm this story with any of the staff, but I found it irrelevant to the good time I was having there. We went on Sunday morning to check out the champagne brunch they have every week. There was a delicious brunch buffet that was very well maintained and featured some traditional Irish dishes. With the buffet, mimosas were only fifty cents. As a bonus, we got to enjoy all of this on their lovely patio, right next to the waterway.
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About the Author

Ross Pincock
Ross Pincock
I love music! I have spent most of my life either playing and writing music or listening to a live performance. I also love the outdoors, particularly camping, hiking, bicycling and sitting around the campfire. I am a father and I love spending time with my kids.
Websitemyspace.com/rosspincock
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