Where
to Stay
in 2025

Cruise down US 281 by Stephenville these days, and the newly revived and über-retro Interstate Inn makes it hard to keep your eyes on the road. With a giant sloping roof shaped like an interstate highway sign, it’s as if the Jetsons’ spaceship landed in the self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital of the World and is inviting guests to come on board.

“We want you to feel like you’re in another world, like you’re leaving home behind,” says Lisa Lennox, one of the three Texas siblings who created Mod Motels, the hospitality company shepherding the project. Her 1960 Cadillac convertible with pink interiors is permanently parked by the lobby. Each of the hotel’s 33 rooms is decked out with 1960s wallpaper, velvet headboards, and retro paintings by Texas artist Kevin Chupik. With a bar, restaurant, and event space overseen by award-winning Southwestern chef Stephan Pyles­—plus a fabulous pool, firepits, and lawn games in the courtyard—the Interstate Inn is a lounge and play-all-day retreat.

There are king, double, and suite room options. For something truly out of this world, book the room with the rare Magic Fingers massage bed— quarters required.

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811 East Road, Stephenville.
theinterstateinn.com

Rooms start at $329/night.

There may be no better way to immerse yourself in the wine romance sweeping the Texas Hill Country than to sleep inside a 400-square-foot cabin shaped like a wine barrel. It’s so roomy you can dance in it, lounge on a king-size bed in it, and, most importantly, drink wine in it.

“We wanted them to feel spacious,” says Kerri Wolcott, who, with her husband, Josh, built and runs the Wine Barrel Cabins a five-minute drive from Fredericksburg’s Main Street. The carefully designed cabins mirror a wine flight, moving from chardonnay to rosé, then to tempranillo, and finally a bold cabernet. Each cabin’s décor and interior pine stain are inspired by the hue of the wine it represents.

While the Wolcotts love a challenge—they ran a farm in Hawaii prior to moving to Fredericksburg in 2022—they didn’t anticipate the pitfalls of building a completely round structure. Pendant lamps and bathroom tile do not attach easily to a curved wall. But through trial and error, plus the help of family and friends, they figured it out and opened in May 2023.

Guests come to the cabins now to explore the local wineries and decompress. “It’s about connection, tranquility at night, conversation—and enjoying a really good wine,” Josh says.

This grand, pink hotel is iconic not only in Galveston, but also in Texas and the South as a symbol of turn-of-the-century luxury and elegance. Dallas hotelier Mark Wyant poured $100 million into restoring the former Grand Galvez to its legacy as “The Queen of the Gulf”—a title that is emblazoned on hand-crafted mosaic floor tiles in the entryway.

Built “as a testimony to the resilience of the Galveston people” following the devastating 1900 storm, Wyant says, you can almost envision upper-class ladies dressed in resplendent gowns gingerly navigating Peacock Alley from the street to the hotel lobby. That part of the hotel had gone unseen for 70 years. “My wife and I decided the most important thing we could do was to bring it back to its first feeling, its first look,” Wyant says. “I’m very proud of what it’s become.”

Wyant’s not the only one. On a recent ghost tour, Ghostess of Grand Galvez Melissa Hall told hotel guests there’s been an uptick in paranormal activity since the renovation. “I think the building and our spirits are very happy,” she says.

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2024 Seawall Blvd., Galveston. 409-765-7721;
grandgalvez.com

Rooms start at $250/night.

Generations of travelers have headed to Texas’s Big Bend region to get away from it all—even if that means driving most of the day to do so. Waking up to the sunrise over the Chisos Mountains perfectly framed by the sliding glass doors of your luxury tent makes all the effort worth it.

“Big Bend is one of the least-visited national parks, and a lot of it is due to the remoteness. We wanted to embrace that. There’s so much value in having a place of quiet retreat,” says Hannah Bitting, who opened Camp Elena with her dad in December 2022. The four-tent property is currently adding four additional tents. Starting May 1, the Chisos Basin section of the park and its lodgings will be closed for two years for renovations, making this a good alternative.

Bitting says their brand embraces “mindful luxury.” The four-person tents are beautifully appointed with local artwork, comfortable beds, private decks, hotel-style bathrooms, and kitchenettes. The tents all run on solar power and have Starlink high-speed internet. At night, guests can make a campfire or use telescopes for stargazing.

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40 ET Road, Terlingua. 432-217-0003;
campelena.com

Rooms start at $285/night.

If you’ve ever wanted to stay at a resort community with the timeless charm of Dirty Dancing’s Mountain Lake Lodge, Cinnamon Shore is just the place. The beach rentals lining the Port Aransas coastline feature a number of lodging options from one-bedroom condos to eight-bedroom homes. With beach access, five restaurants, shops, playgrounds, and adult and family pools among its many amenities—along with golf carts available for rent—most visitors rarely leave property grounds during their stay.

That’s the case for Haley Kinney and her family, who have traveled from New Mexico to spend their spring breaks at the beach community for the past 10 years. “It feels like the 1950s where everyone knows everybody,” Kinney says. “You get to know people and have fun; you can hang out at someone’s house or go to the pool. It’s very quaint but also a sophisticated, ritzy place to go.”

Due to demand, the property is expanding its South section with all new amenities. A glow pool and fitness center are set to debut there early this year, and a new town center restaurant is expected to open in the North section this summer.

—Emily Roberts Stone

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5009 SH 361, Port Aransas. 888-893-0658;
cinnamonshore.com

Rentals start at $195/night.