Wacky Texas Hill Country Stays

Three hotel recommendations for those who love accommodations out of the ordinary.

Canje Caribbean restaurant. Photos by Cheré Coen

I’m a sucker for boutique and historic hotels so imagine my happiness staying at both during my recent travels through the Hill Country of Texas. Here are three not-to-be-missed accommodations with some lagniappe (that's a little something extra in Louisiana speak).

Carpenter Hotel, Austin

Austin

Carpenter Hotel, 400 Josephine St.

At first glance, you’d hardly expect this South Austin building to house boutique accommodations. Don’t let the exterior of the Carpenter Hotel fool you for behind the industrial façade of a former union headquarters lies something special. The lobby—originally built in 1948 as Carpenters Local 1266 Union Hall—features cool items in a gift shop, a coffee shop that attracts neighborhood peeps and a comfortable gathering space complete with record player and vinyl.

In the back, diners may enjoy craft cocktails and cool menu items such as hushpuppies with grilled corn, pickled pepper mayo, cotija and kettle corn powder and crispy and smoked devil eggs at Carpenters Hall restaurant. It was happy hour when I visited but I dig a good old fashioned and the Nightcap cocktail of bourbon, pecan bitters, demerara and OFTD rum was a delicious version despite the time of day. I savored its perfection on the patio while enjoying the coolness of an early spring evening in Austin.

Once visitors travel through a lush landscaped patio, they reach the newly built concrete building with terra-cotta masonry from historic D’Hanis, Texas, that serves as the hotel. Guest rooms feel industrial with concrete walls but decorated with hip, comfy furnishings. Each room has a balcony, either overlooking the street behind the property or the pool area, and a stocked mini fridge, water to keep guests hydrated in a dry climate and all natural bath products.

Lagniappe: Drive over to Canje Caribbean restaurant (1914 E. Sixth St.) for a varied menu of unique flavors and dishes. Chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph hails from Guyana and serves up dishes that run the cultural gamut, such as wild boar pepperpot, sweet potatoes topped with queso Fresco and West Indian curry. Yes, he travels the globe here. "I wanted to showcase food from Puerto Rico all the way to Guyana," he said. One example: The ceviche he found in a small Mexican town with African heritage that included peanuts!

Round Top

Wander Inn, 1215 Texas 237

Consider the owners of Junk Gypsy buying two lodges and a cottage and using their decorating prowess to turn them into something special.

And that’s just what happened. Behind the Junk Gypsy store outside the miniature town of Round Top, a store run by sisters Amie and Jolie Sikes, hosts of HGTV’s" Junk Gypsies" and the queens of refurbishing, renovating and refashioning items, lies the Wander Inn. Within the two lodges are rooms decorated in repurposed items, the Sikes brand of bath products, books on the Hill Country and, naturally, their story and a record player with assorted vinyl. Porches come with rocking chairs, perfect for watching the longhorns graze on the property out back. In a cottage dedicated to Thelma and Louise, guests will find a Brad Pitt mural overlooking twin bathtubs.

Nights can end by the fire pit (we savored a fire beneath a pink full moon!) and mornings are greeted wiuth freshly baked biscuits and jam delivered to your door. Don’t worry, coffee makers are well stocked inside guest rooms.

Lagniappe: We didn’t stay at the elegant Hotel Lulu (204 E. Mill St., Round Top), a restored and reimagined property on Round Top’s historic Bybee Square but we were treated to a tour. Be sure to sample Italian cuisine at Lulu’s restaurant, part of which resides within a stone building from the early 1800s.

Brenham

Ant Street Inn, 107 W. Commerce St.

This sweet little town—and we say sweet because it’s home to Blue Bell Creameries in addition to being an adorable Hallmark-esque hamlet—features an 1899 historic building that takes up a city block. The Schmidt Brothers Building once housed a grocery, feed store, dry goods and saloon but now serves as the Ant Street Inn.

The Charleston Room at the Ant Street Inn.

The ground floor features the Brenham Grill where guests are treated to breakfast, in addition to a gift shop, book sale rack for those needed reading material and the check-in desk. Up a long staircase lies the guest rooms named for Southern cities, a welcoming hallway with artwork, antiques and history books and a refreshment room with ice, soft drinks and Blue Bell ice cream.

We stayed in the Charleston deluxe room complete with writing desk, comfy chairs and a carved rosewood queen bed. Our bathroom had a soaking tub so large I worried I’d need a ladder to get inside. Floor to ceiling windows overlook a balcony where guests may relax. I peeped into my colleague’s New Orleans room and examined the old map hanging in the room’s foyer to spot my childhood neighborhood.

Lagniappe: Don’t miss a visit to the Blue Bell Creameries and take advantage of the $1 a scoop tasting parlor. Scoops are Texas size and the factory parlor serves up flavors not yet on the market. Talk about good!

Weird, Wacky & Wild South is written by travel and food writer Cheré Coen who adores Blue Bell ice cream.