Chip and Joanna Gaines turned a 100-year-old building into a boutique Waco hotel. Take a look inside.

Chip and Joanna Gaines opened a hotel. Courtesy of Magnolia Chip and Joanna Gaines opened Hotel 1928 in Waco, Texas, in 2023. The 100-year-old building is now a boutique hotel with a restaurant, café, and rooftop lounge. Hotel 1928 was awarded a Michelin Key in September. A boutique hotel might convince you to add Waco, Texas, to your dream travel destination list. Chip and Joanna Gaines took on their biggest renovation project to date to turn a 100-year-old building in their hometown into a hotel. Designed in partnership with AJ Capital Partners, Hotel 1928 has three floors, 33 bedrooms, two restaurants, and a café. It officially opened in November 2023, and a series about the renovation, "Fixer Upper: The Hotel," aired in conjunction with the opening to take fans inside the project. Almost three years later, the hotel has become a guest and industry favorite, earning a Michelin Key, the equivalent of Michelin stars for restaurants, in September. Take a look inside the hotel that Chip Gaines called their "largest, most complicated-sized project" to date in the series about the property. Chip and Joanna Gaines opened Hotel 1928 in November 2023. Courtesy of Magnolia Hotel 1928 is in downtown Waco, a 10-minute walk from Chip and Joanna Gaines' Silos shopping complex. The hotel's exterior features large ground-floor windows, accented by striped awnings. An ornate archway frames the front door, and a simple vertical sign that reads "1928" hangs on the wall. The hotel has a markedly different look than the homes the couple typically renovates. Courtesy of Magnolia The couple is known for their farmhouse-chic aesthetic, and they popularized design features like shiplap and barn doors. However, Joanna Gaines told Architectural Digest's Juliet Izon she wanted to take a different approach to the hotel. "I just kept thinking of 1920s glam," she told the outlet of her vision for the hotel, adding that she wanted it to have an "art deco, more saturated feel." The luxurious, retro approach to Hotel 1928 is evident in the lobby, where the hotel's name is carved into a wooden island that serves as the welcome desk. Ornate chandeliers and dark trim on the doorways enhance the moody aesthetic. A library serves as a focal point of the building. Courtesy of Magnolia The massive library has charcoal walls and dark wood floors, and it features a statement curved staircase. An angular chandelier, a white fireplace, and a large mirror above the fireplace brighten the space, as does the array of colorful books on the built-in shelves along the walls. Meanwhile, armchairs, low couches, and a rug give the room a comfortable, inviting feel. Joanna Gaines told Architectural Digest that the library is among her favorite rooms in the hotel. "It feels like a place I could just settle in and read a book, or have a cup of coffee with a friend," she said. The main floor features a restaurant called The Brasserie. Courtesy of Magnolia The Brasserie sits on the main floor of the hotel, alongside the massive windows that flood the space with natural light. Its exposed beams make the room feel larger. The restaurant is filled with plush booths, elegant marble tables, and nods to the art-deco era, including rounded fixtures. According to the Hotel 1928 website, The Brasserie's menu has "the warmth of the classics with just the right dash of culinary adventure." There's a second restaurant on Hotel 1928's rooftop. Courtesy of Magnolia The Gaineses added Bertie's to the rooftop, another dining spot that offers seasonal foods. Joanna Gaines took a more playful approach to its design than she did with The Brasserie, though it feels connected to the other eatery because it also has green walls. Cushioned chairs surround the restaurant's bistro tables, and coffee tables are set around pink couches for more relaxed dining. The throw pillows on the couches have a blue, floral pattern that matches the siding on an accent wall in the space, tying it all together. The hotel also features a café. Courtesy of Magnolia The café, which sits off the lobby, has a look similar to the library's, with its dark walls, built-in bookshelves, and a white fireplace. According to Hotel 1928's website, the café has light food in addition to coffee. Its menu looks a bit similar to that of Magnolia Press, the coffee shop at the Silos, so it's likely full of delicious treats. Each room in the hotel has a unique design. Courtesy of Magnolia Hotel 1928 has 33 rooms available for guests, and no two rooms look alike, though they all share a neutral aesthetic, as Joanna Gaines told Architectural Digest. The hotel offers five room types. Its standard room is the Franklin, which has either two queen beds or one king bed. The Austin rooms have the same bed options, though they're slightly larger than the Franklin rooms. There's also the Ellsworth, a premium king suite. Hotel 1928 also has a two-bedroom suite called the Columbus, as well as a larger, luxury suite, the Washington, which can house up to 12 guests. As of October 2026, a one-night stay at the hotel for two adults can start at $384 in a Franklin room, but can cost up to $2,923 per night to reserve the Washington. Joanna Gaines paid attention to the decor details throughout the hotel. Courtesy of Magnolia For instance, the bathrooms have green subway tile on the walls and "1928" engraved into the floor to make them stand out, and Joanna Gaines used backsplashes as pops of color throughout the hotel. She also told Architectural Digest that most of the furniture and fixtures in the hotel are custom-made. "They look like antique pieces, so that's really fun," she said. "But they're new, so they'll stand the test of time." The hotel was awarded a Michelin Key in 2026. Courtesy of Magnolia Hotel 1928 has been a hit for the Gaineses. Southern Living put it on its list of the best new hotels in the South for 2025, and in September 2026, the Michelin Guide added the property to its list of Michelin Key hotels for the year. The highest hotel award Michelin offers is three keys. Hotel 1928 received one key. Joanna Gaines said she and her husband were "thrilled" about the key in an Instagram post, calling the award "an honor" for the hotel. Read the original article on Business Insider

Read it at Business Insider ↗

← Front page