[dropcap]I[/dropcap]f you're looking to become a hotel owner, here's an opportunity for you. This Chip and Joanna Gaines hotel listing from their real estate company Magnolia Realty is a hotel renovated in Fixer Upper style and it's gorgeous. It also has a $2.35 million price tag, but as the listing says, it's a perfect place for a creative entrepreneur since the hotel is actively running.
The Midland Hotel is located in Hico, Texas, a small town about an hour outside of Waco. The hotel, which was first known as Joel Fisher's Hotel, was completed in 1891. It was given the name The Midland Hotel after it was purchased that year by Mrs. Lula (Tolula) Stovall, the "most popular hotel woman in West Texas" as she was named in the Fort Worth Gazette.
Apparently, the Midland Hotel has a history of being the best place around to stay. Sometime in the 1890s, the Abilene Reporter newspaper stated, "We doubt whether a more homelike and attractive hotel can be found than the Midland at Hico. Beautifully furnished, spotlessly clean, the table bountifully supplied, large and airy rooms, this house, presided over by a most pleasant and hospitable lady must be a haven to the traveler."
The boutique hotel has 14 rooms, each decorated in unique Texas style. Really, the whole building looks like it came out of a Western movie, albeit a very stylish and modern Western movie.
The hotel has a restaurant called The Chop House, an appropriate name given that it was a meat locker around the turn of the century. In addition to a large main dining room, the restaurant has several private dining areas set off by giant barn doors. There's also a separate bar named the 1896 Saloon with a beautiful wraparound bar (remember to drink appropriately: Order whiskey, beer, or sarsaparilla).
We should note that the Gaines did not do the renovations; the hotel was purchased in 2014 and renovated in 2016 by Les and Amber Branson, according to an article on realtor.com. But all the decorating choices definitely fit the HGTV stars' style, with reclaimed wood ceilings, exposed brick and stone walls, stunning wood floors, and that modern farmhouse feeling, and you can see why Magnolia Realty is listing the hotel.
Midland House isn't the only Chip and Joanna Gaines hotel connection. They also have two properties that they list as vacation rentals, the Magnolia House and the Hillcrest Estate.
