Texas will soon be home to its first Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts location thanks to a collaborative partnership.
The Waldorf Astoria Texas Hill Country is expected to open in 2027 in Fredericksburg with 60 rooms and suites, 87 residences, five dining concepts, an 11,000-square-foot spa and fitness center and two resort-style pools. The hotel will have approximately 6,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including a 4,000-square-foot event barn.
Hilton signed its branding and management agreement with Wine Country Hospitality Partners, a partnership between Mark Harmon, founder and former CEO of Auberge Resorts Collection; Robert Radovan, founding partner of luxury hospitality development company Criswell Radovan; and investor and lawyer Tim Sparapani, co-founder of Blue Run Spirits and member of the Board of Directors for Coors Spirits Co. Harmon is also the chairman of Private Label Collection and owner/operator of Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley. All three are credited as co-developers, according to a news release.
“Waldorf Astoria Texas Hill Country’s signing marks a monumental milestone for Hilton and is integral to both our growth in the state, which represents Hilton’s largest hotel portfolio in the U.S., and Hilton luxury brands portfolio expansion across the Americas,” said Amy King, vice president of luxury and mixed-use development at Hilton. “Conrad Hilton’s legacy in the hotel business began in Texas more than 105 years ago, and working alongside incredible owners, we’re proud to deliver on Conrad’s vision as we introduce our distinguished luxury hotel and residential portfolio in the destination.”
The project includes 87 Waldorf Astoria Residences, which will consist of a mix of single-story estates, villas and cottage-style Sunday homes featuring three to five bedrooms. Fifty of the branded residences will be on the edge of the 106-acre property with waterside views of Baron’s Creek and easy access to the town center. The other 37 branded multi-bedroom resort villas are eligible to participate in a hotel rental program as 74 additional keys.
"Each of these homes will be a modern rendition of what exists here today, creating a space that feels familiar, celebrates the land and ushers in a new escape to explore and reconnect with one another,” Radovan said in the news release.
The hotel will be located within a mile of Fredericksburg's historic downtown. The town welcomes around 1.5 million tourists a year, with many of those visitors coming from major Texas cities — Austin and San Antonio are within 75 miles of Fredericksburg, and Houston and Dallas sit about 250 miles from the city. According to CoStar data, the town has 30 hotels with 10 more in the development pipeline.
In January, Austin-based New Waterloo opened the Albert Hotel in Fredericksburg. It's the first luxury hotel to open in the area. The 105-key hotel was originally slated for a 2022 opening after being announced in 2020. The hotel, its spa and several dining concepts are open on Fredericksburg's main street.
With over 30 Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts open around the world, the brand has another 30 locations in its pipeline, according to Hilton.