Waco welcomes Hotel Herringbone
Hotel Herringbone, an upscale boutique hotel, is slated to open in Waco, Texas, in March of 2024.
San Diego-based RAD LAB partnered with interior designer Taylor Leage of FreeForm Development, Lucky Find Hospitality and local restaurateur Corey McEntyre to acquire a dilapidated shipping container development located in downtown Waco. The group are set to transform the space into an epicentre of culture, celebrating the city’s food, art, music and community.
Occupying an entire city block, Hotel Herringbone will offer 21 art-deco-inspired hotel rooms from stylish 230ft2 entry-level rooms to a 1,300ft2 presidential suite complete with three king beds, spacious outdoor terrace, soft seating and fire pits. The guestrooms are warmed by regal ‘peacock’ hues and kitted with unique features such as Roman-style bathtubs and custom-millwork framing.
The intention of Hotel Herringbone is to offer visitors a place to congregate for an elevated entertainment experience. The cultural core; a 15,000ft2 landscaped plaza showcasing 12 curated retail spaces, a stage for live music performances and an al fresco food joint called Songbird. Red Herring, a meticulously configurated 6,000ft2 fine dining restaurant and cocktail bar will sit adjacent to the main square.
On the top floor of the property is Lucky Buck’s, a spacious rooftop venue serving deli-inspired cuisine and panoramic views of the city below. A lived-in, comfortable feel exudes the space thanks to the use of distressed leather sofas, antique tables and a designated shuffleboard area.
Panning to the exterior, the group commissioned renowned muralist Kamea Hadar to design a large-scale artwork for the southeast-facing external wall. Hadar worked with the Herringbone team in partnership with Creative Waco to mentor Baylor art students in the production of the final piece.
Rigel Bitterman, Lucky Find Hospitality’s CEO, comments, “When we first began looking at the opportunity, we were almost immediately excited by the demographics and data of Waco as a city - it's exactly what we look for when developing a subscale boutique hotel property.” He later adds, “The socio-economic growth, tourism trends, and the master plan of the city all looked promising. Then, when we began spending significant time in the market, our team quickly fell in love with the community, the people, and the blossoming food, music and art scenes.”
“We aimed to showcase layered elements stemming from the wide-ranging regions and history through the lens of a 20th-century world traveller and her husband - evoking the feeling of your grandmother's attic filled to the brim and brought to life as if it were brand new. The design also aimed to highlight the existing architecture created by the modular pods on the exterior, but once inside, it transforms into a world of nostalgia reminiscent of a feeling with no specific time or place. To execute this, we used a wide array of design aesthetics from old-world to retro mod. Art Nouveau detailing is balanced out with modern futuristic forms, and a bright, bold, modern colour palette to bring in a light sense of humour and new life,” said Leage.
Photo credit: Shelby Sorrel.
