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    What $6 Million Buys

    Galleria Hotel renovates to stand out: Snakeskin walls and concierge"personalities" are here

    Dillon Sorensen
    Jan 18, 2013 | 4:45 pm
    • On Dec. 17, 2012, Destination Hotels & Resorts started the Hotel Derek makeover,which includes significant aesthetic changes to guest room, lobby and meetingspace interiors.
      Hotel Derek/Facebook
    • Two floors of guest rooms have already been renovated, and the grand ballroom.
      Photo courtesy of Hotel Derek
    • While official plans have yet to be announced, “exciting things” will be takingplace in the restaurant and bar space, which currently houses Valentino and VinBar, the latter shown here.
      Gensler
    • The hotel is working with Dallas-based interior design firm Flick-Mars toimplement an updated look that highlights vibrant colors and new textures.
      Photo courtesy of Hotel Derek

    Hotel Derek, the Galleria-are luxury boutique hotel originally opened in 2001, is undergoing a multi-million dollar renovation and management overhaul.

    Destination Hotels & Resorts, the fifth largest hospitality management company in the United States, purchased the property last summer. On Dec. 17, the company started the Hotel Derek makeover, which includes significant aesthetic changes to guest room, lobby and meeting space interiors, and it's in full swing now.

    “It’s the only independent, boutique property in an area surrounded by chains, and we want to elevate the hotel from where it currently stands in the market.”

    “We’re onboard with a fresh perspective and assessing the potential the hotel has given its location and the type of business we have coming into the Galleria — both corporate and leisure,” Stephanie Summerall, director of sales & marketing, told CultureMap in a phone interview. “We’re utilizing that to move the hotel in a different direction.”

    The hotel is working with Dallas-based interior design firm Flick-Mars to implement an updated look that highlights vibrant colors and new textures, such as snakeskin-clad bathroom walls.

    “We’re taking the design elements up a few notches, further distinguishing Hotel Derek from other hotels in the Galleria area,” Summerall said. “It’s the only independent, boutique property in an area surrounded by chains, and we want to elevate the hotel from where it currently stands in the market.”

    In addition to interior upgrades, Destination recently implemented new service standards at Hotel Derek. A combined concierge and brand ambassador position — “Sir or Lady Derek” — has been created to further enhance the overall guest experience.

    According to Summerall, Sir or Lady Derek will provide guests with customized entertainment recommendations and act as the face of the hotel. “You’re going to have a personality there creating this vibe from the moment you arrive, who will have a specialized insight on all things Houston,” she said.

    “We plan to continually invest in the property, introducing things that are very edgy and aren’t being done anywhere else in town.”

    Destination Hotels & Resorts is spending approximately $6 million on design enhancements, which will be completed in March. Several floors of guest rooms have already been renovated.

    While official plans have yet to be announced, Summerall said that “exciting things” would be taking place in the restaurant and bar space, which currently houses Valentino and Vin Bar.

    “We plan to continually invest in the property, introducing things that are very edgy and aren’t being done anywhere else in town,” she said. “We want Hotel Derek to be the destination for people traveling in Houston, as well as Houstonians.”

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    news/real-estate

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    rustic ranch livin'

    17-acre Hill Country ranch with stunning views listed for $3.7M

    Amber Heckler
    Nov 6, 2026 | 9:00 am
    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior
    Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches
    The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

    A spacious property for sale in the bustling Austin suburb of Dripping Springs is now offering just over 17 acres of land for $3.7 million.

    The HC Carter Camphouse, located at 1601 Creek Road, presents a rare opportunity for its next owners to live less than two miles from downtown Dripping Springs. The 17.03-acre ranch was once part of a much larger, 205-acre ranch that contained "one of the finest Longhorn cattle herds in Texas," according to the listing description.

    The property features two renovated homes: a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, Spanish-style main house that was originally built in 1956; and a restored "Pioneer Cabin" that was built in the mid-to-late 1800's and currently serves as the guest house.

    The primary home has a gated stone courtyard with a water fountain, and a tiled wraparound porch overlooking the front yard and in-ground fire pits. Terracotta tile runs throughout the interior of the home, and rustic wood details cohesively tie the rooms together. The spacious primary bedroom features wide French doors that open to the front porch, a high angled wood panel ceiling, and a Santa Fe-style fireplace.

    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, main house primary bedroom The fire place in the primary bedroom will be very handy during the winter.Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

    The restored cabin maintains its vintage charm with stone flooring, all-wood ceilings, log beams, and antique furnishings. The home contains two bedrooms with window AC units, two fireplaces, "working bathrooms," and a kitchen.

    Onion Creek runs through the property to provide stunning Hill Country views and a barrier of separation from Creek Rd. However, it also means a majority of the land south of the creek — including the areas where both homes sit — is in a FEMA 100-year floodplain and a Dripping Springs localized floodplain. The property's survey map fills in the details.

    "The property has approximately 1,600 feet of frontage on Onion Creek, providing year-round water, and stunning views of the creek," the listing says. "The creek has never gone dry on this part of the creek since the owners have owned the property."

    The ranch first entered the market in late July as a 9.999-acre parcel of land, but the listing has since been updated to add 7.031 more acres in an adjoining lot. The land addition improves the property's privacy, nearly doubles the Onion Creek frontage, and increases the size of the "most probable new home site location," according to the listing. The expansion also effectively reduces the price-per-acre by a third.

    HC Carter Camphouse property for sale in Dripping Springs, Spanish-style main house exterior

    Photo courtesy of Republic Ranches

    The 17-acre ranch is located at 1601 Creek Rd. in Dripping Springs.

    Whoever purchases the ranch will also become the owners of an additional one-acre lot located "outside of, but contiguous to" the 9.999-acre lot. This portion of land is leased to the property's caretaker, who previously managed the original 205-acre ranch for 25 years. The listing specifies that the caretaker "does not have the right to sell this 1 acre, which will revert to the owner in case of his death."

    real estateranch for salehouse for saleluxury housingluxury real estatedripping springs
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