Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1203909
76 T his April, Auberge Resorts Collection opens its first urban retreat and first Texas property at Austin's Commodore Perry Estate, an architectural gem listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With entertaining in mind and working with architect Henry Bowers Thompson, Commodore Edgar and Lutie Perry built the 10,800-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival walled estate in Austin in 1928 at the height of the Jazz TWO NEW TO TEXAS HOTELS LAND IN AUSTIN COMMODORE PERRY ESTATE, REVIVED PROPER PROCEDURE Age. The Perrys held Gatsby-esque soirées at the estate, which is tucked along Waller Creek, originally on Austin's north edge but now in the heart of the city in Hancock Park. In its transformation into a resort and private club, with 42 rooms, 12 suites, and a restaurant, Auberge enlisted San Francisco designer Ken Fulk as creative director. Fulk says he was mesmerized when he first saw the Commodore Perry Estate: "It was as if a European country estate had been transported to a bucolic Texas Hill Country landscape." He scoured Round Top for antiques, fabrics, and vintage lamps for the design that is equal doses of Fulk's celebrated imagination, history, and Austin. He worked with Moule & Polyzoides Architects & Urbanists from Pasadena, California, and Austin design firm Clayton & Little to restore the mansion, chapel, and carriage house. Moule & Polyzoides designed the new colonnaded three-story inn adjacent to the mansion. Austin's Ten Eyck Landscape Architects transformed the lush 10 acres, and Lutie's, a garden-inspired culinary concept, serves lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. Opening in April, aubergeresorts.com/ commodoreperry. Anne Lee Phillips T he first Proper Hotel outside of California has landed in Austin, with stunning interiors designed by Kelly Wearstler. Proper Hospitality (Proper Hotels and Avalon Hotels) is led by the Viceroy Hotel Group. Leave it to Wearstler to come up with an iconic design that is authentically Austin yet entirely unique. She visited local Craftsman-style homes throughout the state as research, and her design pays homage to Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts motifs, as well as joinery techniques. Austin Proper consists of 244 rooms and 79 suites, a floor devoted entirely to event space, 99 residences, and is the first LEED Gold-certified, sustainable hotel in the area. All Proper hotels appreciate a life well-lived, so look for an in-house yoga studio, pop-up fitness experiences, a guest- only pool with cabanas, Aesop bath products, and electric bikes to cruise around Lady Bird Lake. The restaurant and bar concepts from local partner McGuire Moorman Hospitality are as exciting as the interiors: The Peacock Mediterranean Grill offers updated Israeli and Turkish classics, and Goldie's Sunken Bar is an intimate space for cocktailing. Opening s o o n i s L a Piscina Fajitas & Ceviches, a p o o l s i d e restaurant with coastal Mexican- inspired dishes and an extensive t e q u i l a a n d mezcal program. p r o p e r h o t e l . com. Anne Lee Phillips Commodore Perry Estate's garden Goldie's Sunken Bar at Austin Proper Hotel Proper Hotel's Peacock Restaurant Mansion suite at Commodore Perry Commodore Perry's Mansion Suite Auberge Resorts Commodore Perry Estate in Austin