If you didn’t know already, Round Top is the perfect getaway, and I was already obsessed with it. Homemade pie, cute colonial-looking houses turned antique shops and enough country hospitality to fill a ten-gallon hat are just a few of the reasons it’s one of my favorite Texas towns.
BUT over the weekend on a girls’ trip, I discovered one more reason to love this quaint town. I stayed at the Flophouze Hotel, Texas’s first Shipping Container Hotel.
Now, it may look like just a metal box. Oh, but friends, it’s so much more than that. Owner Matt White, who also opened Recycling The Past, has used his love of all things antiques to create an entire hotel made out of recycled and reclaimed materials.
From the walls made with the wood of an old Kentucky distillery to the kitchen cabinet tops crafted from the floors of a Texas bowling alley, each aspect of these hotel rooms was once something else, and has been re-purposed into a comfy living space.
This hodgepodge of reclaimed pieces is fittingly located in the “antiques kingdom” of Round Top. And it’ll be your new favorite retreat.
As we opened the door to our home for the weekend, I was shocked at just how much luxury was comfortably stuffed into this one little space.
From the outside, it looked like we’d be squished in like sardines, but somehow, the shipping container magically opened up into three spacious rooms: a living room/kitchenette with fridge, sink and microwave; a bathroom complete with a very large rainfall shower; and a master bedroom with a queen bed and plenty of storage. Never once did we feel cramped.
Master bedroom, complete with ridiculously comfortable bed and stylishly hipster robes.
And if you were scared it was all looks and no comfort, you should know that the bed (which I will lovingly refer to as a billowy pile of down-feathers and pillows) was actually the best night’s sleep at a hotel I’ve ever had. Though we were sleeping in a shipping container, we definitely weren’t “roughing it.” No indulgence was left out.
The kitchen was stocked with complimentary Mexican cokes, Topo Chico, and coffee and hot tea for the mornings. Each room had air conditioners with portable remotes so you didn’t even have to get up to change the temperature. The walls were covered in unique art pieces. And scattered throughout the shipping container was literature for the knowledge-hungry Texan, including Willie Nelson’s autobiography — of course!
A little light reading anyone?
Let’s be real: this would definitely be my ideal bunker during a nuclear explosion.
Even the doors are reclaimed and cool. Check out the bathroom door!
The only thing this place didn’t have was a TV…and honestly, I was more than happy to take a break from my binge-watching addiction. In its place, the living room had a massive window, a record player and a carefully curated collection of albums spanning from classic jazz to 80’s rock for sitting back and watching the world pass by. We had Louis Armstrong on loop all weekend long.
On the other hand, though it was quite luxurious, the whole experience was centered on unplugging in nature. Each “houze” has its own hammock, fire pit and porch with an incredible view of the stars. We especially loved the pool made by Modpools. It was also converted from a shipping container into an epic pool with a glass side and a hot tub!
The hotel is in the middle of building a deck for the pool…but that didn’t keep us from splashing right in!
One word: views.
Flophouze Hotel was the ideal weekend retreat. It’s the perfect mixture of seclusion and convenience. We felt like we were out in the middle of nowhere, though in reality, we were close enough to make a late night s’mores-run to the HEB 15 minutes away in La Grange, and enjoy karaoke and pie in nearby Round Top.
Flophouze already has 6 shipping container “houzes” on site, and has plans to continue building new and innovative shipping container hotel rooms. If you’re looking for a relaxing getaway (and maybe also some antiques and pie), this hotel might just be perfect for you!
