Texas Hill Country that became Stablewood Springs Resort
Contact the resort’s business office at
830-238-4646 for details on these unique offerings.
The luckiest among us, at least once in our lives, wind up holding something so beautiful, so wonderful, that we feel compelled to share it with others. That is how Houston developer Tom Fatjo felt about the slice of Texas Hill Country that became Stablewood Springs Resort.
“I’m well acquainted with the Hill Country,” said Fatjo from across an expansive conference table in his Houston office. “I’ve been going there since I was 10. Went to summer camp there as a child.”
During the years that followed, Fatjo said he came in contact with hundreds of adults who, like himself, longed for some sort of child-like reconnection to that special place in their pasts.
When he bought the 540 acres within which Stablewood Springs is built, the property was earmarked as a family retreat where he, his children and their children could escape whatever weighed on their souls whenever they liked. From any of dozens of hilltops and meadows there, they could take in a deep breath of Hill Country air and let out whatever baggage needed expulsion that week or day or minute.
The more he visited the property, which in many ways reminds him southern France, Fatjo said, the more public his long-term vision for that land became. A talented team was assembled, plans were drawn, and from those rolling hills was carved a uniquely magnificent oasis.
The level of luxury to which guests of Stablewood Springs are exposed is extreme, almost excessively so and invariably beyond expectation. In this resort, Fatjo and his collaborators have created something of an adult summer camp, a place where men and women – and their families – can enjoy every good thing that the Texas Hill Country has to offer.
“One of the comments I hear most from our guests is that it wasn’t what they thought it would be, that it was in so many ways more,” said Tiffany Townsend, guest services manager for Stablewood Springs. “It’s been described as having a sort of ‘mom-and-pop’ feel with luxury amenities.”
Visitors also sometimes underestimate the property’s inclusion of children, all ages, in its activities. Most anything the adults can do, within reason, children can do, as well.
Barely five years old, Stablewood Springs already has garnered national attention for its impeccable service and style. The New York Times named it Texas’ most grand resort and further heralded the place as ranking among the top 10 properties in the entire nation.
Such notoriety is no accident. Staff members at Stablewood Springs, each and all of them, are genuinely friendly and hand-picked for their ability to anticipate their guests’ needs and wants.
Although the majority of the resort’s guests come from Houston, Dallas and San Antonio, in that order, the appeal of Stablewood Springs is increasingly worldwide.
Visitors from numerous countries already have discovered and marveled at Stablewood Springs. Most were drawn here by the insistent recommendation of friends who already had hiked or golfed or dined or simply reclined on a private patio and witnessed a Hill Country sunset.
“This is more than just another luxury property,” said Townsend. “We offer things you can’t find elsewhere, like kayaking trips down the Guadalupe River and mountain biking Texas style.”
The resort also has seven miles of hiking trails and several fishing lakes on property, and guest-access to a championship golf course nearby. And at the end of a day spent witnessing whatever the Texas Hill Country has to offer that day, guests can retreat to Stablewood Resort’s pool, which Townsend said is among the guests’ favorite places to land after whichever activity they’ve enjoyed. For some guests, lounging around the exquisite pool is activity enough to pass the day.
Something uniquely Stablewood is the ability to own a private retreat within its boundaries and, at a whim, enjoy all the property’s amenities. In addition to pampering its guests, Stablewood Springs also includes select parcels set aside for private accommodations.
Two dozen private residences are built or nearly so, and a handful more will be built as the property continues its development. Adding to the attraction, Stablewood Springs offers its owners the opportunity to participate in a rental pool under two distinctly different options. Both are fair, and one or the other has appealed to roughly half the current owners.
“More than 8,000 families come to the Hunt (Texas) area every summer for the camps,” said Fatjo.
Now, he said, parents who make that drive to deliver their children into the care of the region’s high-end summer camps have good reason to linger for a lazy, luxurious night or two, perhaps the entire week, or to simply keep the family intact and enjoy that same time together.
Build an appetite.
Extraordinary food is made all the more so if you’ve worked up an honest hunger throughout the day.
To help with that, Stablewood Springs offers a variety of physical activities to burn calories, raise a heart rate get its guests thinking about the good food that awaits them.
The resort features dedicated hiking and running trails, an outstanding pool in which to swim until your fingers wrinkle, and several miles of mountain biking trails. Those cycling trails are designated with signage as suitable for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders; rental bikes and professional instructors are available.
Additionally, resort owners and guests have playing privileges at Riverhill Country Club, a Byron Nelson-designed layout just 15 minutes down the road.
Swim. Ride a bike. Tee it up. Play like a kid all day. Then reclaim the privileges of adulthood for an exquisite meal and, if you fancy, retreat to Stablewood Springs’ spa for an evening massage.
Strictly business
There is opportunity to for a select few people who own units at Stablewood Springs to recoup some of their investments through participation in a somewhat unique rental program. Owners may select from a plan that returns 45 percent of rental revenue to them or another that guarantees them an 8 percent return. There are details involved with such creativity, of course, but both programs reflect the confidence of Fatjo and his team in the long-term future of Stablewood Springs.
Within its relatively short history, the resort has built and sold 15 units, of which nine participate in rental programs. Another nine units were under construction at the time of this writing. Contact the resort’s business office at 830-238-4646 for details on these unique offerings.
