Stagecoach Inn Formerly Shady Villa

I recently stayed at the beautiful world famous - Stagecoach Inn & Restaurant. I checked in on Tuesday/August 6th and checked out the following day. Their lovely front desk agent - Gianna checked me in. She provided a warm and sincere welcome. She was bubbly and excited during the arrival process. I stayed in room 104. The room was lovely. The AC worked perfectly given the Texas Summer heat. The guest room amenities were amazing. My entire visit was lovely given that it was short and sweet. The hotel has a beautiful Olympic size pool. I was checked out by front desk agent - Alex. He did an excellent job upon departure. He asked me about my stay and was super helpful during our interaction. I would definitely encourage everyone to stay at this beautiful hotel - Stagecoach Inn & Restaurant located in Salado, Texas. I can promise you that you will not be disappointed. I was excited about my stay and can't wait to return back to this beautiful property 🙏🙏🙏

Wish we’d known: -Parking non existent. Stayed in what was supposed to be pool side view room. Couldn’t see pool for overgrown dying vegetation. Had to park down a hill and around a tree (if other cars weren’t already parked there) and then tote all luggage up a slopped gravel rocky driveway to a cement ramp that was in bad need of repair. An accident waiting to happen for seniors. -TV in room had to have cable box reset each time we turned it on. -No ice in building. Would have to get in car and leave and drive to office while taking chance you can’t find a place to park upon return. I would add on our 2nd day there it was 105 to 110 degrees when we returned from shopping and discovered our room keys were deactivated. Office staff wouldn’t answer phone so had to once again get in hot car, drive to office and have them activate our keys. -rooms were nice and AC worked and for that we were thankful, -office staff were friendly and appears they are doing the best they can with what they have to work with. -From what we could tell pool was clean and working fine. -this hotel could be a wonderful place to stay if…

Our friend chose to celebrate her 50TH birthday here, We brought our floats and was going to stay at the pool. However, it was closed. Bad management not to let the customers know. Sad birthday party.

No pool, no pool side diner, no restaurant. Lots and lots and lots of dead, non-native vegetation. Owners tried and failed to recreate a romantic tropical getaway in brutally hot, drought-stricken, central Texas. Green, unusable pool. Weirdest landscaping choices I have ever seen. Burnt, dead plants and ivy throughout pool and room entrances. Only reason got 3 stars was the exceptionally nice staff (the very few that were left). Seemingly nothing left from fun family gatherings you remember from the 1990s.

The Shady Villa Hotel has so much potential. It made me sad to see the Stagecoach Inn in such disrepair. From my experience it seemed to be short staffed and overbooked which is never a combination for success. We arrived at 3 p.m. and our room wasn't ready until after 6:15 p.m. There were several of us at the retreat who had the same experience. The pool was a murky mess. The bar staff by the pool and inside Stagecoach Inn were very friendly. Loved them! The lobby clerk was rude and unapologetic for the rooms not being ready. The rooms were clean and beds were comfortable and QUIET. I can't believe how quiet the rooms were, especially with the traffic from the hwy right next to us. We stayed on the first floor. Another person stayed in the same building but on the 2nd floor and said she heard the traffic all night, so I guess our room noise was buffered by the landscaping. WIFI never worked in our room nor in the conference room which was a huge deal for our retreat. Bunkhouse needs to either shut it down until they can get its act together or they will lose customers. So much potential, but needs more TLC to get there.

I love the old Stagecoach Inn and I'm so glad that Bunkhouse Group took the property over. It had fallen into disrepair. Bunkhouse did a good job on the restoration but they have a way to go.On the plus side they kept and enhanced the beautiful large old school pool.Its so lush back there and refreshing to see a big pool and spacious deck area. Rooms are mid century and comfortable. All was clean. Beds great. On the needs work side is the old lobby building is just empty and the front area on the old highway entrance is just an overgrown lot.This is a shame and brings down the appeal of the Shady Villa.They need to do something with that space or level it.They should also fix up the old Stagecoach Inn neon sign maybe put it by the pool and it would be InstaGram gold immediately.

Do you care only about a great bed and awesome pillows? Then stay here. Do you care about a cold drink on your balcony or patio and morning coffee on the same? Then don’t. Alex checked me in with no mention that ice is only available in the “lobby”, (a tiny room actually). Later, after wandering ALL around the grounds searching for an ice maker in 100 degree heat, I ended up at that lobby… far far away from any of the buildings with rooms. Shame on me for assuming my almost $200 room would have a fridge OR that the motel “villa” would have even ONE ice maker adjacent or vaguely near the rooms. Later when I journeyed for more ice, the older gentleman at the desk said he always told guests to get the ice from the lobby.. so yay for him and he even had a note on the hotel map he gave guests. Still no excuse for having to hike for ice when needed. Whoever owns this place is messing up. Also, shame on me for assuming there would be decent coffee mugs. The room had thin paper cups with no sleeve to protect you so I had to hold the cup with multiple tissues to prevent getting burned. As for the coffee contraption? I travel very frequently and have never had to steep my room coffee as though it were tea. So much for looking forward to morning coffee on the balcony…which was a reason for staying at this motel. So much for enjoying a cold drink as I had to search and roam a long way for ice.. twice. There is zero handicapped parking at the poolside building I was in. Zero lighting to get to your room if it’s dark. Oh and that honeysuckle is going to take over the place. You’re supposed to get 2 free drinks in the restaurant but it was closed the 2 days I was a guest. I would’ve like to have known that prior to booking. No coffee available in the “lobby” for guests that don’t want to figure out how to steep coffee like it was tea in their rooms. For those who follow my reviews…you know I rarely whine about a place , but like I just wrote my review title….it’s all in what is important to you. What was important to me doesn’t exist at Shady Villa

Nicely renovated hotel/motor inn, I've stayed at other Bunkhouse hotels in Texas, and this has a similar aesthetic. It's dog friendly ($25 fee, I think) and I booked an online offer that included the pet fee and free drinks at the hotel bar/restaurant. The grounds are quite pretty, it's made up of 3 or 4 separate buildings with rooms and pool/gardens outside - it was March when I stayed, so the pool was too cold to swim in, but looked pleasant (although if it is swimming season and you don't want to hear pool noise, you might want to request a room in one of the buildings that is not adjacent to the pool). The town of Saledo didn't have much going on when I was there mid-week, but looks like a cute small town (though more for families or couples/friends who like to antique shop, it's not Austin).

Amazing stay. Service has been tremendous. Carrie has been incredibly attentive and wonderful. Bruce is a fantastic server and has also been wonderful. This was our first time here, but we will definitely be back. A great place, highly recommend.