Hotel at a Glance: Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort

Country-music star George Strait knows a good thing when he sees it. In 2011, he became an owner of Tapatio Springs Hill Country Resort, a Texas Hill Country golf resort he had been visiting for decades. This lush, landscaped vacation spot features fine dining, as well as plenty of outdoor space to enjoy year-round good weather.

• Where you’ll stay: Spacious guest rooms and suites feature private balconies or patios overlooking the grounds.
• Tee off on the resort’s 18-hole championship golf course, which underwent $2M in renovations in 2015.
• Specialty cocktails and local beef are highlights at La Cascada; it offers live music on Friday and Saturday nights and happy hour daily. This getaway includes a $20 daily dining credit per room.
• Puresol Spa’s centerpiece is its therapeutic salt cave, where guests relaxing in lounge chairs breathe in mineral-rich air as soothing music plays.
• Splash around in one of the hotel outdoor heated swimming pools, or stick to the spa’s private, adults-only pool.
• Take a day trip: San Antonio is just 45 minutes away.

Texas Hill Country: Pastoral Landscape of Ranches, Rivers, and German-American Towns

A picturesque region of rolling hills and valleys covered in bluebonnets, the area of central Texas known as Texas Hill Country has been compared to the landscape of Tuscany by the New York Times. Texas Hill Country is a backyard playground for nearby cities, as it lies just west of Austin and northwest of San Antonio. Urbanites often escape here for the weekend to enjoy the slower pace and beat the heat—the region’s slightly higher elevation means it’s often less humid. With many state parks and spring-fed rivers, the Hill Country is also a haven for outdoorsy types; activities range from fishing and tubing to rock climbing. The Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is popular thanks to its main attraction: a gigantic pink-granite dome in the middle of the park.

Among the Hill Country’s major towns, Bandera best captures its cowboy spirit. It’s not uncommon to catch an open rodeo in the summer or to see a ranch hand riding to the store on horseback. The town is also surrounded by dude ranches where you can get a taste of the local lifestyle. Just north of Bandera, the town of Fredericksburg is also worth exploring. Along with New Braunfels, it was one of the main settlements of local German immigrants in the 1840s—a heritage that visitors can still see today in the “Willkommen” signs hung on shop doors.

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