Holland Hotel and Maverick Inn have new owners

By JIM GLENDINNING

ALPINE – Area residents in September heard that the Maverick Inn in Alpine had new owners. Shortly after, the same people bought the historic Holland Hotel, and the new proprietors are Charles Mallory and Konrad Wos.

The businessmen are from Connecticut where they own two deluxe properties: the restored Delamar Greenwich Harbor with 62 rooms and suites, and the 44-room Delamar Southport.

It’s 2,070 miles from Greenwich, Connecticut to the Big Bend area and perhaps even further culturally, so why have these affable, successful businessmen, who are plainly adept in restoring hotel properties, come to Alpine and what are their plans?

Mallory already had a Texas connection through his grandmother Sealy from Galveston. He first visited the tri-county area in 2004 on a road trip to California with his son, and “saw a high altitude, magnificently beautiful place.” Shortly afterwards he bought a house in Fort Davis and property in Marfa.

When the Maverick Inn and later the Holland Hotel came on the market it seemed like a natural move to extend his company’s professional expertise to the area of his Texas home.

To date the changes have been providing a hot breakfast to guests at both properties, upgrading rooms, landscaping, finding key staff and generally breathing life back into each place after their recent unsettled history.

Carla McFarland, who owned the Holland Hotel for 21 years, is assisting during this period of transition. Julie Morton of Valentine, who previously worked at four different motels in Alpine, is in charge of the Holland front desk. Steve Bryant and his wife Lauren, longtime friends of Mallory who own Bed & Breakfast inns in Vermont, are presently on site to implement and supervise changes. Deby McCoy manages the Maverick Inn.

A major change planned for 2012 will be the reopening in the Holland Hotel of a bar and restaurant, the latter in the space which previously was The Cinnabar restaurant and more recently Bronco Betties.

I recently took a hike with Mallory, his daughter Kaitlin and Steve Bryant up Hancock Hill for an overview of Alpine, and was impressed by their interest in the region as a whole. At the desk I listened as Charles spoke of his vision for the two hotels. He is familiar with the region’s history and is aware of its many different tourist attractions. He feels strongly that the area has huge potential, not yet realized, to attract tourists. Alpine, centrally located between the Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains, is in the best position to promote the whole area and, as the hub, to benefit from the increased inflow of visitors.

He believes that school groups and museum groups from elsewhere in Texas can be persuaded to visit the tri county area, given the region’s rich and varied attractions, particularly its history. He also he hopes, as a potential sponsor, to work with organizations at SRSU and in the community which hold group events which bring visitors to Alpine.

The history of the Holland Hotel speaks for itself. For decades it was Alpine’s premier choice for eating, drinking, meeting and sleeping, and the stories about it are many, rich. and sometimes mysterious. Even McFarland cannot explain the bullet hole in the window by the entrance.

The Maverick Inn, after its transformation from Siesta Inn, reveals itself as a tasteful and luxurious establishment furnished in a traditional way to give the visitor a feel of history in the trans Pecos region.

The new owners are anxious that, after improvements are finished, the Holland and the Maverick will be vibrant and fun places to stay. Wos adds, “We strongly respect the history of the region and wish to give our guests the merit of an authentic West Texas experience”. The fact that the Delamar Greenwich Harbor was admitted to the exclusive (360 members) club of Small Luxury Hotels of the World suggests that Charles Mallory knows how to achieve these goals.

Nothing could be more timely than to witness the rejuvenation of the venerable Holland Hotel and the sister hotel Maverick Inn during the centennial anniversary year of the Holland Hotel’s opening. And few things are more important economically since the main business of the region is tourism. There are now more than 500 beds available in Alpine for our tourist visitors. It is good to know that the older, historic properties are in professional hands.

Good luck to Charles Mallory and Konrad Wos!