The Luxurious Escape to the Heart of Texas Hill Country You Need To Book
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A luxurious escape to Texas Hill Country is just good for the soul. Plain and simple! Now that I live in Dallas, I’ve been able to visit Texas Hill/Wine Country a lot lately, and I must say, my experience at Dwell Well’s stunning property was absolutely one of my favorites!
It’s not often your Airbnb host becomes a close friend, but that’s exactly what happened during my stay at Dwell Well’s newest remodeled cottage in Kerrville, Texas (the heart of Texas Hill Country)!
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You may have frequented your fare share of Airbnb’s in your lifetime, but I guarantee this will be one of the nicest you will ever stay in! I was fortunate enough to stay in Dwell Well’s Tivy Cottage this past weekend, and I can assure you the owner, Kim, thought of every single detail to provide the most luxurious experience! You will not want to leave this cozy, newly remodeled, enchanting home!
What qualifies a stay as an incredible experience, you might ask? It’s not just about the gorgeous property, high-quality decor and luxurious amenities. In my opinion, what sets apart an incredible stay from a good stay are the minor, perfectly curated, well-thought-out details that could only come from a host who truly loves what she does.
When you stay at any one of Kim’s impressively designed properties (I got a tour of all of them!), you will quickly realize this. Not only does she love the art of hosting and providing the ultimate experience to her guests, but she also truly loves people and connecting with them.
Before I even met Kim in person, I knew I was going to love her! She’s the kind of host who wants to make your stay as enjoyable as possible, and would give you the clothes off her back if you needed them!
Another quality of a great host is someone who is willing and able to be there for anything you might need, yet can read and understand if their guests just want to do their own thing. Kim completely gets that.
However, if you’re new to the area, I highly recommend asking Kim to give you the scoop on all the best restaurants, wineries and activities to partake in during your stay! She was born and raised in Kerrville, and is so knowledgeable on the area!
Tivy Cottage
4 Bed, 2 Bath, Hot Tub, Fire Pit, Outdoor Shower (+ An Herb Garden!) — Sleeps 6
As I mentioned above, this 1940s bungalow that Kim tastefully restored is the newest of the Dwell Well properties! I just love how Kim added modern touches and amenities, all while maintaining the original character and charm!
One of my favorite things Kim does a little differently is instead of having a guestbook for people to sign during their stay, she has a huge sketchbook with colored pencils and asks her guests to leave a drawing! The artist in my just loves that!
These two little corners of the dining room are my favorites! I just love the record player and record wall–such a great selection of music! (In my opinion, definitely start with the Al Green Greatest Hits album! I own this one myself, and it is by far one of my favorite albums of all time!)
The “Honor Bar,” as Kim calls it, is another awesome amenity in the house! You can use any of the alcohol there (and there’s such a great selection to make some incredible mixed drinks), all they ask is that you replace what you drank with something of equal value, or leave some money in the Tip Jar! Such a cool idea.
Bed/Bath #1
Bed/Bath #2
Bonus Bunk Bed Room
Outdoor Oasis
CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR STAY AT Tivy Cottage!
Tivy Cottage is the perfect place to stay for a couples weekend getaway, family trip, or even just a weekend away with friends! Bachelorette weekends, Birthday trips, anniversaries, you name it–you can rest assured this is the PERFECT house for any of your activities!
Fun Things To Do In and Around Kerrville
Bike or Picnic Around Kerrville River Trail
Kim provides bikes at the house for you, so all you need to do is grab them and head over to the gorgeous Kerrville River Trail!
I had so much fun biking around with Kim (even in the heat!) and the views of the river were stunning! It felt like a little escape from Texas, almost!
Have Brunch or Dinner at Bridget’s Basket
Located in Hunt, TX, just outside of Kerrville, Bridget’s Basket is an all-in-one restaurant, garden, market and vineyard! With over 20 acres on the property, they are currently cultivating vegetable production on a little over 3 acres (plus their own greenhouse!).
The entire property was simply stunning, and I had such a great experience there! If the weather is nice, grab a table outside and take in the beauty of the property.
Don’t forget to stop in the market and take home some of their fresh produce from the farm!
Visit Fredericksburg!
Just 30 minutes outside of Kerrville, visiting Fredericksburg is a must when in the area! Check out my full Fredericksburg blog here, for all the best wineries, restaurants, shops and things to do in Texas Wine Country!
We drove to Fredericksburg for dinner one night so we could eat dinner at one of my favorite restaurants in town, Otto’s! This German Bistro is another MUST! I’ve had the pleasure of eating here numerous times now, and I have never once been let down on any dish I’ve ordered!
I ordered the Truffle Linguini this last time and it was SO GOOD! You seriously can’t go wrong with anything on the menu, though. Trust me on this one!
There’s usually a long wait to get in the restaurant (because everyone knows it’s so good), so I recommend getting there early, putting your name down on the wait list, and walking over to La Bergerie Market while you wait!
La Bergerie is 2 doors down from Otto’s, and is an artisanal market and wine bar that specializes in fine wines, cheese and charcuterie!
Grab a glass of wine (and a cheeseboard if you’re really hungry and have a long wait), have a seat in the backyard patio, and relax in comfort while you wait for your reservation! As another favorite spot of mine in Fredericksburg, this charming spot is worth a visit!
Have Lunch or Dinner at Grape Juice Restaurant
Skip the chain restaurant and head straight for Grape Juice, a local favorite gem of a restaurant right off the city’s main street in Kerrville!
Delicious Brussel Sprouts & Smoked Salmon Schmear 
Yellowtail Tacos
If you can’t tell from the photos, the food is delicious! Other than that important fact, though, Grape Juice also has a wine shop, a bar (with several local+craft beers on tap) and a beautiful back patio to relax at your leisure.
You definitely shouldn’t miss this spot when visiting Kerrville!
Visit the Arcadia Live Theatre
Overlooking the Guadalupe River, the Arcadia Theatre has been a cultural cornerstone and iconic venue for locals in Kerrville since it was built in 1926!
The venue had been closed from 1989 until 2019 for reconstruction, but just recently opened back up to the public in October, 2020.
Head to this historic theatre for live music, comedy shows and classic film viewings!
When Your Airbnb Host Quickly Becomes A Lifelong Friend
Sometimes, things don’t go as planned. Which is exactly what happened on our drive in to Kerrville to meet Kim for our luxurious escape to Texas Hill Country.
The weekend started with a bang--literally. My friend Anayah of Kyoreder of Rugs (your source for stunning, one of a kind hand knotted rugs without the insanely high price tag–seriously, look her up!) and I were headed to Kerrville to meet Kim, when we were involved in a bad car wreck.
Check out Anayah’s Instagram (@kyoreder_of_rugs) for more photos of her beautiful rugs, Kilim foot stools, pillows and more!
Unfortunately, a car pulled out in front of us on a highway road, through a small town called Llano (about an hour outside of Kerrville), out of nowhere (as we had the right of way).
Anayah (who was driving) laid on the horn and slammed on the breaks, but the woman driving didn’t see us until she was right in front of us and it was too late.
I knew, based on how quickly it all happened, that we weren’t going to be able to stop in time (and that it wasn’t going to be just a fender bender. We smashed into the side of the SUV (T-boned it), the airbags deployed, and our car ended up about a block up the road. It was one of those slow motion moments in life, where I just had to accept and watch it happen to us (almost as if from afar).
Because she was pressing on the horn and holding the wheel at the time of the crash, Anayah ended up breaking both her right and left hands during the crash.
Kim To The Rescue
Since our car was now totaled, and Anayah was going to have to be transported to the hospital for x-rays, we didn’t know what we were going to do or how we were going to get to Kerrville.
I called Kim as soon as I could to let her know what happened and, as she put it, “Mommy-Mode” immediately kicked in, and she hopped in the car without a thought and drove an hour to our rescue.
She waited hours at the hospital with me for Anayah to be released, drove us all the way back to Kerrville late that night, and brought us straight to her house to feed us the delicious seafood paella her husband (who had lived in Spain for a while) had cooked for dinner.
They say there’s a special bond, sometimes, between the people you go through traumatic experiences with, and that is most certainly the case with us three. I knew after the first 10 minutes of Kim’s arrival to the hospital, that she was going to be so much more to us than just a wonderful Airbnb host–she was going to stay a lifelong friend.
Anayah’s husband brought her back home to Dallas the next day, considering the circumstances, and I was fortunate enough to be able to hang out with Kim’s entire family the rest of the weekend, which was such a blessing!
Her family took me in as if I were one of their own, and I honestly felt like I was part of the family by the end of the trip–I was so sad to leave!
I had SUCH a blast, and the true, heartfelt connections I made with Kim, her husband Greg, their daughter and even Greg’s sister and her friend (who were visiting that same weekend) made such a positive impact on me.
With a person (and entire family) of this caliber, who genuinely loves people and what they do for a living, you can rest assured that they will go above and beyond as a host in order to provide the utmost, unforgettable experience to their guests.
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