Shady Villa Hotel

My wife and I had a quick getaway weekend away from the kids and the Shady Villa was the perfect spot! It had great rooms, an awesome pool, and friendly staff. I wish the restaurant was open, but we are going to make it a yearly trip.

A bad hotel that gets by on the luck of being in a good location (which makes them lazy and arrogant in customer service). I booked a room through Hotels dot com in Apr-2023 to come see the eclipse in Apr-2024. The price was listed and I paid in full at the time of booking. On the day I showed up to check in, they tell me I have an outstanding balance on the reservation, and add another 80 PERCENT to the price. Their lame excuse - “You booked under the old system, and we’re using a new system now.” The truth is they’re lazy and forgot to raise their prices because of the eclipse event, and figured they could just hit me up when I checked in. I even called a month ahead of the eclipse to confirm my reservation, and no mention of the price increase. I’ve just checked ahead on the same booking website for the upcoming major holidays, and zero increased rates. Pure price gouging at the last second. And when we finally got into our room, the floors were covered in pill bugs, dozens of them. They probably came looking for water and are able to get in through the worn seal around the doorframe. My kids were freaked, and I spent every morning of our stay clearing bugs from the room. Also - No ice machines anywhere on such a large property, you have to go beg for ice at the front desk (when they’re open); Only one already-used toilet paper roll in the room, go beg for that too if you need more; Our reservation included two rooms, and the air conditioner was broken in one.

We were a little skeptical before arriving since this is not the type of hotel we typically stay at. However, we really enjoyed this hotel! It's obvious its an older hotel, but they've done a lot of renovations and it has a nice vibe! There wasn't a restaurant on property (I think it was seasonally closed), but it is within walking distance to a brewery with a few food trucks and a family friendly restaurant/bar. There are not elevators, so be prepared to carry your stuff up a flight of stairs if you get a second floor room. They have a really nice pool area too!

The property was in a great location and the grounds were clean. However, my A.C. Did not work in the unit. The first night the temperature would not drop below 76 degrees. I went to front desk the next morning to get resolved for second night and the man that worked there told me that he would get maintenance to fix it at 1pm. I did not return to room until late the second night to realize that they never fixed the issue. Me and my 3 small kids had to sleep a second night with no A.C. To get air in the room, I had to sleep with door open which made me feel very unsafe. I have reached out multiple times to talk to general manager and I keep getting a promise of a call back but nothing. This place has potential but would not stay again due to the issues mentioned above.

We loved the room, it was very comfy and well decorated. We also liked the walkability to restaurants and shopping. But one of the sole reasons for staying here was the pool. We had all set our hopes on a fun family swim night at the end of our road trip. And instead we sat in a hotel room with nothing to do. Couldn’t even eat on site, because the restaurant is closed as well. Would have been fine with it if the property had just been upfront about this from the beginning! Nowhere did it say or did they say in all the communication that these main draws were unavailable. Felt like we were lied to and sort of forced to stay there.

Well, let me start by saying that the hotel, the room, the grounds, were all great. Nice upgrades to the room, cozy, clean, etc. We mainly stayed in the pool the entire visit, which was also awesome. We traveled to Salado with several couples/families. Our rooms were not ready and we were told to wait, it ended up being a 2 hour wait until we could check in. (We were compensated a $20 coupon for drinks and I was eventually refunded $50, but had to ask twice) Overall, the hotel and restaurant are extremely short handed and need a Bunkhouse course on customer service and hospitality. It was not what we are used to receiving from other Bunkhouse hotels. The man at the check-in was not friendly, and was rude when I when in to check on my room for the 2nd and 3rd time. The restaurant was also short staffed, the Manager there was rude and almost mean. They were out of lots of stuff, beer, wine, certain alcohols. Everyone gets that people are short handed these days, and staff calls out over a Holiday weekend. That is acceptable, but taking out your busy-ness on customers is not. We spoke to other guests who had a similar experience all around. Most of the town of Salado was closed, closes early or opens late. So be prepared with a plan for coffee, dinner,etc. I would go back. They may need some time to get this figured out - Bunkhouse is in the business of hospitality and there is a certain level expected for all locations.

We celebrated our wedding anniversary in Salado at the Shady Villa. Simple rooms and decor. Comfortable bed and pillows. Great for couples and families.