Friday, September 3, 2021

Hampton Inn on Texas Avenue

I think this one came out surprisingly well. (Picture from author; 8/21)

Hampton Inn is the second generation hotel here, the first being the Sands Motel, built at 324 Texas Avenue South in the 1950s. In the early 1980s, Sands Motel was torn down for a new concept that Holiday Corporation (Holiday Inn) was marketing, a budget-oriented chain called Hampton Inn. (Holiday would break apart less than five years later; under new owners Bass plc, they later developed Holiday Inn Express after Hampton Inn and others were spun off into a new company, ultimately bought by Hilton).
A postcard I found on eBay (but didn't buy). Another, albeit black and white photo I've found, better shows that this was a "Best Western", back when that was a designation, not a brand.

In any case, while the Hampton Inn has been updated (official site) and College Station has gained a second Hampton Inn (a Hampton Inn & Suites, technically) on Earl Rudder Freeway, it retains its original exterior (though in the last few years work has been done to flatten the roof). It has 133 rooms, more than twice than its predecessor.
"The Sands offers 52 rooms, completely air-conditioned, room phones, cable TV, extra large swimming pool." Yes, cable TV did exist in 1960!

Today Hampton Inn has the address of 320 Texas Avenue. When this post was part of a larger post, I included an official picture, seen here. Notice the Applebee's in the background.