Fort Worth’s Hotel Drover is Hospitality’s King of Country.

by Brook Benten on July 30, 2024 in Travels,
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I first visited Hotel Drover on a group press trip commemorating the hotel’s grand opening over three years ago. Like a fine cowboy, it’s gotten better with age.

Hotel Drover has gotten even better with age. Like a dapper cowboy, it was easy on the eyes all along. Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

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They Call It the Fire Starter. That’s Its Name.

The hotel’s signature “Fire Starter” scent whisps the air as you open the double doors to the lobby from Mule Alley. You’ll be greeted by a friendly concierge attendant and a statue of a cattle drover. From the leather whiff to the hues of chocolate brown, maple and mahogany, you will get a warm sense of welcome and comfort. If you reserved a deluxe King or Queen guest room, you will not be disappointed (that’s where I stayed on my previous visit). 

Deluxe King or Queen guest rooms delight with over 300 square feet of living and working space with a mini fridge, 55” TV, plush robes, Rios Interiors furniture, and Los Poblanos artisan lavender bath products. Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

This time, I returned with my little westerners. We opted for the Lil Ropers room.

Poolside Front Property

Lil Ropers Room (King with Top Bunks) is better than adjoining rooms. It’s better than a suite. This room is a dream come true for parents traveling with children! It features not one but two Twin-sized beds on the top bunk. Yeehaw! No fighting over who gets the revered top! Each side has their own hardwood ladder to access his or her top bed. Next to the bed are ample ports and plugs to keep their electronic devices charged. The two twin top bunks have a wooden “window” separating the two, so that kids can communicate when they want to and have their own space otherwise.

The bed fits the space so precisely that it’s as if the room was designed to suit the furniture, fixtures and equipment, not the other way around. Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

Below the two top bunks is one King bed for adults to sprawl. As a parent of a 7 and 11-year-old, the simple pleasure of sleeping in a luxe King with no cold kid toes ambling to my bed and creeping between legs can not be overstated. The room faces the ranch-stye fountain pool. The thick curtains can be pulled to a complete blackout close (ideal for children who tend to wake like roosters). When cast wide open, there’s no better seat in the house to view the pool, hot tub, The Backyard and Marine Creek. You’ll have to power up the in-room Nespresso Vertuo machine, brew a piping hot cup of Odacio coffee, Melozio decaf, or Altissio espresso, sit by the window and take it all in.

The Chair – 97 West Kitchen & Bar

The hotel’s restaurant, 97 West Kitchen & Bar, offers VIP seating for Lil Ropers. The restaurant features one petite dining table with four ergonomic chairs for their little bodies. While enjoying custom furniture (and the autonomy of having their “own” table with adults safely seated just a table away), children may select mouthwatering dishes from a children’s menu. 

There are enough options to suit even the pickiest palates (chicken bites, cheeseburger, gouda mac & cheese and more). Health advocates will appreciate the options of seasonal fresh fruit or steamed vegetables as side dishes for kids’ lunch or dinner selections. After finishing their supper, children may select from vanilla, chocolate, salted caramel, or cotton candy homemade ice cream. 

97 West Kitchen & Bar furniture was constructed locally in The Stockyards by Rios Interiors. Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

If visiting 97 West for breakfast, we recommend the chocolate chip pancakes. (We loved them so much that we ordered them twice!) Light and airy batter is studded with chocolate chips for just-right sweetness. Three pancakes are served with a complimentary side of summertime fruit. We enjoyed a rainbow of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, cantaloupe and melon. 

Portions are large enough to fill growing cowboy and cowgirl bellies. Children are sure to have worked up an appetite from playing at The Backyard.

Blue Clear Sky

The Backyard is a plantsman’s dream. A perfectly manicured lawn with fire pits and yard games is adorned by lovely bushes, mature trees, a fountain, and views of Marine Creek. We enjoyed a game of cornhole while country music played from high fidelity rock speakers. 

The pool has three semi-private cabanas with hanging daybeds and crystal chandeliers. Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

Hotel Drover’s ranch-style heated pool is considered Fort Worth’s best pool for day drinking. We chose to hydrate with ice cold water, but adults around us sipped on signature cocktails, like Lavender Bee’s Knees. 

Texas in July can get a bit toasty in the afternoons, but I found soaking in the hot tub with a good book at daybreak to be the right temperature and the right time to relax and take a moment to welcome a new day. Photo courtesy of Brook Benten

Weekends are an excellent time to visit The Backyard. That’s when Hotel Drover hosts The Backyard Unplugged. Crowd-favorite theme nights involve live music (clean and family-friendly) on the outdoor stage. We happened upon “Let’s Go Girls,” a tribute to fun female country music. This special evening was crafted for cowgirls, with pop up shops, giveaways, themed cocktails (including one called, “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!”) and complimentary tastings by Casamigos. 

Follow @HotelDrover on Instagram to be in-the-know of upcoming Backyard Unplugged happenings. Photo courtesy of Brook Benten

Take Me to Texas

Nothing says Cowtown Texas like the Fort Worth Stockyards. Cattle walk down the Stockyard National Historic District, led by a cowhand, every day at 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. This free spectacle dazzles little ones. 

My son was wowed by this sight. He asked if we could buy horns from Stockyards Station. FYI: you can. Also FYI: we didn’t. Photo courtesy of Visit Fort Worth.

For a few dollars and more of the Old West experience, children may enjoy events at Cowtown Coliseum. We enjoyed a night of bull riding at PBR Stockyards Showcase. Other families, like ours, took a one-off night out of our organic cotton pajamas at dusk bedtimes to slide into Wranglers, boots and spurs and live like cowboys burning the midnight oil.

The children stared with wide-eyed hope of seeing a cowboy ride for eight seconds, the length of a qualified ride. Photo courtesy of the Fort Worth Stockyards

The Cowboy Rides Away

With a similar loss to that of John Dutton leaving Yellowstone, we rolled our luggage to checkout after a two-night stay at Hotel Drover for a too soon and too hard goodbye.

Already planning our next trip for Christmas time (Hotel Drover is the top spot in North Central Texas to celebrate the holidays!), we bid the Cowboy Motel a tip of the hat and farewell- for now. You can bet your boots that we’ll be back.

Kevin Cosner riding away from Yellowstone, saddened us… but maybe not as much as our SUV’s departure from Hotel Drover. Photo courtesy of Hotel Drover

Easy Come, Easy Go

If you’re staying over a weekend, you may want to hang around a bit after checkout to take a ride on the nostalgic Grapevine Vintage Railroad. The Stockyard Trinity River Excursion is a 45-minute train ride. It departs from the Historic Stockyards Station in Fort Worth, crosses the West Fork of the Trinity River, passes Montgomery Plaza, and travels through Trinity Park before returning to the Stockyards. Operating days are Saturdays and Sundays (plus seasonal Fridays). 

The Stockyard Station ticket booth opens at 1pm and tickets are sold until 2:50pm. The train departs Stockyard Station at 3pm and returns at 3:45pm. Photo courtesy of the Fort Worth Stockyards

Check Yes or No

If you check 🗹 yes to bringing the kids on your Hotel Drover vacation (I checked “no” in 2021), your Lil Ropers and you can pick from any and all of the following amenities:

  • Child-size robe and stool in-room (upon request)
  • Plush Horse Companion
  • Drover Style Wild Rag
  • Library of books and games
  • Family concierge with local recommendations for kids of all ages
  • Children’s menu at 97 West Kitchen and Bar
Hang your hat and come “Unwound” at Hotel Drover. Photo courtesy of Brook Benten

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Cover Image courtesy of Hotel Drover

Brook Benten, M.Ed., is an exercise physiologist, personal trainer and life coach in Austin, TX. She has won several awards as a fitness instructor, including “Austin’s Fittest Fitness Professional.” Brook helps her clients achieve well-being by gently guiding movement, nourishment, sleep, social connections, sobriety and stress management.