Austin-based Bunkhouse is gearing up to open its new Houston project, Hotel Daphne, in January 2026.
The hotel marks the hospitality brand’s second hotel project in the Texas city, following the January 2025 debut of Hotel Saint Augustine. With seven of Bunkhouse’s 10 existing properties in the Lone Star State (five in Austin, one in San Antonio, and one in Houston), the continued expansion in Houston signals an exciting chapter for the brand.
Blending into Houston Heights
For Hotel Daphne, Bunkhouse collaborated with architects of record blanchardA+D and Darwin Architecture on the five-story new build in Houston Heights. In order to blend into the recycled industrial aesthetic of the historic neighborhood, the hotel exterior showcases painted brick, stepped parapets, and steel-framed windows.
Bunkhouse’s in-house team, meanwhile, spearheaded the interior design and creative direction of the property, which features 49 guestrooms and suites, an all-day restaurant, ground-floor bar, library and private events space, courtyard, and retail shop.
Inside Hotel Daphne
Hotel Daphne’s interiors draw inspiration from the neighborhood’s diverse Arts and Crafts architectural style through a blend of custom furniture, vintage finds, and bold, trippy prints.
The design of Hypsi, the hotel’s restaurant, balances whimsy with cozy familiarity with opulent fabrics, a lush courtyard, an indoor fireplace framed by an antique mantel, psychedelic pillows, and a bar outfitted with leather Cassina chairs that nods to the Heights’ historic supper clubs.
“Bunkhouse wrote the book on doing cool boutique hotels in Texas, and ever since I stayed at Hotel San Jose many years ago, I have dreamed of helping bring Bunkhouse to Houston,” says Ben Ackerley, owner of Hotel Daphne. “Our new hotel, Hotel Daphne, will be the first of its kind in the Heights and is only going to add to the momentum of the neighborhood.”
Daphne, a name derived from the Greek word meaning “laurel,” was the daughter of river god Peneus in Greek mythology, who escaped Apollo’s relentless advances by transforming into a laurel tree. Much like its namesake, Hotel Daphne will embody a delicate, sweet, and spicy nature.
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