Alternative and chic glamping resort in arty hipster haven Marfa, Texas
El Cosmico / Marfa / Texas / USA
We drove for almost 8 hours to get from Dallas to El Cosmico. This unique hotel is located in Marfa, in the western part of Texas, close to the Mexican border.
To be honest this isn’t really a hotel but instead a collection of different types of accommodation. You can stay in a tipi, a safari tent, a yurt or like we did, in a vintage Airstream trailer. We were really glad that we had booked a caravan since the temperature was below freezing (-8 C) during our stay. It was so cosy to hide under several layers of blankets during the frosty Texan night.
Marfa is a small town that has become a center for art with several galleries and different kind of art venues. And since people who come to visit these places usually need to eat and need somewhere to stay several great restaurants and cool hotels have opened as a consequence.
If you have forgotten anything that might come in handy for your stay in the (kind of) outdoors, don’t worry! There is a really great shop on site. And they don’t only sell camping gear but really great clothes, perfumes, candles and great little trinkets.
To get to Marfa you travel along these incredibly straight roads for miles and miles through empty desert landscape. Almost hypnotizing. And once we hit the fog you see in the horizon…
…the temperature dropped and the landscape changed completely. So magnificent!
Once the mist cleared we had to stop to take photos of these cacti covered in frost.
After a looooong drive from Dallas we finally arrived at El Cosmico in Marfa.
The main building of El Cosmico where you’ll find the reception and the shop.
How inviting does this look!? This was our “room” when we stayed at El Cosmico, a classic vintage Airstream.
This is from inside our vintage Airstream trailer. The classic El Cosmico blankets that are for sale in their shop.
Morning coffee is almost ready to be served.
A cute little set of in-room (well, in-caravan) products.
A messier bed is hard to find. We used all the blankets (and some clothes) to keep warm during the night. Really cozy!
Our own little patio in the sun where we sat and stargazed in the evening.
In the background you can see the tents and the tipis.
The caravan park with a diverse collection of vintage caravans.
The amazing El Cosmico store where you’ll everything you might need for your Texan desert adventure.
The water tower in downtown Marfa.
The Prada Marfa art installation by artists Elmgreen and Dragset in Valentine, a 30 min drive from Marfa.
M out exploring in Big Bend National Park, which is an hours drive from El Cosmico. In our opinion it should not be missed when you are here.
The sun is setting over El Cosmico and it is time to retreat back to our caravan to cozy up under the blankets.
RG inside info
This place is perfect if you…
…want to get off the grid. Rumor has it that Beyonce and Jay Z came here when they had had too much and I understand them. It is so calm, secluded and beautiful. I don’t think I have ever seen as many stars as we did when staying here. There is hardly any light pollution which makes this a perfect place for star gazing.
My favorite thing about this place
That there are several types of accommodation too chose from, depending on budget and mood. I also want to mention the El Cosmico store. It would have been easy to spend a fortune in the hotel shop. They even have their own signature scent that has been created with New York perfumer D.S. Durga.
What not to miss when staying here
Don’t miss the famous art installation Marfa Prada that is located a short drive from town. I would also recommend a visit to Big Bend National Park, right on the border of neighboring Mexico.
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Autocamp, Russian River, CA, USA
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