By Brooke Hill
Following the popularity of the Magnolia House, Chip and Joanna Gaines renovated the historic Hillcrest Estate in North Waco. Stays for September-December were fully booked in 45 minutes.
The 4,600-square-foot residence has sleeping accommodations for 12. The rate is $995 per night, and there is a two-night minimum on all weekday stays and a three-night minimum on weekend reservations, according to the Magnolia website.
Magnolia Spokesperson Brock Murphy confirmed that the bookings were sold out in 45 minutes and any bookings available on the site as of today are because of cancellations.
“I think they just loved the house and through looking at it at the end they were just like this makes the most sense for us to turn this into another vacation rental. It had more space, it just really lent itself to being another vacation rental,” Murphy said.
When asked if there are any plans for another type of vacation rental home in the future, Murphy said that they’re always open to the possibility.
“I think depending on if the right property pops up, I think we really enjoy being able to offer a home that we were able to completely remodel,” Murphy said. “I think the Magnolia house has obviously been something that people have really appreciated and that’s why we did the Hillcrest Estate. This one offers more people, 12, so depending on if the right property comes along we’re definitely open to it, but there are no plans as of today for another vacation rental.”
The rental estate will no doubt bring ever more Fixer Upper fans to Waco. Waco Tours co-owner Paige Whyte said that the excitement surrounding Magnolia is a big part of the reason why they started their company.
“I would say that Magnolia has shaped Waco tourism in every way,” Whyte said. “We occasionally get guests the have come to Waco for other reasons, but for the most part, most of our guests are coming in town to see the silos and to see what the Gaines’ have built.”
Although the tour does have some Magnolia inspired stops, the tour does not actually stop at the Silos so that guests are able to spend as much time as they desire there.
“We don’t stop at magnolia but we stop at Harp Designs so that they can shop there and drive by several of the houses that were on the show,” Whyte said.
Joanna Gaines took to her personal Instagram account to share her excitement about the renovation.
“Chip and I had so much fun restoring this old Waco icon and cannot wait to welcome guests starting this fall. This house dates back to 1903, and we definitely kept its old world charm — our hope is that friends and families from all over can make lasting memories here during their visit to Waco,” Gaines wrote in her posting.
