Guests of the Dabbs Hotel in Llano can have the same experience as railroad travelers who stopped there in the early 20th Century. Staff photo by Jared Fields
More than 100 years ago the Dabbs Railroad Hotel in Llano was the end of the line for people traveling west by train. The Dabbs was built in 1907 to accommodate those travelers.
Phyllis Farr Alexander purchased the property in 2006 and restored the hotel to its original integrity. Now, guests can experience it like they would have more than a century ago.
“We’ve kept all the rooms little-tiny like they were. We kept the double beds, and you share a bathroom down the hall. Just like it was when it was a railroad hotel,” Alexander said. “I could take the walls out and make the rooms bigger, but it needs to be like it was.”[image id="23423" title="Dabbs Hotel room"] Phyllis Farr Alexander, owner of the Dabbs Railroad Hotel, said she could have made the tiny rooms larger when she purchased the property in 2006. However, she kept the rooms small to provide an experience for guests today similar to those a century ago. Staff photo by JoAnna Kopp
The rooms are petite with double beds and the shared bathroom. Feel free to soak in one of the romantic clawfoot tubs. Each guest enjoys a plush white bathrobe to wear during their stay.
In the morning, guests can enjoy a breakfast of bacon and eggs or biscuits and gravy — traditional railroad fare.
Alexander is a lover of antiques and history. She believes old buildings have soul — and the Dabbs’ soul is a happy one.
“I think it has a real good soul, and it has good karma. People come in here, and they just get happy,” she said.
Other souls are said to haunt the hallways of the Dabbs. Several guests have shared paranormal experiences, including ghosts in the room, strange footsteps, and voices from a certain set of outlaws.
The Dabbs claims to have been a hideout of infamous outlaws Bonnie and Clyde in the early 1930s. This is entirely possible; the outlaws grew up in Texas and committed an array of heinous crimes across the state. The hotel was a common stop for passengers heading west out of the Texas Hill Country.
Kenny Hare of the paranormal group Llano Ghost Society has toured the hotel with special equipment. He picked up strange voices using what he calls a “ghost box,” a high-tech AM/FM radio scanner hacked to run more than 10 channels a second.
“You ask a question, you’ll get an answer. I can’t tell you scientifically where these voices are coming from, but it’s an absolute fact that it happens,” he said.
Using this equipment, Hare asked if Bonnie and Clyde had ever stayed at the Dabbs. The spine-chilling response? “Clyde sure did.”
Whether you believe in the lore or not, the Dabbs is a wonderful place to stay and enjoy a complimentary, home-cooked breakfast.
Dabbs Railroad Hotel is located at 112 E. Burnet St. in Llano. Go to thedabbs.com or call (325) 247-2200.
