Mineral Wells, Texas - The Baker Hotel Part 1

The Baker Hotel is by far one of the largest vacant properties we’ve photographed; therefore, it’s size and variation provided us with so much material that we wanted to focus on it for the whole week! Situated in a fairly small town in Texas, this 450 room hotel is a towering presence. It opened in 1929 as a premier spa destination featuring what many believed at the time was curing mineral water. However, decline eventually occurred after World War II…and by 1972, the doors of this beautiful hotel closed. We wouldn’t call this place abandoned per se because there are plans to renovate this hotel into a resort and spa….though it has been quite a few years since the restoration plans were announced with no work done yet. Based on our research, it sounds like they are still working on the financing. Honestly, this hotel looks like it would be quite a challenge to revive. It is in really rough shape. We haven’t experienced this before at other places we’ve visited, but the first thing we noticed when we walked around outside it was the incredibly overpowering smell. Many of the windows are broken and the decay from the inside just seeps out. We do hope that the renovation occurs successfully because when it does, it will be truly amazing! Would you stay in a historic hotel like this, if it was renovated? Leave a comment…we would love to hear what you think!