Gage Hotel — Hotel in Alpine

Update 2 years later! We came back to The Gage. Once again, just as charming and friendly as the first time. Stayed in the Alfred Gage Suite again. Since our return, Ghost Fire Pizza has been added up the street (it is open on days that the White Buffalo Bar and 12 Gage are closed) and it is phenomenal, gourmet pizza! You can "eat in" at the Desert Ghost Distillery or take it "to go". The Desert Ghost Distillery is a very nice addition to Marathon to have cocktails and taste local spirits. We ate at the 12 Gage one evening and the food and service are still fantastic. The White Buffalo Bar is still a great place for drinks and appetizers! Hotel staff is accommodating and friendly.

We stayed in the Alfred Gage Suite. This room has a king bed and a daybed, wet bar with mini fridge, tv (most rooms do not have tv's), sitting area, desk and spacious bath with oversized shower, closet and dual sinks. It was perfect for our family of 3. It is downstairs and just out back of the main historic hotel in the perfect location from the main hotel lobby amenities, courtyard, pool and White Buffalo Bar. You can hear the live music on weekends from the front porch sitting area outside this room. We utilized the concierge services to have some items in room upon arrival, such as specific beverages and snacks. We also ordered a charcuterie board and it was amazing! Spa services were high end and amazing. From the massage, to steam room, fitness facilities (that includes a dry sauna), and the hydrotherapy pool, we enjoyed our experience and they allowed me to include our 7 year old daughter in some of the spa activities, which made her feel super special and grown up. The pool was great in the hot afternoons and it did get busy at times with lots of families. If you didn't get there early, it could be tough finding seating. The pool area could use a little maintenance and spiffing up with the furniture. The food and drinks at the White Buffalo Bar, 12 Gauge and Brick Vault were fantastic. The biggest recommendation I can give is to understand the restaurant open times and food availability. This town doesn't have much to eat at certain times, which can be challenging if you don't plan ahead or have picky eater like we do. The White Buffalo Bar does not open until 3pm, so patrons will need to have another source for drinks at the pool. The Brick Vault is not open everyday to walk down and get drinks from there to take to the pool. At 3pm, the Buffalo Bar would get slammed with folks wanting to go orders for the pool. On busy weekends, it would behoove the resort to have a pool bar open at the pool for guests (more than just a few hours on Saturday which they shut down at 3pm). The only food the Buffalo Bar serves between 3pm and 6pm is chips, dips and nachos (so plan accordingly). The V6 does have sandwiches for lunch, but plain sandwiches are not for everyone and it was a limited menu. We did get box lunches from the V6 take with us to Big Bend National Park and that was nice. The French Grocer was a place we were also able to buy drinks for the pool, but we didn't plan and had no way to really keep them cold without walking back and forth to our room fridge. It would be nice if the hotel had ice bucket service to keep beverages cold at the pool like other resorts do and some drink options for patrons at the pool without guests having to walk around and find something somewhere. The grounds were kept clean. The Gage Gardens are beautiful and worth the visit. The Gage is approx 1 hour from Big Bend Panther Junction Visitors Center. We had a day visit out there...

Andrea was great. I booked my stay directly with the hotel on the phone and did not check my reservation. They booked the wrong day. I had specifically said Saturday, thus a higher price. I arrived to hear their end booked it on the day before. I had not thought to check the email confirming my reservation as it was a human I had spoken to making my Saturday reservation. Thus, no rooms available in the main hotel. Immediately Andrea found a tiny room in a house outside the property with 2 nice beds, no large mirrors or many plugs for cell. One tiny old desk do no place to place your tiny carry/on suitcase or get dressed, hang clothes. The problem is it’s a house and no room had attached bathrooms. Bedrooms are upstairs. This was not comfortable since you had to walk in a hall in the middle of the night running into strangers, using a key to get in a tiny bathroom and baby shower. I did not use it, as the shower was stall size. The price was less ($250) than what I had wanted to have which likely is a room with an attached bathroom. There are no elevators. The bellman did bring our tiny carry-ons to the rooms. I felt like I was in a hostel since baby bathrooms (I don’t think k there was a bathtub but I did not look it was uncomfortable and claustrophobic. it was down a shared hall with strangers. The main hotel room would have been about $340 plus tax and that is what I told the person at the hotel by phone I wanted and specially said a Saturday night. The outside house was pretty but scary as it had dead animal heads all around and a ghostlike painting of Mr.Gage staring at you outside the bedroom door and a sculpture of him in a downstairs room. The barbecue restaurant was great and reasonable. The portions are very large. The coffee and breakfast restaurant great. The main restaurant had unhealthy foods at enormous portions, but great prices in this economy. I don’t suggest the quail. It was all fried batter and raw. There is an overwhelming dead taxidermy white Buffalo on the wall of the restaurant which is sad to think an extinct animal was killed. It was overwhelming to imagine, and protruded out of the rather small restaurant space. I think if you are a meat eater get steak. You can’t get fresh fish in West Texas. The gift shop is well priced. It was not inflated. I liked Big Bend. I do recommend this hotel over all others in the area but please check your confirmed reservation emailed to you. Andrea fixed the mistake but the main house has limited rooms and guest houses are a little uncomfortable unless you rent the whole house with your family, or for a bachelorette party. The pool is the size of a backyard pool. It is not the size Texans have in their yards in larger cities. It’s decent for children or for a minor swim. I did not try the spa. Andrea made sure to tell us of the best restaurants in the area, and if you love pastries and desserts there is one a block away that is as good. They serve free coffee in the morning downstairs in the main house. The little room does not have a coffee maker or refrigerator or bathroom. I think a modern Holiday Inn near Big Bend likely could have more comfortable rooms if you can’t get into the main hotel. It was a once in s lifetime trip and 11 hours by car to get there. There are no airports in the area. Definitely the area is...

If you love history and nostalgia this is a west Texas resort for you. Well manicured historic property, comfortable beds, scenic vistas out in the literal middle of nowhere. The Gage Hotel IS Marathon. Even the local grocery store right around the corner opens two hours after the hotel’s coffee shop is already doing a land office business, which is strange because the grocery store wants to sell you fresh breakfast tacos, but by then you’ve already eaten. The health spa is well equipped. It’s been termed pricy by some reviewers but it wouldn’t exist if the staff couldn’t make a living and did I mention Marathon is in the middle of nowhere? We had a great massage. Hot tub and gym included.

If you are looking for a 5 Star experience with TV entertainment in your rooms, staff that outnumber the guests, and dining that would make Michelin or Zagat, you won’t find that here, but remember - in the middle of nowhere THIS is likely the fanciest food (and lodging) you will find in 150 miles and 5 counties. We found everyone to be responsive and friendly. We did have reservations for the dining room one night. The hotel even called us a few days prior to set that up. They were full in the dining area when we arrived. You can also eat out in the bar and patio if weather permits.

Marathon is at one gateway to Big Bend National park. A (northernmost) park entrance is about 45 minutes directly south of town and a major visitor center is perhaps 30 minutes beyond that. Marathon is about an hour from Fort Davis and the McDonald Observatory.

The Gage hotel has asked the rail lines that pass through Marathon to not blow their horns at the crossing in front of the hotel at night. For the most part this is adhered to. Since a main east-west line is on the opposite side of the highway that the entire hotel fronts this is a blessing. But be wary if you see the rail repair apparatus parked at the siding directly in front of the hotel. If it’s there, the rail employees inexplicably start-up the diesel engines on this massive sucker at 5:30 am every morning and it can sit there and idle all day for no apparent reason. At about that time you will be awakened and annoyed that some guest in their massive diesel pickup truck is idling out in front of the hotel until you find the owner of that truck (which is NOT turned on) equally annoyed by the noise coming from the siding just opposite the hotel. (Pictured below). They turn it off around dinner-time and go home (I presume).

The chirping birds in the landscape of the hotel can provide some distraction from the noise but the rail workers even wake...