Vineyard Trail Cottages — Hotel in Fredericksburg

My husband and I were booked to stay at the Vineyard Trail Cottages from January 20-23. We ended up leaving one day early after a very disturbing interaction with the patriarch of the family who owns the property. Before I explain our reasons for leaving, here are the positives:

The property is located about 10 miles from the adorable town of Fredericksburg. There are numerous wineries and attractions in the area, along with excellent shopping. The location was wonderful for easy access into the town while still being away from the hustle and bustle. There was a winery that bordered the property and we greatly enjoyed walking there and sampling their wines. The cabin was very clean and nicely appointed. There was a full kitchen, very comfortable bed and furnishings, and was decorated very nicely. There was a swing and two rocking chairs on the front porch that we enjoyed relaxing on. The property itself seemed to be very well maintained, and the booking and check-in processes were easy and seemless. After getting settled into our cabin, the eldest property owner introduced himself to us and welcomed us to the property. He gave us several recommendations on local wineries and other places to visit which was appreciated.

So, all in all we were extremely happy with our choice in selecting this property for our stay…..UNTIL the second day.

On the second day of our stay, we spent the day in town and then came back to the cabin in the early evening to have dinner.

There is a community area on the property with a shelter, some fire pits and a place to grill food. After cooking dinner, we met a lovely couple in the shelter area who were also staying at the property to celebrate their 19th wedding anniversary.

While sitting and conversing with this couple, the owner we met earlier drove his golf cart up, joined us at the fire pit, and began chatting with us as well. At first it was a fun interaction, listening to his stories about when he used to own a car dealership, worked on various property developments, and then hearing about his sons and their respective families.

The conversation turned towards football, but then quickly took a very nasty turn with the man stating several highly offensive and derogatory things about persons of color. After making some of the offensive comments, he then stated, “I’m not racist, I just don’t like black people.” And, “I’m not racist, I just don’t like colored people.”

These statements were further followed up with the man explaining how he didn’t like black people, but what was even worse were mixed-race people. He went on to say how his grand daughters were now grown and married, but he had originally been worried when they went off to college that they could end up bringing a “colored” person home, but luckily didn’t.

My husband and I were extremely shocked and upset with this overt racism. It was so inappropriate and disappointing to hear these types of unwanted remarks that it really put a damper on the rest of the evening. Although my husband and I are both white, two of our children are black/mixed-race, and this was such a sad reminder to us of the racism that remains in our world and the obstacles our children face.

Because of this, and despite it being such a lovely property, my husband and I decided we could not in good faith stay there any longer and that is is simply wrong to support any business or establishment that would not be equally welcoming to all persons, regardless of race and color. We packed up and left early in the morning, forfeiting our last night’s...

First cottage we rented was dirty from the last person's visit and had not been cleaned properly. The Management was nice enough to move us to another cottage that was cleaned properly, but refused to offer any discount for the stay. While we appreciated the move, being that these cottages are approximately 10 miles outside the center of Fredericksburg, and that it is an offseasons stay, we were a bit disappointed that we could not get a break on the rates (which were high for location and season). The cottages are super large though and inviting. The location is quite and located outside the 290 corridor close to vineyards, but far away from shopping in historic Fredericksburg. Without seeing someone else's dirty laundry and hairy sheets, I would definitely give this place 4 to 5 stars. This would be a great place for large groups looking to stay together while touring the Hill Country vineyards. Roomy and inviting interior and comfortable beds make this place a comfortable stay while away. The Management should consider the circumstances better when handling issues that we experienced, but all in all a nice...

We stayed for just a quick overnight trip on the way for a meeting the following morning in San Antonio. We had a very easy check-in and had great communication from the minute we booked, which we did en-route through Expedia as Airbnb cancelled twice on us for different locations. I would say that we passed it up even after GPS said we had arrived...nothing a quick turn around didn't fix. During the day it kind of gets lost in all the signage but after sundown the gate was lit nicely as well as the area around the cabin. There was even what I'm assuming was a property manager driving around keeping an eye on the place. Cabin #7 was very charming, tidy and clean. As with most things, if you look hard enough you will find something to take exception with and any issue we had I think would have been addressed quickly. I would encourage you to read the welcome page in the welcome binder completely to be able to take full advantage of all offered. We will definitely stay here next time we have a longer stay to take advantage of the fire pit and...