Design is everything to these new Waco restaurants and hotels

[10/10] Hotel 1928 in Waco has 3 restaurants serving classic food. =(Cody Ulrich for Hotel 1928)

[1/10] A tub, at the foot of the bed? Hotel Herringbone in Waco is a design-forward inn, in a city now known for its style. (Shelby Sorrel)

[2/10] At the new Red Herring restaurant at Waco's Hotel Herringbone, design is key. It features a grand piano on a stage covered in animal print. The restaurant opened in April 2024. (Shelby Sorrel)

[3/10] The Little Italy cocktail at Red Herring restaurant in Waco is part of the restaurant's coastal-Mediterranean point of view. The restaurant menu includes red shrimp risotto, squid ink bucatini, whole grilled fish and the like. (Shelby Sorrel)

[4/10] Warm design is a huge part of the allure at Hotel 1928 and its rooftop restaurant Bertie's in downtown Waco. TV couple Chip and Joanna Gaines designed the hotel and its restaurants. (Cody Ulrich for Hotel 1928)

[5/10] The bathrooms at Hotel Herringbone are monochromatic, designed floor to ceiling with tiny tiles. The 21-room hotel in Waco opened in March 2024. (Shelby Sorrel)

[6/10] The bathrooms at Hotel Herringbone are monochromatic, designed floor to ceiling with tiny tiles. The 21-room hotel in Waco opened in March 2024. Here's the violet-colored bathroom.(Shelby Sorrel)

[7/10] The bathrooms at Hotel Herringbone are monochromatic, designed floor to ceiling with tiny tiles. The 21-room hotel in Waco opened in March 2024. Here's the jade-colored bathroom. (Shelby Sorrel)

[8/10] "We're so excited to bring Red Herring to Waco," said chef Corey McEntyre. It's one of several new restaurants worth the road trip from Dallas in 2024. The food at Red Herring is supposed to feel like a vacation all its own: "Our goal is to offer food and service that evokes the feeling of traveling the Mediterranean by allowing our guests to experience fresh and vibrant flavors on their voyage. This concept is a celebration of new adventures, creativity and community."(Shelby Sorrel)

[9/10] Bertie's on the Rooftop is a patio perch at Waco's new Hotel 1928. Chip and Joanna Gaines, who started on HGTV and now have their own TV network Magnolia, designed Hotel 1928. (Cody Ulrich for Hotel 1928)

[10/10] Hotel 1928 in Waco has 3 restaurants serving classic food. =(Cody Ulrich for Hotel 1928)

[1/10] A tub, at the foot of the bed? Hotel Herringbone in Waco is a design-forward inn, in a city now known for its style. (Shelby Sorrel)