Heavy/YouTube/HBOMax Chip and Joanna Gaines in "Fixer Upper: The Hotel."
Chip and Joanna Gaines are renovating a hotel in downtown Waco, Texas in their upcoming “Fixer Upper” spinoff, “Fixer Upper: The Hotel.” Warner Brothers Discovery announced in a press release that the six-part series will premiere on the Magnolia Network in November.
“When you think about a 50,000 square foot hotel remodel, I mean this is the big leagues,” Chip said in a teaser trailer for the show. “This is what you dream about. I think Jo and I are out of our element to some extent but I think we’re up for the challenge.”
The series will follow the couple as they tackle their “most ambitious project to date,” Warner Brothers Discovery teased in a press release.
“For this one-of-a-kind project, Chip and Jo will bring the former Grand Karem Shrine building back to life and turn it into the premiere hotel destination in Waco complete with four floors of 33 bespoke guest rooms, a restaurant, ballroom event space and a rooftop terrace,” according to the series description.
Magnolia is opening Hotel 1928, named after the year it was built, in partnership with Adventurous Journeys (AJ) Capital Partners, according to a press release. It is slated to open in October.
“For us, this project represents everything we are most passionate about — hospitality, restoration and home,” Chip and Joanna said in a press release. “We’ve always been firm believers in the value of home, as a place but also as a feeling. Our dream for this hotel is that it would serve as an extension of home to every guest who comes to stay.”
‘Fixer Upper’ Fans Can Stay Overnight in One of Chip & Joanna Gaines’ Projects
Chip and Joanna rose to fame in 2013 on HGTV’s “Fixer Upper,” making Waco a tourist destination for fans of the franchise. Some of their popular renovations have even been converted into short-term rentals, including the Gorman House from season 1.
“Fans have been visiting Waco for years, but soon they will be able to do more than see a ‘Fixer Upper’ – they can stay in one overnight!” Allison Page, global president of Magnolia Network and DTC, said in a press release. “With ‘Fixer Upper: The Hotel,’ we’re pulling back the curtain on one of the biggest projects Chip and Jo have ever undertaken and giving viewers a first look at a unique and storied space that will help define downtown Waco for years to come.”
Chip & Joanna Gaines Restored the Cottonland Castle in ‘Fixer Upper: The Castle’
“Fixer Upper: The Hotel” is just the latest addition to an always-expanding franchise. Chip and Joanna previously renovated the local Cottonland Castle in “Fixer Upper: The Castle.” The six-part series aired in 2022.
“It sat vacant for probably 20 years,” Joanna explained on “Good Morning America.” “I think Chip tried to buy this project eight different times.”
The 6,000-square-foot castle sits in Waco’s Castle Heights neighborhood, with architect Roy E. Lane transforming the property into a castle when he was hired in 1913, reported Waco History. According to the outlet, he was inspired by German castles.
Joanna explained their renovation process in an essay for Magnolia Magazine.
“During the year-long renovation process, we kept coming back to the building’s roots, studying the German castle that inspired its original design and trying to find ways to either restore or replicate its stunning details—its crown molding, wood paneling, and narrow-plank floors,” she wrote in the essay. “At the same time, we wanted to create an updated home that could, one day, serve a family well and feel current.”
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