The Gage Hotel
102 NW 1st St
Marathon, TX
Twenty pueblo-style adobe rooms open to a fountain courtyard at the cattle baron's hotel that has anchored West Texas road trips for nearly a century.
About The Gage Hotel
Alfred S. Gage built this hotel in 1927 as a base for overseeing his 500,000-acre West Texas ranching operation. He hired El Paso architect Henry Charles Trost, and the yellow brick building opened in April of that year. In 1978, J.P. Bryan, a Houston attorney and descendant of Stephen F. Austin, purchased and began restoring it. In 1992, Bryan added Los Portales: a $1 million adobe section of twenty pueblo-style rooms arranged around an open-air courtyard with a central fountain, mature plantings, and Mexican-style equipale chairs. Los Portales is the section that earns the Boutels designation: the only part of the property where rooms open through private covered porches onto an open-air courtyard. The Gage has earned a place on National Geographic Travel's Stay List and been named the top small hotel in Texas by Texas Highways Magazine.
What The Gage Hotel Is Known For
The Gage has anchored Marathon since 1927, and Los Portales is the specific section where exterior-access, private-porch hospitality meets one of the most storied small hotels in Texas. The property earned a place on National Geographic Travel's Stay List and has been named the number-one small hotel in Texas by Texas Highways Magazine. Four decades of Big Bend travelers have made Los Portales the reference point for what a desert gateway stay should be.
Amenities
- Pets Welcome
- Year-round heated outdoor pool
- Hot tub
- Full-service spa
- V6 Cafe restaurant on-site
- Concierge outdoor adventure booking
- 27-acre landscaped grounds
- Open-air fountain courtyard
What Guests Love
- Each Los Portales room opens directly onto a private covered porch facing the open-air courtyard, with no shared interior corridors between arrival and room door.
- Kiva fireplaces and antique Mexican double doors are standard in every Los Portales room, not an upgrade.
- The Gage concierge arranges guided Big Bend trips, Rio Grande raft outings, and connections to the Chinati Foundation in Marfa.
- A heated outdoor pool at 80 degrees year-round and a hot tub are available to all guests.
- Pets are welcome in Los Portales for a per-pet fee, and the open-air courtyard makes dog-friendly stays genuinely comfortable.
- National Geographic Travel Stay List recipient and number-one small hotel in Texas by Texas Highways Magazine.
Worth Knowing
- Book Los Portales by name when reserving at the Gage. The main hotel building and several casitas are also on the property. Only Los Portales rooms open to private exterior porches rather than interior corridors, and that distinction is the reason Boutels recommends this section specifically.
- Breakfast is not included in the room rate. The V6 Cafe serves breakfast and lunch daily, and dinner reservations are recommended on weekends.
- Check-in begins at in the afternoon. Contact the hotel in advance if arriving late.
- The pool can get busy when the hotel is at full capacity. The Los Portales courtyard is a quieter option for sitting outside.
- Marathon is a small town. The nearest full grocery and additional fuel are in Alpine, about 45 minutes northwest on Highway 90.
- Pets are welcome. A pet fee applies; contact the property directly to confirm current amounts and any restrictions before booking.
The Room
Los Portales rooms are ground-floor adobe brick construction. Each room opens through its own door onto a private covered porch facing the open-air courtyard, with no shared interior corridor between arrival and room door. Inside: Saltillo tile floors, a kiva fireplace, refined western furnishings, antique Mexican double doors, a stone tile walk-in shower, premium linens and robes, William Roam bath products, an in-room coffee maker coffee bar with Big Bend Coffee Roasters beans, and complimentary wireless internet. Room types include King (with kiva fireplace), Double (two full beds), King Courtyard (private patio and fireplace), and the Owner's Suite (king plus daybed, wet bar, and sitting area). Pets are welcome in Los Portales for a flat fee per pet per stay; contact the property to confirm current amounts.
The Grounds
The Gage Hotel sits directly on Highway 90 in Marathon, which became a gateway town when the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad came through in 1882. The property spans 27 acres of landscaped grounds with gardens, a heated outdoor pool maintained at 80 degrees year-round, a hot tub, a full-service spa, and the V6 Cafe. Los Portales occupies its own walled compound: a single-story adobe section with an open-air courtyard, central fountain, mature shade trees, and Mexican equipale chairs positioned between the room porches. Complimentary parking is available on site.
The Experience
Staying in Los Portales is motel-format hospitality at a landmark property that has been refining the experience for more than four decades. You pull in, walk through the courtyard gate, and your room is directly ahead, porch facing the fountain. The V6 Cafe opens for breakfast and lunch daily. The surrounding country is what Big Bend is famous for: high desert silence, a sky that feels closer than it should, and darkness at night that makes the Milky Way visible from the courtyard without a telescope. The Gage concierge arranges guided trips into Big Bend, outfitters for Rio Grande raft trips, and connections to the Chinati Foundation in Marfa, seventy miles west.
Details
Marathon, TX 79842
The Boutel designation is earned, not purchased. Boutels is editorially independent and has no financial relationship with any listed property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Gage Hotel have EV charging?
No, The Gage Hotel does not have on-site EV charging. The Road Trip Planner map shows public chargers near the property.
What is there to do near The Gage Hotel?
Big Bend National Park: 40 miles, about a 1 hour 20 minute drive. Chinati Foundation, Marfa: 73 miles, about a 2 hour 25 minute drive. McDonald Observatory: 60 miles, about a 2 hour drive.
How far is The Gage Hotel from Big Bend National Park?
Big Bend National Park is about 40 miles from The Gage Hotel, roughly a 1 hour 20 minute drive.
How far is The Gage Hotel from Chinati Foundation, Marfa?
Chinati Foundation, Marfa is about 73 miles from The Gage Hotel, roughly a 2 hour 25 minute drive.
How far is The Gage Hotel from McDonald Observatory?
McDonald Observatory is about 60 miles from The Gage Hotel, roughly a 2 hour drive.
Is The Gage Hotel pet friendly?
Yes. The Gage Hotel welcomes pets. A pet fee applies; contact the property directly to confirm current amounts and any restrictions before booking.
What is Los Portales at the Gage Hotel?
Los Portales is a separate adobe section of the Gage Hotel with twenty pueblo-style rooms arranged around an open-air courtyard with a fountain. Each room opens onto a private covered porch rather than an interior hallway. Boutels specifically recommends Los Portales for this reason.
How far is the Gage Hotel from Big Bend National Park?
The Persimmon Gap entrance to Big Bend National Park is 40 miles south of Marathon on US-385, approximately a 45-minute drive.
Is breakfast included at the Gage Hotel?
Breakfast is not included in the room rate. The V6 Cafe on site serves breakfast and lunch daily; guests pay separately.
Is there parking at the Gage Hotel?
Yes, complimentary parking is available on site.
What makes Los Portales different from the rest of the Gage Hotel?
Los Portales is a single-story adobe compound where rooms open directly onto private covered porches facing a shared open-air courtyard. The main hotel building uses interior hallways. Book Los Portales by name when reserving to get the exterior-access courtyard experience.
Does The Gage Hotel have a pool?
Yes. The Gage Hotel has a pool on-site.
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Things to Do Near the Big Bend region
Post Park
4.5 miles away
A free, spring-fed public park under tall cottonwoods on the site of Camp Pena Colorado, an 1880s cavalry post where buffalo soldiers were once stationed.
Marfa Lights Viewing Area
38 miles away
A free, always-open state-built platform on U.S. 90 about 9 miles east of Marfa for watching the unexplained Marfa Lights, glowing points that have appeared over the desert since the 1880s.
The Chinati Foundation
47 miles away
A world-renowned contemporary art museum on a former army post in Marfa, holding Donald Judd's permanent large-scale installations plus works by Dan Flavin and John Chamberlain across 340 acres of high desert.
Big Bend National Park
63 miles away
Where the Rio Grande carves deep canyons through the Chihuahuan Desert and the Chisos Mountains rise from the flats.
McDonald Observatory
60 miles, about a 2 hour drive.
McDonald Observatory sits atop Mount Locke in the Davis Mountains at 6,791 feet, about 60 miles northwest of Marathon. Public Star Party programs run Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, where the Trans-Pecos dark sky reliably reveals the Milky Way without a telescope.