Ahoy There Austin

Commodore Perry Estate boasts relaxed European elegance with true gracious Texas hospitality

Written by Melissa Mahanes / Photos Courtesy Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection

“Commodore” Edgar Howard Perry and his wife Lutie purchased a gravel lot and ten acres in what is now considered Central Austin in 1917, across from Hancock Park Golf Course. By 1928, an impressive 10,800-square-foot Italianate manor designed by local architect Henry Bowers Thompson emerged to entertain friends in true Gatsby-era fashion. The gated estate was the height of luxury with the mansion, a guest house, a swimming pool, a bowling alley, a greenhouse, and a six-car garage. The Perry’s glamorous European travels influenced every aspect of the estate and the adjacent gardens.

Mr. and Mrs. Perry’s Suite Bedroom

Contrary to his title, Perry was not a naval officer but a real estate developer and businessman. His friends jokingly dubbed him “Commodore” when a flood carried his boat away on Lake Austin. The Perry family lived in their home for fifteen years when The Commodore had a revelation— the estate was “a great place to throw a party but too big to live in.” In 1944, he sold the property to St. Mary’s Academy in 1947, which would become home to a succession of schools, and eventually show its true age. In 2011, the property was obtained by a group of investors, including Austin developer Clark Lyda, who formerly attended high school on the grounds and sentimentally wanted to see it restored to its former glory.

The estate, listed on The National Register of Historic Places in 2001, would begin its chic new identity in June 2020 as the Commodore Perry Estate, a luxury boutique hotel and event space operated by the Auberge Resorts Collection. Travel + Leisure listed the boutique hotel in their “World’s Best List” in 2021 as the #1 Resort in Texas.

Living Room

The estate has recently undergone an extensive six-year restoration and expansion project to bring the Commodore Perry Estate back to its Jazz Age glory. Two local firms, Clayton Korte and Ten Eyck Landscape Architects, joined urbanist architecture firm Moule and Polyzoides and San Francisco-based creative designer Ken Fulk to bring his whimsical flair to the décor. Fulk’s name will be familiar to Nashvillians, as he was the 2022 Swan Ball Designer.

Mansion Powder Room

The original mansion and chapel were restored and modernized while retaining the original Mediterranean style. Two school buildings were torn down to make way for a new three-story inn. The building features 42 guest rooms and seven terraced suites. Fulk followed original color palates found on the property during the restoration and spent two years scouring the nearby Round Top Antiques Fair for furniture and unique décor items. Fulk designed each of the five guest rooms with its own distinct personality in the mansion with custom and archival Pierre Frey textiles. Attention to detail prevails; even the room names and the emergency evacuation signs are all hand-painted. Every suite includes a vintage bar cart lined with customized libations and a desk with a vintage typewriter that hotel staffers use to leave notes for guests during turn-down service.

Mansion Entrance

Each of the seven suites is named after trees that grow on the property — pomegranate, cypress, magnolia, mountain laurel, climbing rose, and night jasmine. The rooms at the Inn all have a sophisticated charm with balconies or oversized windows, rain showers, and four-poster beds. The largest one-bedroom suite, the Magnolia Suite, includes 1,100 square feet of both indoor and outdoor space, including a patio and private garden.

The formal gardens were preserved with their original fountains, a charming pair of white lion statues, and copious amounts of meticulously pruned rose bushes. A dramatic new 50-foot pool circled by bright yellow chaise lounge chairs and striped umbrellas looks like it was always intended to be enjoyed by the Perrys.

All-day dining is available in the mansion’s common rooms, the solarium, outdoor patio, and other shared spaces, including the pool area. The estate is also a popular event space with over 3,000 square feet of outdoor space to host weddings and other private gatherings. In addition, the 1,600-square-foot chapel from St. Mary’s was fully remodeled and is a spectacular wedding destination.

Lutie’s Garden Restaurant Pool

For dinner, there is the eagerly anticipated Lutie’s Garden Restaurant, located in a cheerful floor-to-ceiling windowed building on the eastern side of the estate. Fulk created whimsical décor with black and white tile floors and greenery popping out of every crevice, making you feel like you are in the middle of a luxurious country estate. Named after the estate’s matriarch, Lutie’s is helmed by the husband-and-wife-team of executive chef Bradley Nicholson and executive pastry chef Susana Querejazu and is the only part of the estate that is open to the public, so it’s the perfect opportunity to see the estate. Lutie’s celebrates an ever-changing vegetable-forward menu with seasonal and on-site ingredients, local farmers and ranchers through sharable Texas Heritage cuisine, where everything is made in-house. As a result, it is one of the most difficult tables to score a reservation in town.

Commodore Perry Estate boasts a multitude of luxurious and contemporary touches: Guests enjoy using three MercedesBenz house cars, including two convertibles. Quirky events hosted at the hotel include “Weekend Vinyl Happy Hour”, “The Mystic Hour”, botanical drawing workshops, and chef-prepared picnics by the pool on Sundays. The former carriage house also has a 24-hour fitness center and weekly events ranging from exercise classes to poolside movies. In addition, golf lovers can play the nine-hole Hancock Golf Course, one of the oldest golf courses in Texas, where Perry was initially inspired to build the estate. sl

Mansion Portico

Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection / 4100 Red River Street, Austin, TX 78751 / 866.976.4312 / aubergeresorts.com/commodoreperry Lutie’s Garden Restaurant / 512.675.2517 / Tuesday-Sunday 5:00pm-10:00pm, Closed Mondays / @lutiesaustin / Reservations through Open Table

Exterior with Sunken Garden