Former historic Braniff flight attendant dorm being turned into new luxury hotel in Dallas
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
Love the jet-age vibe of the TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK airport?
Get ready to pack your bags to do it again only this time with a Texas twang. Plans are afoot to restore the former Braniff International Hostess College building in Dallas as a new luxury hotel for avgeeks and mid-century design buffs alike.
The new hotel will feature 75 luxury rooms featuring Braniff’s jet-age design themes, according to Braniff Airways Foundation president Richard Ben Cass. Guests could begin checking-in in two years if all goes according to plan.
Want more airline-specific news? Sign up for TPG’s free new biweekly Aviation newsletter!
Braniff, which shut down in 1982, is probably best known for its “end of the plain plane” campaign by mid-century designer Alexander Girard. His designs featured a broad palette of colors from pastels to bright primaries prompting the tag line: “You can fly with us seven times and never fly the same color twice.”
Girard’s schemes were introduced around the same time the “hostess” college opened on Wycliff Avenue adjacent to the then-new Dallas North Tollway in 1968. Designed by local firm Pierce, Lacey and Associates, the five-story building featured a “mid-century internationalism style,” according to the Texas Historical Commission.
“Colorful textiles and artworks from Mexico and South America… gave the space a decidedly mod vibe,” wrote Dallas Morning News architecture critic Mark Lamster in 2014. “Even the walls were sexy, being made of a sprayed concrete… left in a deliberately rough state but with a slick plastic coating. Their curvy profiles were set off dramatically by black travertine floors.”
One of the most striking features is the “Passion Pit” where future flight attendants could visit with suitors.
Related: The lost airlines of the US; from Pan Am to Braniff and Piedmont
Braniff outgrew the college shortly after the building opened and sold the property in 1975. The building had a series of owners over the past four decades before being bought by Dallas-area developer Centurion American Development Group in 2019. The developer is known for its restoration of the Statler Hilton in Dallas.
Specifics of the new Braniff-themed luxury hotel are still up in the air including who will run the property and whether it will be independent like the TWA Hotel or part of a larger hospitality group, like Hyatt or Marriott.
One thing is clear: there will be no views of planes like at the TWA Hotel. Located about three miles from Love Field, future Braniff Hotel guests will have a better view of tollway traffic than Southwest Airlines jets at the nearby airport.
Related: The TWA Hotel is open — and it’s gorgeous
Featured image courtesy of Patrick Smith.
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
WELCOME OFFER: 80,000 Points
TPG'S BONUS VALUATION*: $1,600
CARD HIGHLIGHTS: 3X points on dining and 2x points on travel, points transferrable to over a dozen travel partners
*Bonus value is an estimated value calculated by TPG and not the card issuer. View our latest valuations here.
- Earn 80,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $1,000 when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.
- Enjoy benefits such as a $50 annual Ultimate Rewards Hotel Credit, 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining and 2x on all other travel purchases, plus more.
- Get 25% more value when you redeem for airfare, hotels, car rentals and cruises through Chase Ultimate Rewards®. For example, 80,000 points are worth $1,000 toward travel.
- With Pay Yourself Back℠, your points are worth 25% more during the current offer when you redeem them for statement credits against existing purchases in select, rotating categories
- Count on Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver, Lost Luggage Insurance and more.
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.