Best of Austin®

Best Cheap Motel

The Heart of Texas Motel

Best Cheap Motel
Todd V. Wolfson

This bighearted motor lodge was opened in 1966 by the Dye family; the Osbon family owned and ran it from 1981 until selling the motel in 2004. In 1984, the Coen Brothers set part of their neo-noir classic Blood Simple on the grounds. Nestled between big roads and the city's southwestern urban expansion, the Heart of Texas is a good old-fashioned motel, a beacon of the days when people weren't afraid to stop and say howdy.