Western Hills Hotel offered roadside rest in upscale digs

Published on July 07, 2026

A visit to the Western Hills Hotel felt like stepping into Fort Worth's vision of the future: a resort-style motor hotel with tropical pools, western hospitality, air-conditioned luxury and a front-row seat to the city's post-World War II westward expansion.

A cluster of ranch-like buildings on the south side of the road, the Western Hills Hotel, 6451 Camp Bowie Blvd., opened during Fort Worth's postwar boom. It was considered one of the city's most fashionable destinations outside of downtown.

The hotel occupied an entire block bounded by Camp Bowie Boulevard, Edgehill Road, Waverly Way and Clayton Road East.

Don't get confused: There later was a motel farther out Highway 80, at 6651 Camp Bowie Blvd., called the Desert Village. At one point, its owners changed the name to Western Hills, apparently hoping to cash in on the venerable old hotel's reputation.

The original Western Hills Hotel featured modern air conditioning, a steakhouse called the Branding Room, a private club known as the Key Club and an elaborate Tiki-themed swimming pool complex. Poolside cabanas covered with palmetto leaves could be rented for the summer season.

When it opened in July 1951, the hotel offered road-worn motorists 200 rooms and super-suites (many with balconies and wood-burning fireplaces). Guests were able to get free ice cubes from refrigerators scattered around the resort and have meals delivered to their rooms in motorized carts.

$2 million oasis

The Western Hills was conceived by Fort Worth manufacturer Hank Green, who persuaded his brother and three friends to put up $400,000. By the time they got through, they had run up the cost to $2 million. Despite the big overhead, Green vowed to keep rates modest ($4 for a single room, $25 for a penthouse suite).

The hotel promoted itself as a "resort motor hotel" rather than simply a motel. Advertisements promoted air-conditioned rooms - a cool room in August could be a selling point by itself - guest houses, honeymoon cottages, free parking and complimentary rounds of golf.

Westward ho!

The hotel gave its name to the surrounding Western Hills neighborhood, which developed rapidly during the 1950s. It became a social center for westside Fort Worth during that decade.

Downtown Fort Worth remained the city's business center, of course, but Western Hills symbolized postwar growth moving westward. The neighborhoods around the hotel were filled with new ranch-style homes, many occupied by middle-class professionals, military families and employees connected to the defense industry.

Decline and destruction

By the early 1960s, the hotel's novelty had faded as national motel chains expanded along new highways; the property struggled to compete with newer accommodations. The Western Hills' demise continued when interstate highways removed most of the through-traffic from Camp Bowie.

The final blow came when the hotel was destroyed by fire in 1969 and later demolished.

Afterward, the owners developed the Green Oaks Inn along the West Freeway across from Ridgmar Mall. The Camp Bowie property was sold and redeveloped. A grocery store eventually occupied part of the site, later becoming Albertsons, Winn-Dixie and finally Kroger.

Photo: The back of this postcard read: "Swimming Pool and Cabanas Western Hills Hotel Fort Worth, Texas This fabulous resort hotel is located at the western entrance to Fort Worth on Highways 80 and 180. Overlooking this beautiful, tropical scene is the terraced dining room of one of the West's most hospitable stop-overs for travelers, vacationers and business men." (Images courtesy of the Portal to Texas History.)

Photo: The Western Hills Hotel occupied an entire block on Camp Bowie Boulevard.

Photo: This vintage foldout brochure promoted the Western Hills, circa the 1950s.

Photo: The spacious Western Hills lobby featured a popular steakhouse and the Key Club lounge.

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