The place was probably once cute, but now it is just dirty and gross. Sheets were full of crumbs and black hairs. Towels were dirty, dingy and worn. They obviously don't use much bleach. The heater vent was broken so that the heat blew in your fact all the time and could not be directed at all.
Remnants of shag carpet that had been sloppily removed at one time clung to all the baseboards. There was dust along all the baseboards and the bases of all the furniture which was stained. I put plastic bags down before I sat on anything. I opened the closet and immediately shut it. It smelled bad.
The bolt on the door was broken so we had to shove a chair up against it at night.
The rooms are advertised with kitchenettes, but there are no dishes, pots, or pans--not even a can opener. The microwave barely worked.
If we had not pre-paid for two nights we would have moved after the first night in that place.

We chose Antelope lodge after reading the reviews here on trip advisor. We're not the kind of people who want to see the same thing everywhere we go, so this seemed to have lots of historic personality and it has turned out to be perfectly wonderful. My husband called Tuesday to make reservations for us for thursday and Friday letting the owner know we would arrive late Thursday. They told him the office would close at 9 and they would tape our envelope with a room key and map to the door of the office behind the screendoor and that we could check in the following morning. You won't find that at a chain motel! We arrived around midnight. The room (11) was cute, clean and cozy. It is a very homey setting, kitsch furnishings, kitchenette, and original retro tile in bathroom and kitchen. The bathroom has pretty stained glass and a nice hot shower (no water barley, haha). The whole place has been beautifully restored. We were able to take day trips to ft. Davis and Marfa, all closeby. Nice friendly and helpful owners and a little shop with rocks and jewelry.
Overall I would highly recommend to anyone who wants a unique and memorable stay in this part of tx.

I was surprised to find that googling 'Antelope Lodge' only led one place. To the Antelope Lodge in Alpine, Texas. It sounds like a perfectly normal westish name that more proprietors might have seen the beauty of.
The place itself was a delightful surprise. Alicia, who works part-time at the front desk, said that she was looking forward to meeting writers coming in for the retreat. She gave me the key and said 'You're in number 5'. I asked if it was a good one, and she said it was one of the best, probably her personal favorite. It pays to arrive early at these things because now that I have had the chance to survey all of the competition, Number 5 is definitely the best.
Number 5 is half of a tiny duplex cottage, white stucco with red-tile roof, and a porch with old-fashioned blue lawn chairs in its shade. The portal is supported by dark brown painted cedar posts, stripped of bark but with all of the other dents, ridges, and knots intact. The flagstone floor of the porch is just as wide as the porch itself, no extra patio space, but that's just fine as the casita faces a lovely round space with big trees, pine, cedar and oak, shading at least a dozen park benches and picnic tables casually arranged on the green grass.
Number 5 has two car spaces beside it, separating it from the next casita that is used for the laundromat and housekeeping. The bonus here is the softly sweet laundry scent generated next door. Number 5 faces north, so the portal is shady all day, with no need to change seating to a shadier more public area unless you want to be more public. And, less than half of the casitas are on the park proper, with no road or cars in between your door and the park.
Inside Number 5 is my home away from home for the week. A good-sized single room containing a queen-size bed with a light wood headboard, a small table and 2 chairs to the side of it under a swing-out lamp, and a small kitchenette with a microwave, refrigerator, 2-burner stove, sink and actual shelves in addition to the cabinets. I like shelves in a temporary environment; I tend to forget what I bought and where I put it until it's time to leave and I have a whole sack of groceries to take home. Having everything visual on shelves makes food easy. I particularly liked the arrangement of my shelves, as they seemed portentous of the week to come. From left to right, a box-o-wine, 16 favorite CDs, a notebook, 2 books, then boxed food, then canned food. On the shelf below, plenty of room for chips, baked not fried, chocolate, and other snackage.
Of course there's a TV, and a closet whose shallow depth requires clothing to be hung sparingly and only on a diagonal. The bathroom holds a tiny sink, tiny toilet, and a decent size tiled shower with a shower curtain. They must have considered glass doors a possible liability if someone had a little too much fun at the barbecues that I imagine happen outside under the trees. The sink and the handles on the door, closet, and bathroom are all set at unusually low heights. This place was built way back, probably the 30s or 40s, but that didn't explain the low access. Maybe the original builder was short himself and just eyeballed it. The door handles are all original, though, western style, and the doors were made either on site or very nearby, as they are just tongue and groove planks with two slats running across, top and bottom, to hold them together.
I am completely charmed by my little casita, and it could fit right into my dream of a zen existence with minimal yet the necessary accoutrements. I could just shuck it all, bring my computer and live in west Texas, far, far away from real estate in Austin.

On my way to Big Bend, I stayed at the Antelope Lodge two nights, and I would stay here again because it is unexpectedly charming. It is old, but it's tastefully--and cheerfully--decorated, and all the important furnishings are new. Rooms have kitchenettes, and in my kitchenette, everything worked. The way the room was laid out and decorated, it felt like home, which seems like a corny thing to say. It's an especially strange thing to hear when you read about the maintenance issues I had, but home is really how I felt.

The staff were friendly and helpful. An example: Hearing I'd be arriving late, the lady who took my reservation kindly offered to come back to the hotel in the middle of the night should I require a room change.

My room was clean; the linens and towels were good-quality and clean; the bed was comfy and spotless. The motel has a laundry on site, and the machines work well. Bring your own detergent; there's none for sale. The motel has free wi-fi; it works well.

My room (#9) needed some maintenance. On my chest of drawers, you could not open a drawer without it falling out. In the shower, hot water leaked out of the knob, so you got a scalding every time you turned the dial. A lightbulb was out, but I found a replacement at the front desk.

The room's floor was cement, so I couldn't walk around barefoot. Also, noise from the highway was loud. I wasn't there much during the day, and I am a sound sleeper, so it wasn't a problem. If you are a light sleeper, though, you'll want a room in back. My room was in front, and the front rooms are a little cheaper.

I paid $99 total, tax included, for two nights here. It was worth it to me for the kitchen and the coziness.

You can reasonably do a day trip from Alpine to Big Bend Natl Park, if you only want to spend one day in the park and you leave early. I drove to the park and back, and it was fine just that one time, but no way would I have done the drive again anytime soon. Big Bend is BIG, and it's 1.5 hrs from Alpine just to the park boundary. If you need a home base for some days in Big Bend, you'll want to stay in the park or in Terlingua--though the hotels in Terlingua are pretty cheesy, I hear.