It seems to us like Amarillo is a tough place to find a good hotel or we have just been unlucky. Last month we stayed at La Kiva and it was terrible. So this time we decided to try the Big Texan. This is the place of course, where they have the big restaurant and advertise the 72 ounce steak you can have free if you can eat it all. (I ate it back in the 70s, I'd never do it again but it was fun when I was young). They have limousines with steer horns as hood ornaments and the restaurant and hotel are decorated to look like the old west. It's kind of cute but that doesn't take the place of quality and service, none of which we found at the hotel. The rooms have that western decor. Instead of shades or blinds on the window they have wooden shutters. When you walk into the bathroom area you have wooden swinging doors like an old saloon. And there is a western mural on the wall. All this is nice but the water pressure was terrible, the tub was tiny and not in good condition, there were several dead flies on the floor and one smashed on the wall in the bathroom. I noticed it the minute I walked in them my wife brought it up when she went in the bathroom so I am sure a housekeeper knew it was there. She/he just didn't bother to clean it! The beds were not particularly comfortable and you could guess the make and model of most cars that whizzed by all night long since the rooms are way too close to the interstate.
They gave us a coupon for 20% off breakfast at the restaurant which has prices that are about 50% higher than they ought to be so we passed on that. When we called they told us the room was $65. By the time we paid it turned into $75 which means they either raised the rate a bit or they have the highest taxes in any city we have ever seen. In either case, the entire experience was not good.
We will pass on this place in the future. The Big Texan was all hat, no cattle.
- Big Texan Hotel
- Big Texan Amarillo
