Dallas’ Mansion Undergoes a Grand Change: Major Hotel Addition’s Been in the Works for Three Years

Its salmon stucco walls are a mark of Dallas old money and an icon of hospitality. The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek — once a private estate, turned into a restaurant and hotel by the inimitable Caroline Rose Hunt (heiress to the Hunt oil fortune) — is as close to perfection as it gets.

Change is rare and subtle; trends and technology take a backseat to personal service. And, above all, the building’s history is remarkably preserved.

Now, however, the Mansion is unveiling a big addition — a project that had been quietly in the works for more than three years. A former concrete parking garage adjacent to the Mansion’s lobby and main hotel has been transformed into a lawn, breezeway, expanded pool, and private garden — all peeking from behind a custom iron gate wreathed in symbols of Rosewood’s history, including those iconic quatrefoil medallions. As always with the Mansion, the architectural and landscaping details shine.

Three Living Architecture’s Gary Koerner did architectural duties, modeling the design after the original Mansion residence’s classic Italian style. A pair of columns marking the breezeway entrance was modeled after the estate’s original columns, now a mainstay design detail of the restaurant.

All this rich design history was not a new lesson for Koerner, who worked with Caroline Rose Hunt to design the original Mansion restaurant and hotel in 1980.

As for landscaping, magnolia trees surround the pool and lawn for privacy, while the garden serves as an oasis for guests and a space for small events. The massive lawn came as a result of the growing demand for million-dollar weddings and events held on the Mansion’s sloping, Turtle Creek-facing front lawn. The new space, with its canopy lights, can comfortably host 800 for the grandest of affairs.