A new retreat from a Dallas hospitality pro in Jewett, Texas — about 115 miles south of Dallas, east of Waco — is beckoning Texas travelers looking for a rustic but stylish weekend away: Limestone Fields is now accepting reservations for a May 15 opening.
The 16-acre property, founded by Dallas hotel veteran Josh Ramsey, is named for Lake Limestone, a roughly 12-mile-long body of water steps away from the 10 cabins.
It’s not just your standard lake trip, though; the property also encompasses a working farm, where farmer Trisha Bates will grow crops, herbs, and flowers, harvest eggs from free-range chickens and ducks, and graze two Scottish Highland cows, Doug and Maisie.
Guests can choose to get their boots dirty at the farm or stay clean in a cedar tub. Photo by Ashley Estave
Guests will be able to visit the farm, either to check it out or harvest crops, and more programming is coming soon, including a chef residency program and farm workshops. Guests will also be able to try their hand at “easy farm tasks,” a press release says.
In addition to the farm, there’s the Commons Barn, a communal area with a kitchen that’s open 24 hours a day. Equipment includes a 48-inch range, an outdoor pizza oven, an offset smoker, and more. Guests will be able to fill out an order form before or during their visit, but the property encourages that they bring their own food, which they can store at the barn.
The bunk beds say camping, but the decor says hotel.Photo by Ashley Estave
Guest cabins are either standard at 256 square feet or premium at 384, with simple construction and stylish furnishings — not as complicated as a hotel room, but not as bare as a cabin. Each front deck overlooks a pond, while back decks open out to the lake. Guests will also get to relax in private hot tubs by Ofuro, a company that specializes in Japanese-style cedar tubs.
High-quality amenities upgrade this from camping to a more luxe stay, including Parachute linens, climate control, wifi that’s easy to turn on and off, and for journal-keepers really getting into the retreat mindset, writing desks designed and crafted by the property owner himself. Phone resting boxes help keep tech out of sight and mind.
If guests would rather spend their time outside, they can walk on trails around the property, fish, look for birds, sit by a campfire, and more. They can also book Lake Limestone Marina for more water activities.
The cabins are surrounded by water.Photo by Ashley Estave
“We designed Limestone Fields to fill a growing gap in how we spend our time away,” says Ramsey in the release. “In an increasingly automated world, there is a distinct lack of spaces that facilitate genuine, unhurried connection. By focusing on small-scale hospitality and intentional shared spaces – whether that’s a communal meal or soaking in a cedar tub – we wanted to create a sanctuary for the kind of solitary work and deep reflection that, paradoxically, can’t be done entirely alone.”
Ramsey’s past hospitality experience includes a stint at the Hilton and later co-founding Prosper Hotels, a management group. This is a much more personal project that keeps the founder close to his retired father, who lives minutes away and offers his own hospitality expertise.
The release explains that Limestone Fields is part of the Post Oak Savannah, which was home to the Tawakoni, Waco, Apache, and Comanche tribes. Mexican land grants took over the land in the 1820s and 1830s. The current shape of the land was formed by the damming of the Navasota River in 1978.
Limestone Fields founder Josh Ramsey.Photo by Ashley Estave
“It’s about more than just escaping city life,” says Ramsey. “[It’s] about creating a physical environment that gives you space to hear your own voice, while holding space for the camaraderie that only happens when you’re truly present.”
Limestone Fields is located at 159 LCR 890. Stays start at $200 a night and “usually” have a two-night minimum. Prices vary with seasonality.