Camp Lucy Resort of Dripping Springs is changing the game when it comes to style, design, destinations, and international exploration. It’s known as a top wedding and corporate event venue with luxurious accommodations and for its international cuisine and style at Tillie’s Restaurant & Bar. Camp Lucy’s spa is anticipated to open in spring 2025.
We sat down with husband-and-wife owners Kim and Whit Hanks to explore the intentionality and history—from Vietnam to Texas—of Tillie’s, Camp Lucy, and the spa … and why it matters.
VIETNAM
In 2008, Whit bought a historic town hall in Vietnam and brought it back to his family’s land in Dripping Springs, which is now Camp Lucy, a Texas Wine Country Resort. The legacy started with one Vietnamese Chapel, known as Ian’s Chapel, and has now expanded with an additional seven Vietnamese buildings and a property rich with history and antiques.
The attention to detail in these buildings is amazing, as yellow and blue letter markings on each piece of wood indicate which piece and side is custom designed to fit another. “Custom made to fit with themselves, the wood for each building is hand carved—no bolts, no pins, it’s so perfectly fitted,” Whit shares.
“We are attracting curious travelers,” Kim shares. “Through our travels, we open up the beauty of things that are handcrafted, create new pieces of furniture from the old, and understand the generations of families’ history and their stories,” Whit shares.
Kim explains how the pieces speak to her, beyond what meets the eye. “These pieces can communicate the culture they were in, from differing economies to exuberant eras. You can feel the craftsmanship in the timber—imperfect and expressive.”
Experimenting with textures and colors, Kim shares how she experiences the historical churches or the town halls on the property. “I feel the stories,” she says. She can’t help but imagine “the laughter and tears these walls saw in another country through births, gatherings, and deaths. It’s different; it’s the history, story, and emotion we want you to feel when you enter our spaces.”
SPA
The spa, Folklore, is going to expand the resort into wellness, and by opening an additional 13 hotel rooms on the property, it will be a 54-key resort. “Dripping Springs is now trending to become a spa destination in the corridor from Austin to Fredericksburg,” Kim says. She wants spa-goers to feel “inspired by color. I want people to feel like they’re being hugged by color. The team is listening to guests and incorporating a lot of soul into every little detail. We truly care about every detail.”
Camp Lucy is reinventing the spa experience—you’ll leave inspired to create, while feeling your absolute best. While spas can often feel clinical and segregated, Kim shares, “We’re creating a social spa experience where you can spend time together, you can talk, and you’re not being quieted.”
INTENTIONAL HISTORICAL SPACE
Why are the Hankses pouring so much into creating this space? Because it’s in their blood and in their history. Tillie’s restaurant is named after Whit’s great-grandmother, Attilia “Tillie” Hancock. Her husband, Whit’s great-grandfather Lewis Hancock, was the mayor of Austin in 1910.
This land has been in the family since the late 1800s. Lewis’s father, George, was in the battle of San Jacinto. Attila was the first real estate developer in Austin. Camp Lucy is named in honor of Whit’s mother, Lucy.
Whit explains what “Camp” symbolizes to him: “As children we go to camp, meet new people, and romanticize life by having fun. We’re recreating this adolescent experience for families and adults when they come here.”
They invest in programming, such as fishing and bow and arrow, to inspire presence, learning, and connecting with nature by stimulating the senses with architecture and intentional landscaping.
Additionally, Kim and Whit own and operate the oldest hotel in England, The Old Bell Hotel. Located about two hours outside of London, it is a perfect spot for Texans to experience another part of the world with just one direct flight. Kim and Whit continue to interconnect these spaces on different continents.
“If you make connections to other cultures, you can begin to understand humanity again, become a kid again, and pretension falls away,” Kim says. “This project will never be done. It’s evergreen. We’ll always be putting extra love into it—it feels like another family member.”
She continues, “The spa building, Folklore, has soul like many of our spaces. We didn’t want it to feel like Texas. We want it to feel authentic to what it was.” Although not everyone can travel internationally, all can visit and experience something here like nowhere else. Camp Lucy calls for the romantics and adventurers.
CampLucy.com | @CampLucyonCreek | OldBellHotel.com | WhimHospitality.com
"These pieces can communicate the culture they were in, from differing economies to exuberant eras. You can feel the craftsmanship in the timber—imperfect and expressive."
"The spa building, Folklore, has soul like many of our spaces. We didn’t want it to feel like Texas. We want it to feel authentic to what it was."