For most of The Wayback’s life as a hotel, our cottages have gone by numbers.
Cottage One. Cottage Two. Cottage Three. All the way down the grove to Cottage Eight. It was practical, it was clear, and nobody ever got lost looking for the key that matched the door.
But numbers are not how anyone actually talked about them.
Guests would call and say, “Can we get the one with the fireplace?” Housekeeping would say, “The bright one on the end.” Our team had its own vocabulary for every cottage on the property, built out of the small details that make each one different: a chaise by the window, a door that opens onto the hills, a corner so tucked away you forget there are seven other cottages a short walk from your porch.
Then Five Became The Nook
Three weeks ago we made it official for the first time.
Cottage Five has a second queen bed tucked into a deep, cozy nook built right into the wall. It is the kind of spot you crawl into with a book and a coffee and lose an afternoon. We had been calling it “the nook” internally for years, so we finally put the name where guests could see it. Cottage Five became The Nook.
Something happened immediately. People started asking for it by name. Interest jumped. Turns out a name gives you a picture in your head, and a number gives you a room assignment.
So we would like to finish the job. Seven cottages left, and we think you will name them better than we will.
Here Is How This Works
Scroll through the seven cottages below. Leave a comment on this post with what you think one of them should be called. One name, seven names, whatever moves you.
If we choose your name, the cottage carries it on our website, in our booking system, and on the door. We will also feature you and the story behind your name in a follow-up post here on the Journal.
Two small things that help. The best names are short enough to say out loud on the phone, and they come from something real about the room rather than something we wish were true. The Nook works because there is an actual nook. That is the trick.
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Cottage One
A front porch, a queen bed under organic cotton, a linen sofa and a vintage desk across from it, and an adjoining room with two twin beds behind a door. It sleeps four, which makes it the cottage families and old friends keep coming back to. Morning coffee happens on that porch, looking into the grove of oaks.
The clue: front porch, two rooms, four people, one of the most social cottages we have.
Cottage Two
A queen bed, a vintage desk, and a wingback chair pulled up to the window. This is the cottage for one person with a manuscript, or two people who want nothing scheduled. The porch looks out over the grove, and the day is mostly you deciding when to leave the chair.
The clue: the writing desk, the wingback, the window, the grove.
Cottage Three
Tucked into a back corner of the property, this is the most private cottage we have. Queen bed, vintage desk, wingback by the window, and the particular quiet that comes from having nobody walk past your door. Guests come here to work in peace or to unplug completely.
The clue: the back corner, the quiet, the feeling of being pleasantly hard to find.
Cottage Four
Another front porch, another queen bed, a linen sofa and vintage desk in the living area, and a second room with two twin beds behind a door. Sleeps four. It is the sibling of Cottage One and it deserves a name that sounds like a sibling without sounding like a copy.
The clue: the porch, the oaks, room for four, easy company.
Cottage Six
A king bed, windows that open onto the Hill Country, and a private back patio built for one glass of wine at the end of the afternoon. This is the cottage couples ask for when the trip is the point of the trip.
The clue: king bed, hill views, back patio, romance without the theatrics.
Cottage Seven
Windows on all sides, which means this cottage catches the best light of the day from morning through evening. A queen bed, a chaise lounge next to it, a writing desk, and a private back patio. It is also our ADA accessible cottage, so everyone gets a turn in the good light.
The clue: light from every direction, the chaise, the long slow afternoon.
Cottage Eight
A gas fireplace with a sofa pulled up in front of it, a charming little kitchenette, a queen bed, and a back door that opens onto the lawn and the hills beyond. Built for a romantic weekend or a long stay where you stop counting nights.
The clue: the fireplace, the kitchenette, the door to the hills, the version of a cottage you could move into.
Leave Your Name Ideas in the Comments
One cottage or all seven. Say the name out loud first. If it sounds like something you would tell a friend over dinner, it is probably right.
We will read every comment, argue about our favorites over coffee, and announce the winners here in a few weeks along with the people who named them.
Eight cottages under the same oaks, and not one of them is the same as the next. It is about time they stopped answering to numbers.
The Wayback prides itself on escaping the city life, within the city, and getting silent in nature and peace… I think naming each cottage based on what you do or see outside from the front porch, would be beautiful. Think constellations, you see from the windows or porch or dream states..smallest cottage “Little Dipper” and biggest one “Big Dipper”
1. Dreamcatcher
2. Big Dipper
3. Sundowner
4. Full Moon
5. Little Dipper
6. Big Dipper
7. Stargazer
8. Sanctuary
Austin neighborhoods:
The Clarksville
The Travis
The Tarrytown
The Bouldin
The Hyde
The Zilker
The Rosedale
The Barton
Or Texas trees:
Live Oak
Pecan
Cypress
Juniper
Mesquite
Bluebonnet
Primrose
Sage