Inside The Wayback: A Non-Toxic Cottage Retreat Outside Austin
From Branch Basics in the laundry to Aquasana water property-wide, here's why The Wayback might be the cleanest stay we've reviewed yet.
Since experiencing The Wayback firsthand, we knew it was a property we wanted to share. It’s one of those finds that feels personal from the moment you pull in: 8 white cottages tucked under more than 300 live oaks, just fifteen minutes from downtown Austin, but completely removed from the noise of the city.
What first drew us in was the property’s intentionality. The Wayback was started by Sydney and her mother, and you can feel that in every corner of the stay, from the Branch Basics in the laundry rooms to the Belgian linen throws in the cottages to the Texas Olive Oil they cook with at the cafe. We met the founder prior to our trip, and she walked us through every choice they had made and how her own passion for non-toxic living helped fuel a lot of the decisions the property makes. That kind of thoughtfulness is hard to fake and even harder to find at this price point.
This property meets all of the GWE standards - one of only a handful of stays we’ve reviewed that can say that. (The only thing we couldn’t verify was in-room air filtration, but Aquasana water filtration confirmed property-wide.) In this review, we’re breaking down what the property is actually like, what it gets right from a GWE perspective, and whether it belongs on your list. This is part of our larger goal with the GWE travel vertical: helping you travel in a way that supports how you want to feel, not just what looks good on a grid.
🔍 Property Deep-Dive: What Is The Wayback?
The Wayback is a boutique cottage retreat in West Lake Hills, Texas, about a fifteen-minute drive from downtown Austin. The property is built around a series of individual, white board-and-batten cottages designed for a cozy, upscale retreat feel, closer to a private guest house than a traditional hotel. It’s family-run, and that hands-on energy comes through in everything from the design to the product choices.
The overall feel is calm, intentional, and deeply rooted in the Texas Hill Country landscape. With 300+ live oaks on the property, an outdoor saltwater pool, and a cafe sourcing from Texas farms, it feels less like a hotel and more like a slow, design-forward escape that happens to sit minutes from one of the best food cities in the country.
What the Property Offers: Individual cottages furnished with eco-friendly and natural textiles, an outdoor saltwater pool, an on-site cafe sourcing from Texas farms (open to guests and the public), and refillable amenities throughout.
Pricing Context: Rates vary by season and cottage. The cafe is open to guests and the public, and meals are not included in the room rate, which is worth budgeting for since the food is one of the best parts of the stay.
How It Compares to Other Stays in the Area: Most Austin-area stays push you to choose between staying downtown or driving an hour into the Hill Country. The Wayback sits squarely in between - close enough to be in Austin in fifteen minutes, far enough that you wake up under the oaks, and unlike a more traditional boutique hotel, the cottage layout means the experience is more private and more residential.
🌿 The Experience
The GWE team stayed at The Wayback in October, and this review is based entirely on that firsthand visit.
The cottages were one of the standouts of the stay. The design is rustic but thoughtful, full of the kinds of small details you only notice when someone has cared about them. The bedding was 100% percale cotton from Under The Canopy, the duvet and shams were Pom Pom at Home, and the throws were Belgian linen, also from Pom Pom at Home. The robes were 100% cotton from Honest Cotton.
Prior to visiting the property, the founder, Sydney, walked us through how she chose every product on the property from Branch Basics for laundry, Puracy and Molly’s Suds for cleaning, Aquasana water filtration that runs through the entire property, including the cafe and the cabana where guests can refill their water bottles. It was a conversation that turned a nice stay into a memorable one and the kind of intention that the GWE community is always looking for.
The cafe was another highlight. Texas Olive Oil and butter are the primary cooking fats (no seed oils), and the produce, dairy, and meat come from a long list of Texas farms. The restaurant is open to the public for lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch, so it doubles as a neighborhood spot, but as a guest, you get to roll out of your cottage and walk into it, which is a different kind of experience entirely. Saturday evenings often feature a live jazz band, which makes hanging out here after dinner an obvious choice.
The saltwater pool and the grounds are where we spent most of our downtime. With 300+ live oaks, the property feels enclosed and private without feeling closed in, and the saltwater pool is an easy amenity you keep coming back to throughout the day.
One standout moment was just sitting outside under the oaks with coffee from the cafe and realizing the entire property, from the cottages, the pool, the food, the products, had been built with the same level of care.
🔍 What’s Actually In This Hotel?
This is where we get into the details that the GWE community cares about most. We had the full conversation with The Wayback’s founder and followed up with their team to verify. Here’s what we found.
✅ What they get right:
Cooking oils used in the kitchen are Texas Olive Oil and butter (no seed oils)
Cleaning products are Branch Basics, Puracy, and Molly’s Suds
Laundry is done with Branch Basics
Bedding is 100% percale cotton from Under The Canopy
Duvet and shams are percale cotton from Pom Pom at Home
Throws are Belgian linen from Pom Pom at Home
Robes are 100% cotton from Honest Cotton
Bath products are sourced from local brands - soap is A Wild Soap Bar from San Saba Soap Company, room spray is custom-made by Sweet Lorraine
Aquasana water filtration runs property-wide, including the cafe for drinking water and food prep, and a refill station inside the cabana for guest water bottles
Refillable amenities throughout, no single-use plastics
Outdoor saltwater pool (instead of chlorine)
Low-VOC paint, real wood flooring, and real cement tile used throughout the build
Water re-irrigation system - all water on the property runs into a retention pond that re-irrigates the grounds
300+ live oaks preserved across the property
Local Texas farm sourcing in the cafe:
Gundermann Acres, Wharton, TX (Organically Grown)
Hi-Fi Mycology, Austin, TX (Austin’s first urban mushroom farm)
Little Bear Produce, Edinburg, TX
Lonestar Lettuce Growers, Georgetown, TX (Certified Organic, Hydroponically Grown)
Wagyu~X, Fort Davis, TX
Mill-King Creamery, McGregor, TX
Lira Rossa Artisan Italian Cheese, Moulton, TX
🎨 Design + Aesthetic
The Wayback’s design is grounded in the Texas Hill Country and built around the existing landscape, not on top of it. The cottages are individual structures spread across the property, designed to feel cozy and upscale without leaning into farmhouse cliches.
The build itself reflects the same intentionality as the rest of the property. Low-VOC paint, real wood flooring, and real cement tile were used throughout, natural materials that hold up over time and don’t off-gas the way conventional finishes do. The textiles do the same: 100% percale cotton sheets from Under The Canopy, percale cotton duvet and shams from Pom Pom at Home, Belgian linen throws also from Pom Pom at Home, and 100% cotton robes from Honest Cotton, meaning nothing synthetic, nothing with a chemical finish sitting against your skin.
Outside, 300+ live oaks anchor the property. The saltwater pool sits within the landscape, and the entire grounds are kept alive by a closed-loop water system, where used water is collected in a retention pond and re-irrigated back into the property.
💆 Wellness & Experience Details
Food + Dining: The on-site cafe is one of the best parts of the experience. Texas Olive Oil and butter are the primary cooking fats, and the menu pulls from a deep list of Texas farms for produce, mushrooms, dairy, beef, and cheese. We kicked things off with a local cheese platter - knowing exactly which creamery it came from made it taste even better and followed it with their salmon for our main course. The cafe is open to guests and the public, so meals are not included in the cottage rate, but the quality and sourcing make it feel like an extension of the stay, not an upcharge.
Water: Aquasana filtration runs property-wide. Guests can refill water bottles inside the cabana, and the same filtered water is used in the cafe for drinking and food prep.
Pool: Outdoor saltwater pool, set among the live oaks.
🧳 Who It’s For
The Wayback is for the traveler who wants a slow, design-forward retreat that does not require leaving Austin behind entirely.
It’s well-suited for couples, solo travelers, and girls’ trips looking for a stay that feels personal and grounded. Anyone who values local sourcing, real materials, and product transparency will feel right at home. It’s also perfect for a quick weekend getaway, and a strong fit for anyone with sensitivities.
📋 Quick Reference: How it Scores on our Standards
No artificial fragrance: ✅
Non-toxic cleaning + spa products: ✅ Branch Basics for laundry, Puracy and Molly’s Suds for cleaning
Fragrance-free, paraben-free bath products: ✅ Local, small-batch sourcing - A Wild Soap Bar and custom Sweet Lorraine room spray
Local + seasonal food / seed-oil-free options: ✅ Texas Olive Oil and butter as the default cooking fats, deep Texas farm sourcing
Cotton / linen bedding: ✅ 100% percale cotton from Under The Canopy, Belgian linen throws from Pom Pom at Home, 100% cotton robes from Honest Cotton
Water filtration: ✅ Aquasana water filtration runs property-wide, including the cafe and a guest bottle refill station in the cabana
Low-VOC materials: ✅ Low-VOC paint, real wood flooring, real cement tile throughout
Refillable / plastic-free amenities: ✅ Refillable amenities, no single-use plastics
Natural / low-chemical pool: ✅ Outdoor saltwater pool
GWE Rating: ★★★ Top-Tier
🏡 Plan Your Stay
Book on Booking.com — See cottage types and current pricing
🚨💬 Final Thoughts
From a GWE perspective, The Wayback is one of the most intentional stays we’ve reviewed. The bedding, the cleaning, the laundry, the food, the water, the pool, and the build itself all hold up, and you can tell the founders made every one of those choices on purpose.
If you’re looking for a stay that feels personal, beautifully designed, and aligned with how the GWE community wants to travel, The Wayback belongs on your list. It is one of the rare properties where you can show up with your usual non-toxic travel kit and barely need it.
Have you stayed here or somewhere similar? Leave a comment below with your experience, and let the GWE community know what property we should review next.
Disclaimer: Everything we share is researched and accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of sending. When we note the standards a property does or doesn’t meet, that’s our own opinion based on our criteria and the information the hotel gave us or posted on their website at the time of review. Travel details like rates, availability, amenities, and policies can change without notice, and information can be incomplete, so we can’t guarantee every detail is current or error-free. Always confirm the specifics with the hotel before you book or travel. Girls Who Eat isn’t responsible for decisions made based on this email, and we want to get it right, so if you notice an error, reply and tell us and we’ll fix it.
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