Exclusive: Condo-style Hilton hotel planned near McAllen Convention Center

McAllen-based Ruby Red Hospitality, a key player in the Rio Grande Valley hotel market, is planning to open a new Hilton-branded hotel near the city’s convention center by 2028. 

LivSmart Studios is a new condo-style hotel that will feature 100 pet-friendly rooms, a full kitchen, a gym, shared laundry, outdoor grills, and fire pits. 

Stay in McAllen LLC, a company affiliated with Red Ruby Hospitality, acquired a 4.3-acre lot near the intersection of West Lindberg Avenue and South 29th Street in 2023, Hidalgo County Appraisal District records show. 

The proposed $10 million hotel is slated to sit just east of the McAllen Convention Center, where the company already operates the Marriott Aloft Hotel, Embassy Suites, Home2 Suites by Hilton, and the Homewood Suites by Hilton. 

“It’s a condo hotel. You get your room service and laundry service once or twice a week with minimal breakfast and front lobby,” said Barry Patel, CEO of Ruby Red Hospitality. “The two long-stay hotels that we have do very well. They have good occupancy, and we’re turning customers away. There’s demand from folks who want to live longer than two weeks. They may be here for three months, six months, or even a year working on various infrastructure projects or governmental business.” 

The new hotel would be within walking distance of retail shopping, the Veterans’ War Memorial of Texas and its adjacent park, the McAllen Performing Arts Center, and many restaurants, Patel said. 

Construction is expected to begin in August 2026 and be completed by 2028. 

Patel says he expects to build something similar in other cities across the Rio Grande Valley. 

“I think we’re filling a niche,” he said. “We are excited about 2026. I think it’s going to be a growth year for the Valley.” 

In Brownsville, Ruby Red Hospitality is already building a new Embassy Suites with a lazy river and a convention center, and it operates several hotels and restaurants on South Padre Island. 

“The Valley is now getting more of the higher middle-class [hotel] clientele,” Patel said, pointing to higher-paying jobs in healthcare and the expansion of local universities with more out-of-town students. “The Mexican economy is doing well. The peso is strong, and that has fueled more demand for hotel rooms in the Rio Grande Valley.”