Seminars and company events
The Gage Hotel hosts corporate retreats, meetings and fundraisers for groups of up to 200, and weddings of the same size, on a property of more than 30 acres in Marathon, a small town in far West Texas. The hotel has operated since 1927 and keeps its original building alongside later additions.
The main room for business events is the Ritchey Building, a preserved historic mercantile store that has been remodeled for meetings and gatherings. It has an outdoor patio for a cocktail hour after a working session. For retreats, the hotel provides audiovisual equipment, catering, bar service and planning staff, and can arrange multi-day excursions in the surrounding desert and mountains. A leadership team can spend the morning in session and the afternoon exploring the region, with a group dinner at the hotel restaurant to close the day.
Weddings and receptions
Weddings make up a large part of the event calendar. Ceremonies can take place in the Gage Chapel, a historic sanctuary with stained glass windows that seats up to 150 guests, or outdoors in the gardens. Receptions move to the Ritchey Building or to the Dance Court, a courtyard enclosed by adobe brick walls with a stone fire pit and a shaded ramada that suits welcome dinners and live bands. A wedding coordinator handles planning on site.
Rooms and capacities
Ritchey Building: up to 200 guests for receptions, with an outdoor patio. Gage Chapel: up to 150 seated. Captain Shepard House: about 60 guests in a private walled yard with mature trees and a stone and wrought-iron gazebo, used for rehearsal dinners, bridal luncheons and private parties. The house can also be booked as a whole for a private group stay. Gage Gardens: 27 acres with a limestone entrance, a stone fountain, a wrought-iron gazebo, a dance court and a fire pit, divided into three areas called Gazebo, Pond and Rose Garden.
Accommodation
Guests stay in rooms across the historic hotel and its additional buildings, including the Captain Shepard House, named after the founder of Marathon. The site does not publish a total room count, so confirm the room block with the hotel for larger groups.
Catering
Catering and bar service are handled in-house. The 12 Gage Restaurant serves Texas cooking shaped by the border region and is available for group dinners.
History and setting
Alfred S. Gage, a rancher, commissioned the hotel in 1926 as a base for running his cattle operation, and it opened in April 1927. The architect was Henry Charles Trost of El Paso, and the building follows Mission and Spanish styles. Gage died a year after the opening. JP Bryan bought the hotel in 1978 and has led a restoration that has lasted nearly four decades. The hotel is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Getting there
The address is 102 NW 1st Street, on Highway 90 West, in Marathon, Texas. The town lies on the northern approach to Big Bend National Park. Most groups arrive by car or chartered coach. Plan long road transfers from the nearest commercial airports.
