LivSmart Studios by Hilton Planned Near the McAllen Convention Center

Ruby Red Hospitality plans to open a LivSmart Studios by Hilton near the McAllen Convention Center by 2028, the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal reported on December 23, 2025. LivSmart Studios is Hilton's brand for longer stays, aimed at guests who are in town for weeks or months.

The roughly $10 million hotel is planned with 100 pet-friendly rooms with full kitchens, plus a gym, shared laundry, outdoor grills and fire pits. It would sit just east of the convention center, on a 4.3-acre site near West Lindberg Avenue and South 29th Street that an affiliated company bought in 2023, according to Hidalgo County Appraisal District records cited by the Journal. Ruby Red Hospitality already operates the Aloft Hotel McAllen, the Embassy Suites by Hilton McAllen Convention Center, Home2 Suites by Hilton and Homewood Suites by Hilton nearby.

CEO Barry Patel told the Journal that the company's two long-stay hotels in McAllen stay busy and regularly turn guests away, with demand from people in town for three months, six months or a year for infrastructure projects and government work. Construction is expected to begin in August 2026.

Patel said the company expects to build similar hotels in other Rio Grande Valley cities, and called 2026 a growth year for the Valley. The project is on our In development page.