The hotel planning was started by a group of citizens desiring to attract tourist and convention traffic to counter a downturn in agricultural business caused by a mid-1920s drought in the area.

Built on donated land from Senator Joseph Faust's estate, the hotel was renamed in 1936 in honor that family.

The building is a four-story masonry design of no particular architectural style, though with some Spanish Renaissance Revival detailing.

[2] It has been renovated several times through the years, but is one of the few known Texas mid-rise hotels of its era still serving as a hotel.

[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.