Best Western PLUS Austin City Hotel

The staff at the hotel never ceases to amaze me. I have stayed at the hotel twice for more the 5 days at a time over the last 2 months. My last trip was for the Austin Film Festival. On the Friday morning of my trip Austin was hit by a very bad storm. A tornado warning was issued for downtown and south Austin as the storm was coming north of 35. When I went down to the lobby to find out where a safe place to go was the front desk staff already had a plan in action. When my friend and I went down to the lobby to hunker down our room was being cleaned at the same time which was nice.
The hotel staff is first class. Every time I walk though the lobby or get dropped off my Über they always greet me by name and ask how I am doing. This hotel has everything. Clean rooms, clean pool, great breakfast in the morning, great location and a $ 7 Über ride to downtown. I will keep staying here at this hotel for future stays in Austin.

We had a great stay at this hotel. They let us check in a couple hours early and they gave us a map of of the property and told us where the most convenient area was for us to park. They had cold water and a coffee machine with great coffee, including cappuccinos and hot chocolate. Hotel was very clean and the rooms were very comfortable. The breakfast was great it had eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles and the usual a like yogurt, cereal, etc. I did have one issue with the hotel doors, I exited the door to the pool area early in he morning to get to the vending machine and my luck the gate to the pool area was locked and I couldn’t get back in through the door I came out of because it was locked. I thought I was going to be stuck outside for hours but I climbed a gate and thankfully found an unlocked door. The only thing the guy at the front desk had to say about it was that the door should’ve been locked. I don’t know what someone not as skilled at climbing 6 foot fences would’ve done out there. Lol

I was impressed with this hotel. First of all, no popcorn ceilings! Everything is updated and modern. The place was very clean, our room, the lobby, pool which has a deep end by the way. The a/​c in our room was very cold which is important in Texas in late July. Staff was pleasant and helpful. Congress Ave. is just around the corner where the drive is filled with restaurants. I would definitely return here for a short stay. Less than two or three miles from downtown Austin. The layout of the building was a little awkward but not a big deal in the grand scheme of things!

We made a reservation, and drove down from Dallas. Got here at 2:45pm. A little before check in, usually isn’t a huge issue at most hotels. They don’t have any rooms ready yet. Odd, but fine, we’ll wait. We’re still sitting here even though it’s past our check in time… very odd décor and smell in the lobby. Will update if my situation inproves…
UPDATE: it’s 3:30pm and we finally got our room after I made a big fuss. Oumar, the front desk man, told us he would call us when our room was ready. He never called us. Instead, he went and sat in the back room and took a break, leaving only one employee at the desk to deal with a long line of irritated customers waiting for rooms. We saw a girl in front of us get a room immediately, and when I brought this up, Oumar laughed and said, «Oh yeah! She drove in from Pennsylvania and has been waiting for 3 hours for her room!» Geez. Glad that wasn’t us…
Extremely unprofessional behavior with the staff and this whole place smells like bleach. Will not be returning, I STRONGLY recommend you find somewhere else as well.

Poorly managed staff — totally unprofessional and overall bad experience. Checking in late at 3:30 in the morning due to flight delays was the first of many challenges. It took an extremely long time for manager to allow us access to the lobby – then the first room we were assigned was dirty and stunk so at 4:30 am had to change rooms. Second night no housekeeping service and then a movie crew outside our door late at night while they filmed in the room next us – and we still have two nights left on our reservation since it was prepaid through Priceline — on and on and on. Save the money and don’t stay here! Wish we had.

Very nice décor in lobby and the rooms. Not a fan of having to walk outside to get to the lobby depending on where you are in the hotel. All the stairs to get to various places, ie… the breakfast area… are not ideal for anyone with mobility issues. Nice location right off 35… the breakfast was really good also. The soap… oh I almost forgot about the paya soap… so heavenly smelling! The only downer besides the layout and stairs… the staff. I arrived at 2:30 in the am and the two guys at the desk were less than friendly and the person Larry and the manager Rudy in the am were not much better. It is a bit expensive but it’s a nice hotel.

The location was great. It is like 15 minutes from downtown. Easy access to the freeway is always good. In addition, it is recently remodeled. The room was clean but did have used smell to the room. The staff was nice to me. They made sure to give me the wifi code, which was nice I did not have to ask. I enjoyed my stay for the price I paid.

I was very satisfied with my stay here. It’s a little trendier than your typical best western. Everything was updated and modern. The bed was comfortable the soap they provide smells so good! My boyfriend got sick of me talking about the damn soap the whole time. It’s all papaya scented. I took some shampoo home with me. My only complaint is that there really isn’t a comforter. The bed is made up of 3 sheets but nothing substantial. I had to ask for extra blankets. Although this location is not downtown, it is a very close drive. Definitely a good place to stay.

Pros
1. Good location; few minutes to Congress Ave.
2. Fair rate.
3. Courteous staff.
4. Standard complimentary breakfast.
5. Clean room.
6. Hallways were clean.
7.Good coffee machine in the lobby.
8. Decent gym with 2 bikes, 2 treadmills and an elliptical
Cons
1. Although I had pre booked and paid for a check in at 3pm, my room was not ready when I arrived at 4:30pm.
2. The sink in my room was next to the bed instead of the bathroom.
3. No bottles of water provided.
4. The first floor curtains are «see through» and cannot be fully closed so people walking outside could see inside my room.
5. TV remote did not have the guide button so you have to cycle through the channels individually to get to the station you want.
6. Separate key card for the gym.

I’ll start with the positives — the staff were extremely nice and helpful. Actually I found everywhere I went in Austin to be like that (hm, southern hospitality?) Definitely felt like a rude, rushing Californian compared to everyone. Anyway, can’t say enough about the polite helpful staff. The pool/​spa area is welcoming and decent. A lot of people (relatively speaking took advantage of it while I was there — it was a nice feel.
I have stayed at a few other Best Westerns in California and am usually pleasantly surprised.
Onto the areas of improvement. 1) My room kind of had that dank smell — the one you get when too much humidity gets into the carpet and walls and just doesn’t leave. I did decide to just put up with it, thinking maybe all their rooms smelled this way, but in retrospect I should have asked for another room. In reality, none of their rooms should smell this way. I felt compelled to open my window and door as much as possible to air out the smell 2) you need to ask the front desk for a separate gym key — usually at most hotels, your room key works as the gym key; it was a bit of a hassle 3) the layout is complex 4) the wifi was down for a whole afternoon that I was supposed to work. I was told to use the office center, but these days, checking a yahoo account isn’t enough to work — you always need a VPN to log into your own machine.
Other than that the hotel was generally a nice experience but yes, I’ll go with another place my next stay in Austin.

So I needed to book a room in downtown Austin that was not too far from 6^th Street for a bachelorette party. When I was first booking this Hotel I was very skeptical of the quality, location, and I expected the room to look completely different as they usually do than the picture that I saw online. Not at all what I expected they were a little short handed at the front desk so I did have to wait a bit to check in but everyone was very friendly very accommodating the lobby was exceptionally nice especially for being a Best Western I think this is the nicest Best Western I’ve seen. As soon as you walk into the lobby there is an amazing waiting room on the right hand side a computer area on the left and a great Blues Bar located directly across from the lobby. I would have to say the inside did look way better than the outside. When I got to my room the room looked exactly like what I saw when I booked the room. The room had a refrigerator fe it had a decent view of downtown Austin and when asking to put our rooms side by side they accommodated us with no problem. I was very impressed with my stay and I will definitely choose Best Western Plus again!

Just stayed three nights. When checking in the asked if I wanted and inside access room or an outside access. I said outside access so it would be easier for carrying the luggage. Huge mistake!!! We could barely sleep at night, you can hear every door shut, every conversation, every raindrop!!! I travel a lot and never heard noise like I did at this hotel. So I wish we would of stayed inside because it was a clean hotel, the staff was nice, and the breakfast was good.

I enjoyed my stay at the Best Western Plus Austin City Hotel. I was in town with a friend for ACL. The hotel had all the amenities we needed it was like a small private apartment. The free breakfast was very helpful to get something in our stomachs before we ventured out for the day. The hotel wasn’t too far from Zilker park, we decided to take an über everyday to ACL and the driver was able to pick us up easily from the hotel.
For some strange reason though we saw an ambulance on the premises every day we were there. Hopefully everyone/​everything was okay but we found it odd there was an event that needed an ambulance daily.
Other than that I would definitely come back to stay again if I am in town.

Very, very, very happy with my recent stay at this hotel for work and leisure.
Positives:
— Recently remodeled! It looks super modern and trendy in the lobby and the guest rooms. It’s also spotless and in excellent repair.
— The employees are VERY nice! They helped my mom carry her bag to our room.
— There’s a restaurant and bar attached! If you’re too exhausted to drag yourself to a cool South Austin restaurant, just pick up the phone and get food or walk down the hall to grab a drink. (Always a nice option!)
— SECRETLY CLOSE TO SOUTH CONGRESS! If you turn out onto Live Oak Street, it’s a quiet little residential backroad that will drop you off right at the bottom of the «cool» part of South Congress Avenue. 5 minutes, no freeways required. Yes!
Negatives:
— The internet was shockingly slow and inconsistant while I was there. I’m surprised they hold conventions here with that bad of an internet connection. I was able to use it and get by, but if I had to hold an online meeting from my room… heaven help me!
— The restaurant and bar isn’t that great. Lots of fried food, pretty slow and quiet (although they did have a live band a few nights), and not renovated to be as hip and trendy as the rest of the hotel.
— Three words: I. Thirty. Five. Ugh. The location does require you to cope with I-​35 most of the time, which is a major dislike.
All in all, I would absolutely stay here again if I could get a good rate! Very clean, very safe, and very comfortable.

A steal for the price. Everything is clean, new and well-​kept. Swankness on a budget. Extremely fancy free coffee machine.
Subtract one star because the kind & friendly desk clerk said they would gladly make us up a breakfast basket to take with on our early morning flight. But the night before check-​out, a different guy was on deck and was most grumpy & dismissive about the mere idea of helping us out. Random bad staff encounter, was all.

We stayed 2 nights in a room with 2 double beds (for about $ 260 including taxes, booked only a day or two in advance). We had an interior room with the pool right outside our door (recommended!). Nice lobby.
Pros:
— Great pool with a distinct wading area for little kids
— Good hot breakfast
— Really big, thick, luxurious bath towels and pool towels
— Great coffee machine in lobby, available 24/​7, with options for espresso, Mexican hot chocolate, cappuccino, vanilla cappuccino, mokalito (mocha), black coffee (unfortunately no decaf options). The mocha and hot choc were both rich and addictive.
— the a/​c is quiet
— clean crisp cottony sheets
— stylish yet comfortable seating in the lobby
— ice water in the lobby in the afternoon/​evening
Cons:
— room was small – if someone’s sitting at the desk you have to climb over the bed to get by.
— No in-​room safe; and the safe deposit box at the front desk isn’t big enough to hold a laptop computer. At this price point, I expect a safe.
— Sliding closet doors weren’t quite on track & were hard to open/​close
— there’s only one washer and one dryer in the laundry room. The washing machine ($ 1.50) is an He (high efficiency) machine but the detergent dispenser only has regular detergents. As a result, there was undissolved detergent in both batches I washed. (And clothes came out with new stains in weird places???) Had to run the dryer ($ 1 for 20 min) two cycles for each load
— the fitted sheets are too loose and small, they easily come untucked
Breakfast buffet was served in a restaurant accessible directly from the hotel lobby, and included:
scrambled eggs
crisp, thin bacon
Ham & egg burritos one morning, biscuits & gravy the next
A variety of «light» yogurts
Cereals and instant oatmeal
2% and fat-​free milk
«fruit juice» one morning and apple juice the next
Sugary muffins
Toast, plain bagels
Good coffee including decaf and real half&half
Make yer own Texas shaped waffles
It was a little confusing getting around the hotel at first but after a couple of Mexican hot chocolates I knew exactly how to get to and from our room. I appreciate that you have to have a card key to access different parts of the hotel, for security.

My girlfriend and I stayed here for two nights in April-​May and we had a fantastic experience. It was exactly what we needed: a cheap, comfortable hotel walkable from SoCo. We had GREAT luck with the front desk staff, who held our luggage for us behind the desk twice as we waited for check-​in and flights. Everyone was extremely friendly and prompt.
We came to the desk around noon on a Wednesday and the gentleman behind the counter gladly took our luggage to hold until we could check-​in. He then gave us a recommendation for lunch, which turned out to be delicious. He remembered our names upon returning and welcomed us back.
We had a regular room on the ground level with a king-​size bed. Everything was clean, comfortable, and pretty standard for this kind of hotel. No complaints whatsoever about the room — we never even heard a sound from another resident.
Breakfast is complimentary, and not fabulous. I stuck with the simple stuff — yogurt, fresh fruit, and coffee — and my girlfriend made herself a waffle that she really liked. We got drinks at the bar that night and had a good experience there too — it was about $ 8 for a beer and a gin & tonic.
We asked for a late check-​out time (normal is 11am) and they were only able to extend it to 12pm, which was a bummer because our flight wasn’t until 7pm. But they held our stuff again while we explored the city and allowed us to chill in the lobby (and drink free coffee!).
Overall we were quite impressed with this place. It was certainly a relaxing, home-​like environment to return to after a long day of hanging out in the city.

Stayed here over the course of a weekend and I have to say, there’s not much more the staff could’ve done to make it better! Our room was enormous, clean, and the bed was super luxe. The breakfast each morning was remarkably amazing for being complimentary – we’re talking bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, Texas-​shaped waffles, yogurt, fruit, cereal, and an assortment of bagels and pastries. My only complaint with this hotel is that since the building has been remodeled and addended multiple times, getting to your room is a bit like navigating through a hamster maze. Additionally, you have to have your room card on you at all times, because going in and out of each building’s door requires card access. A small price to pay for feeling safe, I suppose.
The location of this hotel is super convenient, right off 35 and easy access to the north– and southbound ramps. Starbucks is right across the street, too! (Walking distance) All in all, a great stay and I would definitely return.

Positives
The room was spacious and clean. It was also quiet, even on the first floor with a window overlooking the parking lot. The pool and hot tub are lovely and well kept. Lots of seating and tables for relaxing. The continental breakfast was probably the best I’ve had anywhere. While we didn’t eat at the restaurant, it has a great relaxed vibe and doesn’t feel like a hotel restaurant. They also have a gym and laundry room.
Walkable to South Congress Ave., where there are lots of bars, restaurants, stores and music venues. I will say, if you are in a rush, make sure you check to see how long it will take. As someone who lives in a city, this was not a long walk for me, but if you’re in a hurry etc. call a cab.
Negatives
The staff wasn’t all that friendly or helpful. This was kind of a shock to me. Coming from Massachusetts, where people are known for being rude, my thought while asking for directions to my room was «Aren’t you Texans supposed to be friendlier than us?» The hotel has a bit of a confusing layout, of the two people behind the desk, neither of them could be bothered to give us thoughtful directions to our room. As a result, we lugged our bags up and down stairs that we didn’t need to. No big deal, but they could have been more helpful, especially considering it’s their job to be.
We also had a hard time getting cabs at the hotel and staff was not helpful. As a hotel, shouldn’t they have an in with at least one cab company? I know when I can’t seem to get a cab to pic me up at my apartment, I walk to the nearest hotel. Even when I lived in a much less dense city, more like Austin, this worked for me.
–Note, we were not here during SXSW. I’m sure that changes a lot of things.

Unfriendly personnel, hotel without personality and way too far from SXSW to have a great time.
I asked for arranging cab and she just handed me a paper with numbers («do it yourself man»). Refuses to help me looking for shuttle alternative. Very grumpy personnel hating every customer by default. Bad breakfast.
On the plus side, rooms are relatively big and clean.
Don’t go here, there are so much better alternatives.