La Quinta Inn Austin North

The facility was updated and everything was quite nice; the shower was ultra-​modern and fantastic! A local event made hotel accommodations difficult and pricey — we payed some $ 280+ for our room. Arriving to Austin early we found our plans cancelled because of the weather — we arrived to the La Quinta about 11:30am asking if we could check in early. I was told we couldn’t check in until 3. I tried again at 1pm. Same result. Having left for Austin at 4:30am that morning, we were pretty tired and opted to wait in their lobby. At 1:30pm the hotel manager who saw us falling asleep in his lobby came out and said he had a room for us. The manager was reasonable, approachable and realistic — the front desk staff was everything but. I would give a five star rating if I’d encountered more with the Managers attitude — instead I left with a very bitter taste in my mouth.

Hotel accommodations were satisfactory, but the hotel is easy to miss. In fact, I called & asked for directions, was given the wrong exit. This was the beginning g of a frustrating check-​in. Bed comfortable. Room clean. Breakfast good. HOWEVER, management is non-​responsive to issues. Front desk persons, while very nice, are not empowered to handle financial issues. In this case, it’s been over 24 hrs, I’ve left the hotel and a manager has not returned my 3 requests for a phone call. Stay there again? No, unless this issue is resolved.

My fiancé and I decided to take a mini-​vacay and head on up to ATX for the weekend. We always stay at LQs because of their great pet policy. I usually stick with the motel LQs since it’s easier getting dog kennels in and out and we don’t have to walk two huge dogs through nice hotel lobbies or in elevators. This is not a motel set-​up, yet I picked this location due to the good reviews on other sites (not Unilocal). I called beforehand and asked if we could have a first floor room since one of my dogs is elderly and can’t take the stairs and the other is frightened of elevators (big baby, I know). I was told that usually the second floor was reserved for people with pets but they would accommodate me and put a note on my reservation so I could snag a first floor room. When I checked in I was told that no, I could not have a first room floor. I told the woman checking me in that’s not what I was told over the phone to which she completely ignored me. So we get to our room with 2 huge kennels, bags and two huge dogs and our room key won’t work. We try everything to get the door to open and it’s not budging. So we all have to load our crap back into the car while my fiancé goes to the desk to let them know our key cards aren’t working. The woman says all you have to do is jiggle the handle this way, and that way and then basically throw your ENTIRE body into the door to get it open. Oh, just like that huh? You can guess that we DID request a different room were Harry Potter-​like magical skills weren’t needed to enter the room. The rooms are very nice and large. The bathroom was extremely nice and rivaled some of the nicer hotels I’ve stayed in. We had two kennels set up for our pups in the room and there was still a ton of space. The bed was super comfy and the wifi was fast. 3 stars for the irritating door debacle and the unhelpfulness of the desk staff. They were rude, unwelcoming and had permanent stink faces… you know, like they had just smelled a shitty diaper. I won’t come back to this location but only because even though they tout themselves as pet friendly — they really aren’t.

I am always confused when people go to McDonalds and grumble about the quality of a value meal. This hotel is reasonably priced for the market, clean and staffed by Texas friendly help. The front desk was very helpful. The was room more than adequate for the price. The hotel was quiet and a happy hour was made available. Nearby the «Southern Hospitality» restaurant took this trip from a «must do», to a «bring my honey back to Austin and stay with these folks» trip. My travel puts me staying in hotels from San Antonio to Austin. I endured a La Quinta in San Marcos. This Hotel was actually a pleasure. The management and staff should be commended for brining excellent value. Are there nicer hotels in Austin? Maybe, but I would challenge you to show me a better VALUE.

This La Quinta is alright. It is not far from the freeway entrance and is only about 10 minutes to downtown.
The staff was pleasant and friendly. One day, we made it late by 5 minutes to grab some of the free breakfast they provide. Their kitchen staff nicely gave us batter for the waffle and turned the juice machine for us. Speaking of waffle, their Texas-​shaped waffles were so much fun!
The room was clean enough and spacious. The beds and pillows were comfortable. The bathroom was clean as well. But I do wish that they would change their shower curtain, it seemed flimsy and easily caused leaks. It was not a deal-​breaker, however. We just became mindful of it after it occurred twice.
La Quinta would get four stars from me if only their hallway did not smell strongly of urine. Although this was possibly because the property is pet-​friendly, of which we were aware when we booked, it was still kind of overwhelming while you are walking down the hallway to your room. Thank goodness it did not permeate into our room, but still, it was not very welcoming.

Terrible people. Terrible company. They steal money from people because they obviously need it to pay their understaffed hotel.
Your company has still yet to pay us back what you have stolen. Do not stay here! Save yourself the headache and sanity!

The staff at this hotel does not know what they are doing. Took forever to check in. The room was clean but smelled funny. You can’t go get your breakfast in the morning and eat it in your room. No where is that posted. My room did not have a tub and the option was not given.

Some friends had a gig in Austin so we decided to stay instead of driving back to Houston. We rolled the dice & Hotwired a hotel for the night. $ 75
It’s definitely been remodeled recently.
–The Lobby is nice, modern furniture, chandeliers, an area with snacks & convenience items.
–The room was great, 2 Queen Beds (soft white sheets, fluffy pillows, comfy!), mini fridge, microwave, iron (a nice one too not the cheap little white ones lol), ironing board, wifi, HBO, the bathroom was simple but the shower head was big & had glorious water pressure.
–There is an Applebee’s & Buffalo Wild Wings right next door within walking distance.
–Breakfast was surprisingly good with a lot of options. There were waffles, bacon, eggs, oatmeal, bagels, toast, muffins, 3 types of juice, & coffee. 6am-​10am
Overall we enjoyed our stay, more than accommodating for an economy hotel, & if we were in the area again Id book another room.

This place is fine. I’m not sure why the reviews are as low as they are. I had a nice, spacious room at a bargain price. (It was a mini-​suite with a full kitchen.) Contrary to the other comments there is a working elevator. Breakfast was very crowded but adequate.
The area is not great. My room overlooked a mortuary. It is on a very busy corner and getting in and out of the parking lot is very unintuitive; if you miss the entrance, you have to drive a very long way to get back to it. (Whoever laid out Austin’s freeways should be shot, but that’s another story.) There is nothing within walking distance of the hotel.

This is a very old property and is not in very good shape. Everything in the lobby is worn. Carpets are stained, and rooms are tired and worn. Wouldn’t stay at this location again.

For me, it was a complete FAIL for several reasons:
1) roach on pillow,
2) bedbug or fleas — I hit bit in one place 3 times.
3) no elevator (despite 2^nd story rooms to lug your bags to)
4) location: in a fairly abandoned area nearfreeway and its overpass
5) trucks parked with noisy generators running overnight…
The best thing about my one night stay was a restaurant called Tekila in walking distance nearby. Authentic Mexican right next to a Burger King.

I was perturbed upon arrival of the friendliness of the staff. I would have never mentioned it if their attitudes would have wavered and the staff tried to become helpful when they were needed, but that did not happen and it only got worse. We encountered a problem that was not to the fault of the staff, and at first I was very understanding and thought they would work hard to remedy the issue. It became clear the issue was far out of their hands; being patient I hoped I would hear something from the staff about how we, as paying guests, would be accommodated. Unfortunately, there was no effort on ANYONE from the staff, including Raj Patel the GM to accommodate or to remedy the situation. I really do not feel running water is something I should request when I book a hotel. When the water went out, finding places for the hotel guests to shower or even use the restroom should have been step one, not arguing with his paying customers that the problem was not his fault. The situation could have been managed; a simple acknowledgement of the problem and offering solutions! Instead we (and I repeat, as PAYING CUSTOMERS) were arguing with a staff about where we could go to simply use the restroom. Initially, I tried to be very understanding of the front desk staff (I knew they were under a lot of stress) but when I began to apologize TO the them and did not receive a single apology FROM them I was even more irritated. We were finally sent to another hotel that Mr. Patel is partnered with and because it was not a La Quinta I will not divulge on the many more problems we encountered there. Having worked in customer service for as long as I have, I usually don’t complain, I want to think maybe they were having a rough day or simply give them the benefit of the doubt, way too much went wrong this time.

I have to be fair, the rooms were clean. Other than that, everything else was absolutely terrible. A waterline broke and we had no running water. We couldn’t shower, wash our hands, or even flush! The hotel did nothing about it. The front desk never apologized and showed no sense of urgency. They blamed the city and were apathetic about getting it fixed.

For a budget hotel, I was impressed. Our room was clean. Breakfast was decent. Wifi worked great. Beds were comfortable. Location was great. For the most part, the staff was helpful.
This location must have had a recent facelift because everything inside looked pretty new.
We’d stay there again.

Lovely for an economy hotel! Clearly it’s had a recent remodel, and it looks great! A great price for clean, comfortable, modern room — and we were given drink tickets and a complimentary dinner! Super comfy beds, very plush! Rooms have great open showers, which we prefer, but fair warning to families with kids who need a tub. The location is a little awkward to get to from the highway so stick to surface streets it the frontage roads. All rooms are non-​smoking.

When I checked into the La Quinta I was pleased with the facility; the hotel seemed to be clean, nice, and modern. Unfortunately, the positive aspect of my stay ended there.
I travel constantly for 9 months a year for work, and I have never had a worse experience at a hotel. To kick things off, it was impossible to keep connected to the Wifi. Also, there was a drug addict that approached my group multiple times on hotel property asking for food and water. We reported this to the front desk, who seemed to do nothing about it, or even care.
On four out of my five days, I had to take an ice-​cold shower because of «problems with the boiler.» Three other co-​workers were on the road with me, all in different rooms on different floors, and they all suffered from the same problem — so, this was a hotel-​wide issue. Every time I would call and complain to the front desk, they were not able to provide me with an update of when the boiler would be fixed… in fact, most of the time, the front desk person claimed to not even be aware of the issue.
Another highlight of my stay was when I returned to my room mid-​day after using the gym and hopped in the (ice-​cold) shower… All of the sudden I heard the electronic lock and in barges house-​keeping and walks straight into the bathroom. I screamed bloody murder (she was also not wearing a uniform) and she ran out. My room had already been cleaned, so I have no idea why the maid was returning in the first place. She never knocked or announced herself, she simply re-​entered my room. Just like the other problems, I reported this incident to the front desk. I was not offered any sort of compensation; not even a free soda from the snack area. The best the staff member offered was to report this problem to the «head of housekeeping — who would have the authority to do something.» Nobody ever called back to follow-​through.
But the grand finale of my stay happened when I attempted to close out a $ 2.00 incidental charge for a bottle of soda the evening before my departure with the most incompetent hotel desk staff I have ever met, Jennifer. I signed for the receipt and took two steps before I received a notification on my personal credit card that it had been charged for $ 500.00. Basically, in Jennifer’s attempt to close out my incidentals, she actually switched the stay over from my company’s credit card to my personal credit card.
Although this was an idiotic move, it probably would have been forgivable if Jennifer would have apologized and amended the mistake. But, oh no, Jennifer starts to rudely tell me I am wrong, that she did not do that. I even go as far to log onto my personal credit card account on my phone and show her the pending $ 500.00 charge, but she still claims she did not switch over the accounts. Finally she says there is nothing she can do and asks me if I want to speak to her manager.
Duh, I want to speak to her manager… I had requested to do so only 1,000,000 times during this incident. Apparently Raj the manager was «away on business» so I had to speak to him on the phone. Thankfully, he immediately realized Jennifer’s huge mistake and promised to take care of the problem. Jennifer chose to burst into tears instead of giving me an apology.
Also, this entire rumble went down as one of Jennifer’s «regulars» stood at the end of the counter and berated me for «being upset that the world isn’t a perfect place.» He also tried to be Jennifer’s knight in shining armor by telling all the wary guests attempting to check-​in and witnessing the situation that «he always has a good time» and «they make do not disturb signs for a reason, that’s what someone should put up if they don’t want to be walked-​in while they are showering.» I think somebody has a crush.
That evening, after the shift-​change, I spoke to a much more helpful night-​desk staff member, who was able to again confirm that indeed Jennifer made a huge in switching the accounts and inform me that the charge should disappear within a few days. I am hoping that he was a good as he seemed and the issue will resolve itself.
If I return to Austin for work I would rather sleep under the highway with the homeless people than stay at this La Quinta. There is zero communication amongst staff and the only two capable staff members (named Lala and Raad) work the night shift because they are in college (shocker).

Meh!
This hotel offers a clean room, but that’s really it. It sits on a frontage road at the intersection of 2 highways — the road noise never stops! Due to it’s location, it’s hard to get to the hotel as it requires a series of u-​turns to find the driveway.
The Wi-​Fi here is the slowest and worst I’ve ever seen. Slow and frequent disconnects. I’d be happier with a dialup modem.
The breakfast consists of stale bagels, waffles from batter, and cereal. My kingdom for some fresh fruit and juice!
If you need a bed you’re in luck — this hotel has them, but you can do much better.

Newly renovated… Hotel was great and loved the breakfast! Staff was friendly! Liked the area to get snacks and has a managers reception during the week.

On the plus side:
Clean room with comfortable bed and nice staff.
We booked on Priceline and got a 78.00 rate. So we felt it was a good deal for Austin.
Negative:
The ac did Not work. We didn’t complain because it was very chilly outside.
It sits right at the intersection of two major highways so it was hard to get to and a bit noisy.

I am not really picky about places that I use for only one night, but this La Quinta really pushes the envelope on what might be considered acceptable. Although I was able to use points here without a charge, but not sure it was even worth it. This place is a freakin’ dump! the only plus was the one friendly front desk attendant that I spoke with.
Yes, the hotel is completely torn up due to construction. It obviously needs it. Why not just close the place and do the whole thing? Or why not just take it out back and shoot it. The room was a collection of broken items: an office chair with a detached base, outlets with no power, sporadically functioning hot water. The bathroom showed expensive water damage and mold on the ceiling. The breakfast items must have been leftovers from the day-​old store.
The only plus is that I now know that it is time to completely sever my business relationship with La Quinta. Outside of the wonderful location in Madison, WI, the rest of my visits have been sub-​par. La Quinta may think it is a major league chain, but the real truth is that anyone with this many strike outs will spend their careers in the minors… or getting cut! I place you on unconditional waivers, La Quinta!