Park Lane Guest House

This place is magical! I loved everything about our stay, and wished we could have stayed longer! I had the best sleep that I’ve had in a while during our stay (& maybe a few naps). The breakfast was pretty darn tasty as well! It’s the perfect spot to stay if you want to get away from the hustle and bustle but also a very short walk to tons of awesome restaurants and shops! We will be back again!

We called and checked in late. They were very accommodating! The room was very large and so nice. They had a great pool and trees all around! I loved the chandeliers hanging on the trees! They are a «green» bed and breakfast which is very cool! I can’t wait to stay there again! Its tucked away which made it feel more private and secure! Very highly recommended!

Starting just with a horrible phone call on a non kid hotel. And the lady on the phone just state «call me back or come and see us when you don’t have a kid» horrible customer service

Perfect. Five stars. Shakti is Park Lane Guest Houses’ welcoming proprietor – a radiant person, and, in addition, one who built this neighborhood into the destination it now is. For example, her (solar-​powered!) Vicky House, built from repurposed wood, has hundred-​year-​old finishing touches on the door frames (my friend’s grandfather’s house has the same ones), with a ladder to a cozy loft bed. See the pictures. Lush vines climb the front porch (honeysuckle? I missed the bloom). Breakfast was pancakes with blackberries and dates fresh from the yard, fair trade coffee, fresh milk, orange juice. A cupboard’s antiqued exterior belies the modern conveniences it contains: coffeemaker, microwave, mini fridge, and electric teapot. And of course blocks from great live music and other night life.

The Park Lane Guest House is in a great location, and is a wonderful alternative to the corporate chain hotels downtown. This review is for the Soco Room, which is the only room located in the main house. Though the home was lovely, the room provided little privacy. It was hard to feel like we were not guests in someone’s home, and an inconvenience to the homeowners. I am sure the cottages would provide a different feel. The breakfast and outdoor/​pool area are lovely. Unfortunately, one morning there were workers who had to do work at the entrance to our room for several hours. We did not receive any warning, and were unable to use the bathroom or enter/​exit the room. It was awkward and uncomfortable to have working men invading our privacy. We did receive an apology for the inconvenience, but when you are paying to have a relaxing vacation you expect to have full and private access to your room. There are two dogs and roaming chickens on the property.

Husband and I came to Austin for a short vacation and also to explore the city, since we are considering moving there. Wanted a place to stay that was more in a neighborhood and would give us a feel for what Austin is really like. Park Lane achieved this for us and more.
We spent our first night in the SoCo room in the main house and the next two in the Vicky, a tiny, cozy little cottage behind the other guest houses. The SoCo room was comfortable and cozy. We moved to the Vicky for the last two nights and enjoyed the solitude, reclaimed lumber (the way to a preservationists heart), and flowering vines on the porch. The gardens are beautiful, peaceful, and lovely to relax in. The pool was cool and felt good on our tired feet. And breakfast was just delicious. We ate on the porch of the Vicky and enjoyed everything. Love that the food is all vegetarian, organic, and local.
Overall, we loved the cozy, homey feeling at Park Lane Guest House. It was welcoming and relaxing. The neighborhood was pleasant and pretty and very close to all the stuff to do on SoCo and the bus routes to get around to the rest of the city. Location means that there is no reason to rent a car.
Would highly recommend.

Wonderful place! My boyfriend and I had a great time at Park Lane Guest House. It’s very quiet and comfortable. We spent plenty of time hanging out in the backyard under the oak tree. Shakti was very informative with directions and recommendations and even mailed some papers that we left behind.
Oh, and her dogs are adorable!

Very soothing, rainy day spent in the Garden Cottage. Very warm and welcoming. Backyard was wonderful — a complete oasis in the middle of Austin. Location is great. The owner is very gracious and kind. We enjoyed every minute. The pool is beautiful, the chickens soothing and the breakfast delicious.
Would highly recommend it and wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again.

We stayed in the main house, which was a room with its own bathroom. The room may be small for others but was quaint for the both of us. We went for a bed and breakfast –instead of a hotel –because of the vegetarian friendly options. We weren’t disappointed. They were accommodating to our food requests and concerns. Breakfast was delicious. The home is quiet. We enjoyed a nice dip in the pool and the quiet sanctuary in the back. It was peaceful given how close it was to South Congress and the hustle and bustle of Austin.
Definitely would return to this B&B again if we travel to Austin!

What a relaxing little gem off of SoCo! The Park Lane Guest House is wonderful — and cozy! We stayed in the Garden Cottage that had a large living room, kitchen with gourmet coffee, nice bathroom — the best feature about the bathroom, and I was pleasantly surprised at the heated toilet seat! The bed was also like sleeping on a cloud. So much so in fact on a rainy day we didn’t really leave it except to eat the awesome breakfast that Shakti, the owner prepared for us. Blueberry pancakes with OJ? Yes please! Veggie frittata with eggs from their hens, grapefruit from their trees and OJ? Yes please! Wonderful stay — off street parking and within walking distance to SoCo where all the action is before coming into downtown Austin.

My husband and I had a brief stay in the Vicki House. Our stay was brief due to our schedules, but if we could have stayed for 3 days, we would have been very happy. The Vicki House is quaint with quite a bit of character (even more after we talked with the owner regarding the history of the house and the property in general). You can definitely feel the stress melt away the moment you step foot onto the property. The breakfast provided in the morning was local, organic, home-​grown and tasty – all the thing a breakfast at a Austin B&B should be!
We visited in the winter, but we’d love to come back in the spring or early fall and enjoy the shaded pool area.
We are happy B&B’ers!

I’m going to keep this review brief, because I just want to point out something that I did not come across in the fine print as I made my reservation here. That is, if a person stays in the main house, there are no locks on the doors. And the front door is also unlocked until the proprietors go to bed at night. This was a deal breaker for me as single traveler, and something you should know if you plan to travel to the PLGH.
I will say that once I protested to the no-​lock issue, the owner offered me a spot in the back carriage house (which did have an old-​school lock on the front door) for the same price as the front room they had me staying in (about $ 183/​weeknight including taxes). #goodkarma. Still, I didn’t find that place to my liking. The bed was up in a loft with a 12-​step ladder (give or take +/​-​2) that simply wouldn’t work if a traveler had a single mobility issue. Also, the iron didn’t work. Small detail, but big bummer if a person just happens to be presenting in front of a crowd during the early afternoon. At (($ 259/​week night OR $ 299/​weekend night) + taxes)) as the regular price for the back cottage I stayed in, I have to say I would expect more.
The biggest pro to this place is that you are in the coolest, most hipster-​y of hipster neighborhoods in Austin (South Congress). But determine your priorities before booking.

What a wonderful place! My husband and I stayed for three nights in the Vicki house and it was lovely. We were able to walk everywhere, there was almost no need for our rental car.
The breakfast was delicious and the coffee was great too. And the bed! The bed was to die for. If Austin didn’t have so many wonderful things to offer, I probably would have never left the bed.
We can’t wait to come back!

Calling this a «bed and breakfast» simply doesn’t do this place justice, because while it has both a bed and provides a breakfast, those facts are only the beginning here and staying here was the highlight of our vacation. Park Lane is more like a meditative retreat near the lively SoCo area of Austin that just so happens to offer a quiet bed and bountiful breakfast.
The Park Lane is located in a quiet and peaceful residential neighborhood. This small facility has a guest room in the main house in which the proprietor lives, and three other buildings — we toured all three. The carriage house was huge and was a full fledged apartment that you could easily house four people while the Vicky house was a bit smaller and had a bed on a loft. Given my fear of heights, I took a pass on that.
We stayed instead in the Carriage House which was a delightful studio apartment that opened up to the pool area. Inside was a full coffee bar with a drip, espresso and french press depending on your morning coffee preference and a small assortment of teas for those so inclined. The filtered water pitcher was a nice little touch.
This place was all about nice little touches: from the fountains around the facility to get you in a peaceful state too the ethically sourced toiletries. Even the toilet seat was heated. Who thinks of a heating toilet seat when setting up a guest house? Shakti does, that’s who.
Shakti was everything you look for as a proprietor: welcoming, informative and extremely helpful She takes pride in the fact that she rehabilitated the facility and made it simply gorgeous. The style is antique and rustic creating a soft and inviting atmosphere.
Although the weather was warm here in January, the pool isn’t heated and we couldn’t enjoy a nice swim. Shakti told us some people like the brisk refreshing dip in the cold pool followed by the heated outdoor shower. While I love animals, I’m not a polar bear.
Those afraid of animals need to think twice before staying here. The adorable dogs greet you each morning and walking around you’ll hear a wide variety of birds tweeting throughout the day. I love animals so that was a big highlight and I really enjoyed the chicken coop located in the garden. A sustainable ecosystem is one of the nice touches here.
Sitting out on the porch, listening to the pool and waterfalls, and eating a delicious vegetarian breakfast made me forget that I wasn’t travelling to Austin to go too this retreat, but rather to see and experience all of South Congress, which is only walking distance away.
If I would have known how tranquil Park Lane was, I probably wouldn’t have planned anything else for my visit. Consider staying at Park Lane, enjoy the bounty the universe has to offer you, as well as a place to sleep and eat an amazing breakfast.

Lots of great things about Park Lane– the location is nice with easy access to South Congress, short cab rides or walk to Downtown and the river. The house itself is beautiful and in great shape with cool and fun furnishings.
A couple of things were not very apparent from the website or reviews.
First, if you stay in the main house you’re literally in a guest bedroom. It’s comfy and you have your own bathroom, etc. but you’re sleeping in the same house as the host, down the hall from the kitchen.
Second, the dogs… I love dogs and have one myself. The two mascots of park lane are just the type that I don’t prefer. Small dogs that enjoy the sound of their high pitched yapping. We were woken up every morning by them. Wouldn’t be an issue for those staying in the cottage, folks that are up early or are used to little dogs. For us, it was a bit of an annoyance in the morning.
Overall the property is beautiful and the host, Shakti, is very welcoming and genuine. I’d stay again for sure, but only in one of the cottages.

This placed looked nice for the Austin F1 race in November. Like many of the other b and b’s they have tripled their price per night and made it a 5 night minimum.
that would be $ 4000 for the 3 nights that we would actually need the room.
I guess if you can take advantage, why not eh?
In response to the message below. F1 was new to Austin but there are a number of other large events such as SXSW so I don’t think you lack experience. Simply saying you checked your competitors rates is not really an excuse to price gouge the hell out of the visitors. Bottom line you could exploit the event. So you did.

My friend gave my wife and me a gift certificate to Park Lane for our wedding, and we were excited to take a break from life in Houston and head west to Austin. My brother and a few friends live there, so we always enjoy a trip there.
What I hadn’t realized when he gave us this gift was that he had done some excellent research. Park Lane Guesthouse is a sustainable, vegetarian friendly bed & breakfast.
The food was incredible. The first day we were there we had a delicious omelet made from eggs hatched just outside our room, with fresh squeezed orange juice to top it off. Even the coffee in the room is organic and fresh and delicious.
Shakti, the owner, was wonderful, and, unlike many B&B owners, recognized that I’m on a holiday with my wife, and after a quick friendly chat, left us alone. (Many B&B owners seem more interested in chatting with guests than guests are to chat with them, in my experience.)
We stayed at the biggest room, and it was worth it. It was practically a house — very comfortable for a long weekend. The A/​C was a bit loud at night, but not a big problem. (Also, there is free Wifi, but I found that 3G through Sprint was faster.)
Great location, great food, great company. Highly recommended.
Can’t wait to go back!

My husband and I just returned from our visit to Austin for a anniversary/​bitrhday/​pre-​birth of our first child getaway. We absolutely loved our time at Park Lane! In fact, I think we spent more time relaxing, swimming, napping, and resting in our room more than we went out and ventured Austin.
We stayed in the Vicky House. It was really lovely. The bed is a loft bed, so it was a little difficult for my big ol’ preggo belly to climb up and down too much, but it felt safe and we enjoyed it.
The pool is shaded and tranquil. The vegetarian breakfasts were AMAZING!
Thanks so much to Shakti for all the hospitality!

I had the pleasure of staying here with my family earlier this month, and it was a very enjoyable experience. We stayed in the Garden Cottage, which was spacious and full of light. It was pretty pricey — $ 267/​night during the week and $ 293/​night during the weekends, for three guests.
The location is fantastic– it’s in a quiet residential area just a short walk to the shops and restaurants on South Congress. The pool area out back is quaint, and has a very «Austin» feel to it. There was an armoire in the living room full of books, DVDs, and Austin guidebooks. There were even free passes to the Austin Museum of Art!
They provide a vegetarian breakfast each morning (much to the dismay of my super carnivorous father), which was delicious. The owner is a fantastic cook! The toiletries they provided were organic, and smelled amazing.
Bonus: They have a small chicken coop in the yard, and it was full of chicks when we were there. Adorable!

Read the fine print!!!
It really was a quite darling place and we enjoyed our stay, however were very very surprised to be charged and extra $ 70/​night beyond the published rate because we slept 4 in the 4 person cottage. When I explained to the owner that I found the website confusing because of the following language
«…The living room offers a queen sleeper accommodating a party of 4… $ 222 weekday or $ 244 weekend/​holiday, $ 35 each additional guest.*
she reacted without acknowledging that anyone could have found this confusing at all. For a place covered with new agey peace and love symbolism I’m a little surprised at this inability to reach any kind of peace with a dissatisfied customer. Yes it’s in the fine print somewhere but the truth remains the website is misleading! A smarter business owner would have been able to resovle this completely by offering some small token in a situation like this, perhaps a small discount on a future stay (brilliant idea I know).
We were hardly there at all because of wedding activities all weekend and didn’t use the facilities or even have breakfast (after we refused breakfast the first morning it was never offered again, or even milk for our coffee or anything)
We travel to Austin several times a year for business and for fun but won’t be staying here again. There were quite a few other B&Bs nearby that looked awesome and we’ll try our luck with one of those. Peace.