I have stayed in alot of hotels of some notoriety, including the chelsea. this is charming, but not as comfortable and more pretense of hip than history.

I had originally wanted to stay at The Hotel San Jose, another "boutique" hotel right next door to the Austin Motel, but thought the price was too steep. And, I have to admit, I generally stay away from "motels". I took a chance on this one based on the GREAT price and past reviews from tripadvisor.
Well, it worked out much better than I hoped. I personally loved the SOCO location and much prefer it to downtown Austin. In SOCO, you really experience the true culture of Austin. Plus, if you're up for walking, it's not far at all to walk over the bridge and all over downtown.
The motel is well cared for, nice staff, and the pool area is very pretty and nicely done. Other people staying there seemed like upper-middle class couples, families, etc. - so, nice clientele overall - not overrun with college kids acting like idiots, etc.
The room was clean but VERY basic - no luxuries there at all! Nowhere to hang clothes - just a dresser. But, we had one of the older rooms in the back. I think all of the rooms are different and some of the ones more towards the front looked renovated with more amenities, etc. But, for our price of $65.- per night including taxes, it was incredible. I would definitely recommend this motel for those that like SOCO - this area has great restaurants (Gueros), cool music clubs (The Continental Club), coffee shops (Jo's) and funky, hip antique, furniture, and jewelry boutiques! Plus, you're sooo close to the SC Bridge and the bats that fly out at sunset! Also, for those that want cheap accomodation but don't want to give up cleanliness and again, the pool area itself makes it worth staying there.

You know, I'm not sure what would prompt anyone to write a negative review of this embarrsingly affordable, funky (over-used, I know) & friendly motel. We made our first trip to Austin last summer and part of our memories of that great time always includes the Austin Motel. For us, it is part of the experience of taking in Austin.