It seems they are making efforts in the lobby to update this old hotel but the guest rooms still have a long ways to go. The staff could be a little more attentive. I was trying to check in and the person was constantly interrupted by other staff and sure enough my bill was wrong . This place was a little too pricey for what it was.

Needed a hotel for the night and choose this hotel. My dad is a smoker..I hate smoke, the rooms had balconies so it worked out great for both of us. Also had a cappacino at the bar and it was better than Starbucks! Would stay here again.

There are too many other, better hotels to choose from in the Austin area. This one has been renovated in recent years, so the lobby has a more modern look. We were here for 5 nights for a conference. The elevators are small, and none were working one morning so everyone was using the service elevator. The guest room bathrooms could use a lot of help. There were no hooks in the bathroom at all. No soap dish on the bathroom counter, so there was a soapy mess there. I finally folded a washcloth on which to lay the soap. The (very small) coffee maker, cups and supplies were located on the bathroom counter, which (you know if you've read any of my reviews) is a major pet peeve for me. Not only do they take up much-needed bathroom counter space, I cannot understand why any hotel would store these items in the most unsanitary room in the place -- hair, mildew, toothpaste spatters, yuck! Doing so should be a violation of sanitation regulations. We immediately moved it out of the bath, but did not use it during the week. There was no fan or ventilation in the bathroom, so it got hot and fogged up even though I do not take a very hot shower. There was mildew on the grout around the tub. The shower/tub curtain rod was stationary, bowed and too high, making the curtain too short, so that the curtain near the faucet-end of the tub would not stay in the tub and allowed water to run out onto the floor by the toilet. The lighting in the bathroom was not very bright and, in my opinion, made it difficult to see well for putting on makeup, etc. However, I am used to a bright light in our home bathroom, so others may not be as bothered by this. The bedroom itself was very spacious, comfortable and clean, and the king bed was a Sleep-Number bed, also very comfortable and clean. There was also a computer desk in the room and a nice, modern-styled sitting area. The front desk clerks were friendly and helpful, although there was often only one person there and there could be a wait if she was busy. There was a lobby bar and quick-food stand which offered great happy hour discounts. The hotel caters to groups, so there was another huge conference going on during our stay, making parking a little more difficult. Parking is complimentary. The best thing about this hotel, in my opinion, was the restaurant. The food here was fantastic, much better than any other hotel at which I've stayed in the area and as good as any (and better than many) local restaurants. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they offer menu service and a breakfast buffet. Even though the hotel was crowded with guests, their breakfast buffet moved quickly and was well furnished. The wait staff was exceptional. There always seemed to be plenty of seating and no wait for service, regardless of what meal we were having. They also catered some meals for events while we were there, and the Chef did an outstanding job! There is a nice patio area in back of the hotel. Considering the renovations apparently done throughout the rest of the hotel, I was surprised by the lack of attention to detail in the bathrooms. The area surrounding the hotel was not great -- the bus station is across the street, as is a large vacant building on which graffiti was sprayed while we were there. There was an almost-vacant mall behind the hotel, which I heard was being converted to a community college in the near future. There was virtually nothing pleasing to look at in the area surrounding the hotel at this time, but it was easy (although convoluted) access to the freeway. There are tons of hotels in and around Austin. Choose a different one, but get a meal here if you want a good place to go without fighting a crowd.

My sister and I attended a scrapbooking weekend at this hotel. The scrapbooking took place in their ballroom. It was convenient for us, driving in from Beaumont, although a little confusing to find, as it sits very near the crossing of two major highways, Interstate 35 and US Highway 290. We were next to a Mall, but never explored it. The food places around (except in the hotel) were few and far between, which meant getting in our vehicle when we needed food!

The hotel is very nice, with a lovely lobby/snack/bar area very near the front doors. There is not a bell staff (or we never saw anyone), so loading and unloading all our paraphanalia was left to us. We just loaded it all on a cart and took it to our room!

We had two catered meals as part of our scrapbooking, which were delicious, well presented and delicious, one Mexican food and one Italian.

Our room was spacious enough for both of us, our king size bed was comfortable and the linens were clean. There was even furniture to move around and set up computer stations for both of us. We also had free Wi-Fi, but I had trouble with it every day. My sister's computer picked it up fine, but I had to make adjustments on mine to get it to work....older computer running XP.

All in all a good experience! I would recommend this hotel to anyone.