We stayed at the Austin in mid March. We go to Hot Springs every year at that time, but usually rent a large house with friends. This year, we decided to stay at the Austin due to the close proximity to the St. Patrick's Day parade and concert. Never again. The lobby area looks nice, but our room was a dump. There was hair all over the bathroom sink when we arrived and the air conditioner in the room did not work. I called the front desk right away and was told that they would send someone right up to fix it. Our friends were waiting for us to go to dinner, so after about 45 minutes, I called the front desk again to let them know we were going out, and to have the maintenance team come in and fix the a/c while we were out. We returned several hours later to find that the a/c was still out of order. I called the front desk again and the girl I spoke to acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. I requested a room change, but the hotel was completely full due to the holiday. I was getting very frustrated at this point and asked to speak to a manager. Apparently, there was no one in charge in the entire place, but the girl took my number and said she would leave him a message to call the next morning. She finally sent someone up to help. The young man was very nice and apologetic about the situation, but he was obviously not in maintenance. We finally figured out that we could at least turn on the fan to get us through the night and he would send the real maintenance guy in the morning. This temporary fix was better than the alternative of sleeping in the floor in our friends' room across the hall, so we gave up and went to bed. The next morning, we didn't hear from the manager or maintenance, so I called the front desk again. This time, two very helpful maintenance men came up right away with a new unit that they swapped out in a matter of minutes. The two guys that took care of this said they had no idea that there had been a problem the day before because maintenance was never called. I finally got in touch with the manager about our miserable night and he refunded the first nights stay. We would have went elsewhere for the second night, but we had already paid and couldn't find anything else in the area due to the parade and St. Paddy's Day events. I will never stay at this hotel again and would not recommend it to my worst enemy.

The building itself is older, but the service more than makes up for it. I had my cat with me, and they made him welcome also. A/C works great! Staff was very friendly and helpful. No waiting at check in or check out.

I've been staying at the Austin for several years during the month of July as we attend our annual Holy Convocation meeting. I booked a double for my daughter & myself. When I arrived they had changed my reservation to a King. I asked the desk clerk why, and was told that the air had gone out in a couple of the rooms & they had tagged my reservation with a note..."no doubles available". I checked my reservation two days before I arrived to make sure we had a non-smoking, double and was told yes. A different desk clerk told me that although you might request a certain room...you're not guaranteed what you request. Never heard that before. The ice machine did not work on our floor {10th}. Had to go down to 9th floor for ice.
Comfort Inn and suites looks better for next year.

It has been 10 years since I actually stayed in downtown Hot Springs, and the Austin Convention Hotel & Spa hasn't had a thing done to it since then. I was checked in promptly, even though my room wasn't ready at 5:30PM. The front desk switched me to a Queen Single, which happened to be located at the extreme end of the floors (the way the hotel is shaped this makes sense).

The carpet in the main hallway of my floor was dirty, dingy and had stains. The carpet in my room wasn't much better. The furniture was scratched, very old, and not functional. I hadn't seen an old push button phone like was in the room in years.

The bedding was clean, and the bathroom was very clean. Everything in the room screamed 15+ years old. From the chairs, to the cabinets, to the old tub/shower combo. The elevators always had a line, and you cannot take stairs from the lobby up to your floor. The stairwell has alarms on both floor 2, and floor 1 if you are in the stairwell already. It forces you to take the elevator.

The ice machine was rusted, and the floor under the vending machine looked like it hadn't been cleaned in years. My room air conditioner had one setting - A/C high. The thermostat didn't work, so I had to turn the A/C on and off to regulate the temperature in my room. When I asked for maintenance, I was informed that they had already left for the day, and that there was nothing they could do. They did send up the bellboy to make sure I knew how to use the antiquated unit. He was very pleasant and helpful, and agreed that the unit was broken.

The restaurant staff was pleasant and a joy. They were understaffed, and the women that waited on us let us know this right up front. The food was good, and not overpriced like it is usually in a hotel.

I was traveling with friends, and they were underwhelmed with the hotel also. We ended up checking out after one night, and continued on our motorcycle trip the next day.

The hotel is convenient to the tourist trap part of the city. It had free parking in a garage a block down the road.

I would recommend staying at the Arlington - a few more dollars, but a much better facility.