Prior to moving into our new house, we were bouncing back and forth between Austin and Dallas. We needed to head down to Austin for closing and knew we would need a couple nights in a hotel. We ultimately decided to stay at the W Austin, which is a property I’ve stayed at a few times before. Though it had some quirks, it fit our needs for this trip well.
Booking
We booked our three night stay directly through Marriott.com. We booked a standard king room, which the W brands as a ‘Wonderful’ room and were upgraded to a ‘Spectacular’ room prior to check in thanks to my Marriott Titanium status.
Location
The W Austin is located on Lavaca Street, one of the main north/south streets through downtown Austin, between 2nd and 3rd streets. It’s adjacent to city hall and within walking distance of most parts of downtown Austin.
Lobby/Check-In
Downtown is fairly close to the Austin airport so 20 minutes after retrieving our car, we were pulling up curbside at the hotel. The valet took our keys and a bellman loaded our luggage onto a cart and showed us to check in. The W lobby can be fairly dark, especially at night as it has a nightclub feel to it. We were quickly checked in and notified of the aforementioned upgrade to a ‘Spectacular’ room.
Room
Our room was located on the 14th floor of the hotel so we took the elevator up and made our way to Room 1406. Immediately upon entering the room there was a bar area in front of you, separating the entryway from the bedroom. The bar had some glassware, a shaker, ice bucket, wine opener and a couple bottles of water.
To the right was the restroom which had an open sink and shower area along with a closed off room for the toilet. For travelers who don’t want to get up close and personal with their roommate, the hotel does have a curtain that can be used to block off the bathroom. The shower also featured single use toiletries from MOMO/.
Moving into the bedroom, there was a desk area on the left that also housed the TV and a Nespresso machine. I love when hotels have these instead of a standard coffee maker.
To the right was a comfortable king size bed flanked by some decent sized nightstands .
In a cubby near the bed there was a tray of snacks available for purchase.
Finally, near the windows, there was a funky couch that had a small cocktail table that went over it. I’m not sure how this was meant to be used comfortably, and we didn’t try.
The room faced south, overlooking the lake and the 1st Street bridge. In my previous stays here, I have always been lucky enough to get a room overlooking Lady Bird Lake.
Common Areas
The W Austin has a ton of various rooms on the first floor that are open for guests. The first of which is ‘The Living Room’, which is set up as a standard seating space during the day. At night, it is converted into a clublike lounge and sometimes features DJs on the weekend.
The Living Room area also features a bar with some deep red mood lighting which draws a decent crowd each night. The picture below is just before opening.
There was also a record room which featured a large fireplace and a wall of floor to ceiling records. This was mostly for show as there wasn’t an actual record player you could use. They did have a DJ set up here at night though.
Restaurant
The hotel’s main restaurant, Trace, is located at the rear of the building through the maze of spaces that make up ‘The Living Room’. It’s difficult to find at first but by the third day I had the route figured out (I’m only slightly joking here).
Our complimentary breakfast, thanks to my Bonvoy status, was held here each morning. We didn’t otherwise eat at the restaurant but the menu read as follows.
The breakfast was good, but not great. I had the Trace breakfast while Mrs. ATX Jetsetter had the avocado toast.
Pool
The W Austin has a great pool, especially during the week. On the weekends however they host a pool party which can be attended by those that are not guests at the hotel. This leads to a packed pool atmosphere which is far from relaxing. Thankfully, there is a secluded area that can only be accessed by hotel guests and the staff does a good job of keeping non-guests out. On our one visit to the pool, we went down just as the pool club was winding down and the staff quickly kicked out those that weren’t staying once it ended. Here’s a glimpse of a typical Sunday at the hotel pool.
Summary
While the W isn’t for everybody we enjoyed our stay at the hotel. It’s very lively, especially on the weekends, and its location in the heart of Austin leads to some great people watching. Younger travelers who don’t have kids in tow and those more focused on leisure will probably enjoy their hotel stay more than parents and business travelers. Though we don’t have much of a need for hotels in Austin, I would stay here again if the need arose.
