Austin, TX Hotel
 

Looking for a downtown hotel for a business trip. Due to flight schedules, will need to stay 2 nights and will have a good bit of free time on our hands. Would like to be able to walk to restaurants, etc. Is downtown the best place? I know nothing about Austin, other than it's supposedly a pretty cool city. Thanks.

There are some great hotels in downtown. I personally prefer the Sheraton, even though it sits right next to I-35. I've never had a problem with any noise, though. One reason I like it is that I can crawl to it from 6th street if I have to...

Oh yeah, the Hyatt was really nice the last time I stayed there, too.

San Jose Hotel...on S. Congress, rather then downtown, but quite a hip little area w/ some restaurants and shops. Hyatt Town Lake is on Town Lake, and right across the Congress BRidge from downtown proper. Plus there is a Dillo bus that runs right across the street from it.

For nice downtown there is Stephen F. Austin hotel on 7th and Congress. Right in teh hub, but not the noise of 6th street. There is also the Driskell on 6th street (6th street is clubs...but in my mind, more for the college student). High end. The better restaurants and clubs are in the Warehouse District, and there is an ExtendedStay a walkable distance from there ("walkable" is relative, but there are tons of buses in the area that you can get on if you need to, and cabs if you want to call one).

Austin is a very fun place to visit. Make sure you get a tie-dyed t-shirt with 'Keep Austin Weird' on it from a downtown merchant. I really like the music store near the Capital.

We stayed at the Doubletree Guest Suites and had the courtesy van tour us around. The young man gave us his card and we called him from the Driskill, etc when we wanted to be picked up. It is a swanky all suites hotel.

We walked around Sixth Street and had dinner at The Boiling Pot where you order seafood by the pounds and they dump it on your table. We enjoyed pounding away with our mallets.

Hope you enjoy your stay.

Hotel San Jose is wonderful. Funky, spotlessly clean, very hip. Close to downtown, but not quite walking distance. Be sure to tour the Capital, it is really cool.