mstraveler

[Sorry may have sent a half finished message earlier by mistake] Need help figuring out where to stay in Austin for a weekend with the girls (sister and sister-in-law, all of us late 40's). Want to relax, hear some music, go to some interesting restaurants. Not big shoppers -would not want malls, but smaller, local street browsing would be fun. Hotel San Jose is booked and I know there is a home UT football game that weekend (which seems to be a big deal). Am considering not worrying too much about the exact place and just using Priceline (which I love), but I don't even have a clue about which area to bid in to be close to what we would want and not spend the weekend in the car (choices are: north, northwest arboretum, south airport, southwest, downtown, lakeaway lake travis and round rock).

Any helpl greatly appreciated!

Jayne1973

I'd say downtown, but you might want to go to biddingfortravel.com and check out the hotel listings for Austin, then visit some of those properties websites to get a better feel for what you might want.

mstraveler

I have been on the biddingfortravel site, but the problem is that I have no idea where I want to be. Rather than picking a hotel, I wouldl like to pick an area or neighborhood and see what I can do from there (priceline, websites etc.)

stjohnbound

With what you want to do, without a doubt you need to be downtown! Plenty of restaurants, funky small shops along S. Congress St. and live music. You can walk along Town Lake too. Any other place in Austin will require time spent in the car - traffic can be awful!

eely

avoid the hotel san jose if you like to sleep at night. paper thin walls and floors. beautiful to look at but a triumph of style over substance. nice bar but it interferes with guest enjoyment of the pool unless you're into exhibitionism. and the management doesn't care, two attempts to express our concerns via email were completely ignored.

kopp

Hello mstraveler - Football weekends don't "seem" to be a big deal - this is Texas and Saturday Longhorn Football is gospel. Many hotels downtown will already be booked up, especially depending on which Saturday game you'll be in town for.

Certainly the downtown district is best for street shopping, clubbing, and restaurants, but Priceline has a very large area that that encompasses. The Arboretum (if right at the Arboretum) is nice for upscale shopping and restaurants, but there's many large streets in the immediate vicinity so you'd need to know what your choices are before bidding.

I'd try checking into the downtown or Arboretum areas with the hotels directly first to see if they even have availbility. From there you can try your Priceline bidding. The other areas you mentioned are not close enough to anything to avoid lots of driving.

The recommendation for biddingfortravel is a good one, gives you hotels that have come up on Priceline. Once you have some hotels in mind, post them here and we'll try to help you out.

Welcome to Austin!

schoolmarm

I must jump in and put in my two cents. Having no idea what your budget is, you might check into the Barton Creek Resort @www.bartoncreek.com or the Lake Austin Spa Resort www.lakeaustin.com. (one of the best in the country).
You will definitely need a car for either place, but if you want a relaxing place for a girls' weekend, you can't go wrong. If those places are too far (Lake Austin Spa is off of RR 620 and 2222), you should try downtown (Driskill, Stephen F. Austin Intercontinental, Four Seasons, Hilton) or Hyatt or Embassy Suites (just south of the river), Doubletree Guest Suites on 15th St., or the Renaissance at the Arboretum. There are tons of chains like La Quinta also.
Good luck, and Hook 'em Horns! (You'll get it when you get here).

Austin

I say downtown too. THe arboretum area will require much time in a car. Have you check=ed out the Austin Motel? 1/2 block from San Jose. FUnky too.

Others: Hyatt, Raddisson, Omni (Downtown), Four Seasons ($$$, but I hear can be had on Priceline), Driskoll, Stephen F. Austin. There is also a wonderful new Hampton Inn I believe downtown. Right across the street from PF CHangs...And a brand new Hilton.

I'd bid downtown for sure.