short visit to Austin-accomodations
 

I'll be going to Austin in November for a friends wedding. The church is on Jollyville road. We want to find a place close to the church but also plan to take in the Austin nightlife. Any suggestions?

I don't know where Jollyville Rd. is...but...I would suggest staying at either sanjosehotel.com or austinmotel.com. Both are located on S Congress. Everything you need as a visitor is there...good eats, music, great hanging out.

Two votes for Hotel San Jose. I don't know where Jollyville Rd. is, either. But the San Jose is trés cute and affordable and about a mile from all the serious hot spots. When in Austin, I usually stay at the Driskill or the Intercontinental. Both are very central and a super quick jaunt to the nightlife.

Jolleyville Road is in NW Austin and nowhere near S. Congress.

I did a search on Orbitz using the address of Jolleyville Road and there are many nice places to choose from. Check this out:

http://www.orbitz.com/App/ViewHotelS...e=interstitial

FWIW, Jollyville Road appears to run north from the Arboretum, roughly parallel to Hwy 183 until it intersects with 183 just south of the Williamson County line.

Jollyville road goes for a few miles. It's in far NW Austin. If it's the South end of Jollyville, that's near the Arboretum - great shopping, nice hotel - the Renaissance Austin Hotel. It's beautiful, and pricey. There are some smaller hotels I believe on 183. I don't get to that part of town much, except I'll be heading that way tmrw. I'll try to look around.

Don't know if you'll have a car, but a cab ride to downtown Austin would probably be aobut $20. Just a guess. If you want suggestions for nightlife, let us know what interests you.

I second the suggestion for the Renaissance at the Arboretum, especially if you want to be close to the wedding location. There are some nice restaurants in that area-Manuel's for Mexican food or P.F. Changs to name a couple. You can always drive downtown if you're looking for more nightlife activity. If you want to stay downtown I'd look into the Driskill or Stephen F. Austin Hotel at 701 Congress. There are tons of chain hotels as well.

Check www.biddingfortravel.com and bid on Priceline. I always get the Hyatt Regency Austin for $46 a night.

sanjose or austinmotel is where i would stay but they are far from the wedding. unfortunately, austin is very newly overbuilt so hotels with local flavour are few and far between - and non-existent in the north part of town. there are many newer chain hotels in that area so if you really need to stay close to the wedding i would just pick one of the national chains with the best price.

personally, i don't like the renaissance and i can't imagine staying there on my own dime (i have stayed there many times for work). it's basically in the middle of a shopping mall, the parking is horrible, and it's really just a business hotel. pf changs is a fancy chinese restaurant chain with valet parking (in the middle of the suburbs!). stay away. Manuels is good but i prefer the downtown location (on congress, if i remember).

in my opinion, you will need to head into town to get a feel for the city. The north (jollyville area) is all full of the strip malls built in the dot com run up to 2000.

if you like blues, check out joe's generic bar on 6th street (i hope it's still there - maybe it's an applebees now). be warned - it's a total dive and may not look so welcoming or even safe but trust me...it is.

for nightlife, check out club deville on red river. they have the best cocktails in town...very cool atmosphere both inside and out in the yard surrounded by limestone cliffs.

for breakfast, try the "burnett road burrito" at taco shack on the butt end of burnett road near the rosedale neighborhood.

stay away from the oasis on lake travis (typically considered a must for visitors- but it knows it). if you must have a view of the lake, go to iguana instead.

for lunch, head to Ski Shores Cafe on a secluded part of lake austin. This is a substitute for Hula Hut which is more the typical lake austin suggestion. HH is ok but ski shores is more uniquely austin.

on south congress, check out gueros and el sol y la luna for dinner.

stubb's bbq has good TX bbq and a nice atmosphere. it's a popular choice but deserves its good reputation.

if any austinite knows that these places have closed (or worse remodeled themselves), please don't tell me or i might cry.

I'd like to add Lounge and the Red Fez -- both are bars -- in the warehouse district. I always go here when in Austin!