Austin Condo Hotel — Hotel in Austin

The Good: Location.

Everything else: I love non-chain, boutique hotels. This is NOT a hotel. They are renting rooms out of the Natiivo Condo, without disclosing it.

To start, I never received a booking confirmation when I booked it in Jan for a March stay. Whether it was not sent or blocked in my spam, I do not know but never received. The morning of our flight to Austin, I received a long text message from Austin Condo Hotel welcoming me to the area and hotel. I was very confused and called to get more info. I explained I had two hotels booked and needed to make a decision of which to cancel and would call her back. She said I could just text her and that if we decided not to stay, they would still charge one night. The second hotel very very graciously waived the late cancellation fee for us.

The text message asked us not to go to the front desk but to meet the hotel employee in the coffee shop next door/attached instead to receive keys. We found this strange but continued nonetheless. The coffee shop/bar was bustling with patrons, some at the bar, some talking, others working on their computers - what you would expect of a coffee shop. It was super awkward to try to figure out who I would be meeting and just felt awkward. I eventually called out the person's name and he looked up from his laptop and 'checked' us into the hotel.

We only stayed a few minutes and left to explore. When we arrived back at the ‘hotel’ after 10pm, ready to crash, we pulled the pull-out bed for the kids and found disgustingly dirty sheets on the bed. I texted and called the hotel number numerous times to get a new set of sheets and received no response. During this time, I received a text message from a different number welcoming me to the hotel, letting me know I can message this new number if I need anything. I sent all the same messages and pictures to this number. Again, no response.

My husband found an extra flat sheet and we decided to at least put this down for them and get them into bed. There was only one washcloth in the room so we made due to clean up and get to bed to the best of our ability.

The condo includes a washer and dryer, as well as kitchen. But no soap or anything to clean anything! Thankfully, we were only staying two nights and would hardly be in the room. If you are staying longer, bring all your soaps and things with you because this is bare bones.

Finally, at 4pm the second day, I received a message apologizing for the fact that we were ignored all night and day. The message said that the housekeeper would be by to change the sheets and throw away the gross ones and a discount would be offered. I was sincerely thankful, explained where we left the stained sheets and asked for more washcloths. I was assured all would be right when we returned the second night. We got back to our room late again, there was at least washcloths for everyone to clean up but they didn’t touch the pull out.

We checked out Sunday morning and Monday morning I checked my credit card to see the full price being charged for our stay ($784.56). I called to inquire about the discount I was offered and was told I'd see a $54.91 credit in 3 to 5 business days. I said that I expected more and she agreed that it should be higher and would text me later that afternoon with a final credit amount. I requested half. At this point, the quality of the call was only adding to my frustration. It was like calling someone driving through a tunnel, not a HOTEL front desk.

The next day came and went and I heard nothing (shocking). I texted to ask what the discount would be and was told $100 even. Well, here we are 7 business days later and the refund posted to my credit card account is just $54.91.

Any one of these issues would not have been a complete nightmare if issues were responded to in real time. I should have known from the awkward first step into the coffee house asking if “Alan” was here. A complete sham. Be warned: If you are expecting a hotel, there are many actual hotels in Austin, this is...

I splurged on Austin Condo Hotel, and it was totally worth it.||There are many wonderful things about Austin Condo Hotel that other high end hotels don't offer. The most obvious one is that you are staying in your own one-bedroom condo with complete kitchen, full shower bathroom, living area with TV, separate bedroom with TV and closet, washer & dryer in utility closet, and semi-private balcony. Having a full kitchen was important to me for my many dietary restrictions where eating out often can cause me chronic health issues. Trader Joe's is a short Uber ride away. I don't recommend Ubering during rush hour though. I could have walked along the lake path to TJ's instead. It would have been a 30 min walk.||Also a great safety feature is that your key card must be used in the elevator and only allows you onto your floor. Yes, you can get to the Lobby, the Rooftop Pool, and the Fitness room too, but a rando can't just pop on by to your floor. There is always someone at the front desk too. It feels very safe.||While there's no room service and you can't "charge it to your room", there is still a nice cafe/wine bar off the lobby that features snacks as well as coffees and wines. There are always people there socializing or working or just enjoying their beverage and people watching. If you don't want to go anywhere but don't want to be alone, you can always spend time in the cafe downstairs or the rooftop pool upstairs. I tried relaxing and reading at the pool. I had a big "cabana," which is a wicker shaded double bed, all to myself, but the wind and the chill made it hard to concentrate on my book.||I did take advantage of the lovely path around the lake (Lady Bird Lake) which is half a block outside the front door. You're right on a lovely memorial garden that is one of the sights along the lake loop path. The loop itself is 10 miles and worth it to walk, jog, or bike. If you're a water fan, there are plenty of boat, kayak, and SUP rentals and tours along the lake. An evening trip on the lake to see the bats is a must. The bats in the S Congress Bridge are a wonderful sight and are a benefit to us as they feed on bugs like mosquitos.||I did not rent a car. It's a 15 min Uber ride from the airport, and Uber was very easy to catch at the hotel and get taken back to the hotel. Where I went, it was not a big expense.||What confused me was the location. The building is not marked as Austin Condo Hotel. It shares the space with Natiivo. That was confusing. It seems that Austin Condo Hotel is more of a hub for people who own an AirBnB type of condo rental. Each condo room you rent will have a different request of you for how to leave it, such as put all your used towels in the washing machine before you leave, or take out the garbage and recycling. I personally like to leave no trace, so I did my best to tidy up before leaving, which included cleaning out the refrigerator. I believe your AirBnB-like host is accessible to you via text message. My person reached out to me the first day and made themselves available to me for any questions I might have about how to use the condo or where things might be. They were very friendly and responsive.||I must admit, the day I was to check in, there was quite a SNAFU regarding registering and overcharging my card. I immediately called the number in the text message I received. I did get to speak with a manager and I related my nervousness as I was about to board my plane. Samantha, the Austin Condo Hotel manager on the phone, was amazing. She worked hard with me and for me in a very short amount of time and fixed all my issues, even as I was traveling and connecting. She was on top of things, very polite, available, and fully resolved my issues.||My experience was entirely worth what I paid. I am very happy with Austin Condo Hotel. If I return to Austin, I will definitely want to stay here again. I wish there were more Condo Hotels in large travel cities across the US. I'd love to have this experience...

I splurged on Austin Condo Hotel, and it was totally worth it.

There are many wonderful things about Austin Condo Hotel that other high end hotels don't offer. The most obvious one is that you are staying in your own one-bedroom condo with complete kitchen, full shower bathroom, living area with TV, separate bedroom with TV and closet, washer & dryer in utility closet, and semi-private balcony. Having a full kitchen was important to me for my many dietary restrictions where eating out often can cause me chronic health issues. Trader Joe's is a short Uber ride away. I don't recommend Ubering during rush hour though. I could have walked along the lake path to TJ's instead. It would have been a 30 min walk.

Also a great safety feature is that your key card must be used in the elevator and only allows you onto your floor. Yes, you can get to the Lobby, the Rooftop Pool, and the Fitness room too, but a rando can't just pop on by to your floor. There is always someone at the front desk too. It feels very safe.

While there's no room service and you can't "charge it to your room", there is still a nice cafe/wine bar off the lobby that features snacks as well as coffees and wines. There are always people there socializing or working or just enjoying their beverage and people watching. If you don't want to go anywhere but don't want to be alone, you can always spend time in the cafe downstairs or the rooftop pool upstairs. I tried relaxing and reading at the pool. I had a big "cabana," which is a wicker shaded double bed, all to myself, but the wind and the chill made it hard to concentrate on my book.

I did take advantage of the lovely path around the lake (Lady Bird Lake) which is half a block outside the front door. You're right on a lovely memorial garden that is one of the sights along the lake loop path. The loop itself is 10 miles and worth it to walk, jog, or bike. If you're a water fan, there are plenty of boat, kayak, and SUP rentals and tours along the lake. An evening trip on the lake to see the bats is a must. The bats in the S Congress Bridge are a wonderful sight and are a benefit to us as they feed on bugs like mosquitos.

I did not rent a car. It's a 15 min Uber ride from the airport, and Uber was very easy to catch at the hotel and get taken back to the hotel. Where I went, it was not a big expense.

What confused me was the location. The building is not marked as Austin Condo Hotel. It shares the space with Natiivo. That was confusing. It seems that Austin Condo Hotel is more of a hub for people who own an AirBnB type of condo rental. Each condo room you rent will have a different request of you for how to leave it, such as put all your used towels in the washing machine before you leave, or take out the garbage and recycling. I personally like to leave no trace, so I did my best to tidy up before leaving, which included cleaning out the refrigerator. I believe your AirBnB-like host is accessible to you via text message. My person reached out to me the first day and made themselves available to me for any questions I might have about how to use the condo or where things might be. They were very friendly and responsive.

I must admit, the day I was to check in, there was quite a SNAFU regarding registering and overcharging my card. I immediately called the number in the text message I received. I did get to speak with a manager and I related my nervousness as I was about to board my plane. Samantha, the Austin Condo Hotel manager on the phone, was amazing. She worked hard with me and for me in a very short amount of time and fixed all my issues, even as I was traveling and connecting. She was on top of things, very polite, available, and fully resolved my issues.

My experience was entirely worth what I paid. I am very happy with Austin Condo Hotel. If I return to Austin, I will definitely want to stay here again. I wish there were more Condo Hotels in large travel cities across the US. I'd love to have this experience...