Hilton Garden Inn Austin University Capitol District — Hotel in Austin

This place has several amenities that are important to anyone traveling by car or with a family. They do not have any of the amenities that children would like, like a pool. The other major negative about this place is the parking. There is no parking lot and you have to park on the street. You can park in a parking building but the rates are very high.. valet parking was about $75 per day. The staff was very nice and cordial. They were trying to help with everything they could that's within their limit. They did not have any type of free continental breakfast. They did have a restaurant upstairs that served a buffet style breakfast. It turned out to be $40 per person. I don't think that breakfast needs to cost that much. We did look at the items and they look pretty standardized. We decided not to eat there because of the inflation of this price. Completely outrageous.

Something that happened that was not directly related to this particular stay. I was able to get a parking spot almost in front of the building. From 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. parking is free but you need to go and pay for parking by 8:00. If you don't then you will get a $75 ticket. I got up early and paid for the parking for an additional 2 hours. By 10:00 a.m. I went back to the meter to add some more time only to find I got a parking ticket. The parking stub I got from the meter said that I was good until 10:00 a.m. but the ticket was written at 9:06. A.m.. how did the meter maid not see this? I spent about an hour trying to contact the city of Austin with zero help. I kept getting automated systems and was almost impossible to talk to anyone. When I finally did get to talk to someone they said that I would have to talk to the courts and deal with them. I called them and told them that I would like to come by and show my ticket so that I can get this infraction expunged. They said that I have to wait 24 to 48 hours so that the meter maid can download the tickets into their system. I asked them if they could call the officer and they said no. I decided to drive around downtown. Looking for a meter maid to see if I can locate this officer. I did find one but was not the one that wrote me the ticket. They were able to contact the officer for me and I spoke to her on the phone. She was extremely rude and not understanding. She told me that there's no way for her to change anything because the ticket is already in the system. We know that's not true. While she was saying this, the officer in front of me was nodding his head saying that she can change it to a warning but she decided not to do that. I asked her if she could help me in any way and she said that I have to deal with the courts. Talking to her was completely useless. At the location where I was parked. I spoke to a couple of the businesses in the area and they all knew this officer and told me how bad of a person she is. She will write tickets even if everything is paid for. Everyone says that she had some type of chip on her shoulder. The officer I was talking to said that their office was a couple blocks down the road. I decided to go to their office and talk to the supervisor. I explained my case in detail along with all the supporting documentation. He was in 100% agreeance with me and changed the ticket to a warning. He had contacted the officer and told her what she did. When I talked to the supervisor I explained all of the information that I gathered and he said he will have a sit down with this individual. I hope they can get something resolved and get her attitude changed. With this type of interaction, it makes me not want to stay anywhere near the downtown area. All in all with everything that happened, this was a pretty rough experience because it was my birthday vacation.

If you plan to go there, make sure that you are 100% aware of the parking situation. It's much worse than you...

Great customer service affects how your business will operate. People will forget what you said to them, but they will never forget how they were treated. Yesterday, I arrived at this hotel on business. There was a delay of room service that I needed, so I was given a voucher to get a complimentary appetizer. Today, I decided to take advantage of using that voucher. After I worked out at the fitness center I went to the bar. I noticed that there were two bartenders and the bar was pretty full, but there was a spot for me to stand or sit down at. I decided to stand because I was going to be brief and then walk away to do something. I stood at the bar about five minutes, possibly longer, waiting to be serviced. I stood there long enough to watch one bartender make eye contact with me three times and never spoke to me. I stood there long enough to watch this same bartender service a man who walked up to the bar to close out his tab. I stood there long enough to watch this same bartender ask other guests questions who were at the bar. I stood there long enough to where the woman who was sitting next to me noticed the rudeness and decided to be kind to me by having small talk. I do not know if this is a race thing and he didn’t want to serve a black person, but this is the second time I have had poor customer service from the bartenders here. My first visit here in Austin, the woman bartender with the blonde hair was rude to me. This is my second visit here and now I am experiencing the same thing. Everyone who is a bartender is not rude, but everyone who is a bartender needs a training class on customer service. It is unacceptable and very unprofessional to have a guest waiting more than 30 seconds to be acknowledged. It is extremely unprofessional to make eye contact and don’t even speak. I was so irritated I gave my voucher back to the front desk clerk and informed her that the bar will no longer get any of my service as long as I am staying within this hotel. I will get my food and drinks elsewhere. Other than the bar issues, the customer service at the front desk is top tier! They are everything that the bar is not! They are more friendly, helpful, respectful, kind and...

Loved our recent visit to the Hilton Garden Inn Austin University Capitol area!

Pros: -Very friendly and helpful staff. -Newer hotel so everything looked fresh and modern. Nice fitness center and the rooftop views from the 17th floor were terrific. Great location that felt very safe - five minute walk to the Capitol and Bullock Museum and within walking distance to the UT campus and 6th street district. -The deluxe queen Capitol view room was very spacious especially for families and came with a mini fridge and microwave. -Housekeeping came in daily to make the beds, empty the trash, and replenish towels and toiletries. -We booked the breakfast buffet package and felt that it was well worth it. Didn’t have to hunt for food in the morning, and there were a variety of options that were rotated daily (bacon, sausage, eggs, pancakes, French toast, pastries, yogurt, fruit, OJ & coffee). Staff there were also very helpful. -24 hour valet service and attendants were superb. Very quick to retrieve our vehicle, which came back to us from the parking garage with no issues.

Cons (minor - no deal breakers!): -Noise level was a minor issue but only on our last night (let’s just say the next door neighbors were very exuberant, which is really awkward when you’re traveling with kids - we just turned up the TV!). -The bathroom barn door was really difficult to stay closed. -Our “Capitol view” was mostly a view of a parking garage and a construction crane in front of the Capitol building but that was really no fault of the hotel. On the plus side, we had a great view of where our car was parked and could keep an eye on it overnight. 😊 -Valet fees are around $60 w/tax per night, but we knew that when booking and expected it downtown.

Overall, we loved our visit and would definitely stay again if we return...