Hotel Magdalena — Hotel in Austin

We stayed at Hotel Magdalena for 3 nights in August of 2025. We booked using our Chase Sapphire Reserve since this hotel is now featured on "the edit" by Chase. This gave us some extra perks but just wanted to add context of where we were at with our expectations and how they were met/not met.

OVERALL: This place was very very good. It was close to great IMO, but just a couple of things held it back from a 5 star stay for me. You will most likely really like this place if you are staying here for leisure. Let me start with the pros

PROS: Location - One of the best parts of the experience. SoCo is buzzing and it's awesome to be near it, while still being one street off the main drag for a little more peace and quiet.

Vibes - Great vibes. This place is way cooler than me. However, it's not pretentious at all. Staying at a place that feels this hip is definitely a plus and holds genuine value.

Pool - Hung out here for hours every day. Great chairs, not too crowded, and a great mix of sun and shade.

Soaps/Lotions - They feel premium!

One thing stood out to me in a negative way... CON:

Amenities - This was probably the most disappointing in our experience. On the website, they advertise bikes, which was something we were looking forward to, but in reality....this was a bit of a stretch. While they DID have bikes, only three of them were actually operating, and they were being used by other guests the entire time we were there. With no reservation system and only three bikes, it truly was just a lottery system. A similar thing happened with the yoga mats we requested. Other small things seemed to be in short supply as well. The room lacked basic hotel amenities. No ice machine, no seating outside of your bed, and most notably - no iron/board.

This was all disappointing given the price we paid.

We really enjoyed our stay and we think you would too! If you are here for business and need legitimate amenities, I wouldn't recommend this place. If you are here for vibes and a good time by the...

Hotel Magdalena is a pretty cool spot, but there are a lot of small, non-functional things about the rooms that were irritating (first world problems, I know). I’m kind of surprised by the high-ish rating here because everybody else in our group staying here mentioned various inconveniences about the rooms. I definitely won’t stay here again.

Pros: -Trendy and “vibey” -Amazing location -Smell of the toiletries is nice -Beer, liquor, and mixers in the mini-fridge -Valet guy was nice

Cons: -Had to wait ~10 minutes for valet upon arrival -Rooms are very dark, even with all the lights on and maxed out -Multiple lights were out / light switches didn’t work (room would still be dark even if they worked) -No iron or ironing board -Bed is really low to the ground and quite hard -No full length mirror -Sink in the living room -Sink mirror was far from the edge of the counter, and coupled with how dark our room was it was difficult for my wife to do her makeup (even during the day) -Housekeeping took our towels (that were hanging) and didn’t give us replacements -Not the hotel’s fault, but a truck (one of those large ones that beeps loudly when in reverse) was really loud on the street at 5 am on a Saturday -Says there should be milk in the mini-fridge for coffee but there isn’t any -Regular and decaf coffee pods are not labeled -Booklet in the room says complimentary coffee at Summer House M-Th 7-11 am and F-Su 7-9 am, but we were charged for it when we went Sunday around 8 am. We asked the front desk about it, and they said they changed it to complimentary room coffee service and didn’t offer to cover it. Nobody mentioned this, and it contradicts what’s in the room booklets. It was only $5 so not going to set me back financially, but it’s inconsistent messaging -Have to take multiple elevators to get to some rooms -Really loud outside at night (comes with the amazing location, so I can...

Best staycation in Austin! The moment we arrived and were met by the valet, we were treated like we were royalty. We walked up the steps through the greenery and towards the lobby and felt like we were instantly in another world filled with glamour and laughter. We were welcomed by the front desk staff (both Francis and Ivy) who took the time to find out what our plans were and they gave us some really great ideas for things to do both on and off the property. The rooms were modern and vibrant with well thought out additions, such as a mini fridge with Topo Chico, Shiner, Mexican cola in a bottle, other sodas and local snacks. The room had 6+ charging ports, a comfortable king sized bed and 4 plush pillows, a freezing cold air conditioning, which is necessary during these Austin Summers, and La Labo toiletries!! We saw a lovely pool with plenty of reclining chairs and a pool bar but we didn’t get to use it due to the rain we had during our stay. When we went to check out, we spent some time speaking to the managers Andy and Nicole and thanking them for such a wonderful stay. When I casually mentioned not being able to swim during our stay, they offered to let us swim today (after checkout) so we could enjoy the pool before we left!! Tips: If you’re a music lover and staying on the property between Monday night and Friday night, book a separate reservation in the equipment room downstairs to listen to the best high fidelity music (ask for the headphones)! If you’re staying at the hotel for a romantic evening, call the hotel before you arrive so they can help book you in a room further away from the pool and the elevators. Stay here if you want 5 star service and a really...