Postcard Cabins Hill Country, Outdoor Collection by Marriott Bonvoy — Hotel in Wimberley

Review||||This is my honest review of Getaway House Austin/San Antonio.||I have camped my entire life with tents, RV’s and cabins. We thought we would give this a try for the seclusion aspect over Christmas due to immense loss in our family this year. We stayed with just my husband and myself. I am actually shocked by all of the amazing reviews. There are a few good points, but well outweighed by the bad. For the price, we expected a much better execution and experience.||||First the good:||The cabin itself was almost as advertised. It was very small and clean. I did wash all the dishes upon arrival. See bad below.||||We had an outdoor fire pit with 2 nice chairs and a picnic table, plus a nice amount of space behind our cabin to walk the dogs.||||There is firewood, coffee, tea, etc for purchase although pricey.||||There were treats left for the dogs and a free s’mores kit for us. That was a nice touch.||||The bad:||We purchased the sustenance box and requested no marinara sauce for the pasta due to a health issue (I cannot eat anything tomato based due to terrible acid reflux, which we told them). We were told no substitutions for the sauce, so we brought our own. However, the soup they left us was vegetable with a tomato base. So that was a total waste.||||The cabins are pretty close together. You can absolutely see an hear your neighbors. We had neighbors on either side of us who were VERY loud. We could hear very loud music coming from one side for the first half of our stay. The other side had a large group visiting them and the loud talking and yelling was terrible. The rules state quiet hours 24/7, and no visitors, however, it is up to the renters to self regulate, which doesn’t happen. ||||The cabins are extremely close to the drive to all the cabins, and there were constant cars coming in and out, as well as people walking the road, etc. There is no seclusion or privacy. In addition, there was, I assume, a staff vehicle that was constantly up and down the road with a wheel bearing going out, the noise was terrible and went on all day.||||The card in the cabin upon arrival stated that the staff does not accept tips, but to please wash all dishes and tidy up upon leaving. Nice in theory, but we are in the midst of COVID, which is why I washed all the dishes upon arrival. I am glad I did, as we were there as they turned one of the cabins. It took them about an hour to clean the cabin for the next guest. We were glad that loud music cabin left!||||There is no sink in the bathroom, so one sink for cooking, dishes, hand washing, brushing of teeth, etc. Not great. The soap provided for hand washing and dishes is Dawn dish soap, so not ideal for hand washing.||||Perfect Cell signal throughout, so if you have teenagers, lock up the phones because they will have full access.||||There is only one plug throughout. We ordered the decorating kit for Christmas and used it for the lights, but if you need electricity for anything else, like a CPap, you will need an extension cord as it is right next to the door and not the bed.||||There is one tiny, hand held mirror in the whole cabin. Not that you really need a mirror, but brushing hair etc, can be an issue.||||There is no awning or covered outdoor seating whatsoever, so if it rains, you are strictly inside, or wet.||||The hiking trail is very small and not pretty, just a path trough brush and cedar trees. It abuts a pretty ugly metal building complex on another piece of property. Not much to see. Any other trails in the area, you have to drive to (not really the point of a getaway).||||The wood for purchase is 3 pieces, and $8.00, bring your own.||||And, Finally, the worst part was the non-existent water pressure. We had to leave the shower running for a long time to get anything more than a trickle, and even after that it was more of a glorified sponge bath. It was never enough pressure to come out of the entire shower head. I have A LOT of hair and could not get the shampoo rinsed out completely. I gave up and used the sink to finish which had a BIT more pressure.||||In closing, the IDEA of this getaway is good, the execution is sub par. You would be better off renting a cabin in a state park. Better rates, great water pressure,...

Update. I was contacted by customer support and given a small credit to our original purchase as well as a $50 credit to use on another stay. We will try a different Texas location in the future Austin/San Antonio. I have camped my entire life with tents, RV’s and cabins. We thought we would give this a try for the seclusion aspect over Christmas due to immense loss in our family this year. We stayed with just my husband and myself. There are a few good points, but well outweighed by the bad. For the price, we expected a much better execution and experience. First the good: The cabin itself was almost as advertised. It was very small and clean. I did wash all the dishes upon arrival. See bad below. We had an outdoor fire pit with 2 nice chairs and a picnic table, plus a nice amount of space behind our cabin to walk the dogs. There is firewood, coffee, tea, etc for purchase although pricey. There were treats left for the dogs and a free s’mores kit for us. That was a nice touch. The bad: We purchased the sustenance box and requested no marinara sauce for the pasta due to a health issue (I cannot eat anything tomato based due to terrible acid reflux, which we told them). We were told no substitutions for the sauce, so we brought our own. However, the soup they left us was vegetable with a tomato base. So that was a total waste. The cabins are pretty close together. You can absolutely see an hear your neighbors. We had neighbors on either side of us who were VERY loud. We could hear very loud music coming from one side for the first half of our stay. The other side had a large group visiting them and the loud talking and yelling was terrible. The rules state quiet hours 24/7, and no visitors, however, it is up to the renters to self regulate, which doesn’t happen. The cabins are extremely close to the drive to all the cabins, and there were constant cars coming in and out, as well as people walking the road, etc. There is no seclusion or privacy. In addition, there was, I assume, a staff vehicle that was constantly up and down the road with a wheel bearing going out, the noise was terrible and went on all day. The card in the cabin upon arrival stated that the staff does not accept tips, but to please wash all dishes and tidy up upon leaving. Nice in theory, but we are in the midst of COVID, which is why I washed all the dishes upon arrival. I am glad I did, as we were there as they turned one of the cabins. It took them about an hour to clean the cabin for the next guest. There is no sink in the bathroom, so one sink for cooking, dishes, hand washing, brushing of teeth, etc. Not great. The soap provided for hand washing and dishes is Dawn dish soap, so not ideal for hand washing. Perfect cell signal throughout, so if you have teenagers, lock up the phones because they will have full access. There is only one plug throughout. We ordered the decorating kit for Christmas and used it for the lights, but if you need electricity for anything else, like a CPap, you will need an extension cord as it is right next to the door and not the bed. There is one tiny, hand held mirror in the whole cabin. Not that you really need a mirror, but brushing hair etc, can be an issue. There is no awning or covered outdoor seating whatsoever, so if it rains, you are strictly inside, or wet. The hiking trail is very small and not pretty, just a path trough brush and cedar trees. It abuts a pretty ugly metal building complex on another piece of property. Not much to see. Any other trails in the area, you have to drive to (not really the point of a getaway). The wood for purchase is 3 pieces, and $8.00, bring your own. And, Finally, the worst part was the non-existent water pressure. We had to leave the shower running for a long time to get anything more than a trickle, and even after that it was more of a glorified sponge bath. It was never enough pressure to come out of the entire shower head. In closing, the execution is sub par. You are better off renting a cabin in a State Park. More seclusion, room, and good...

We've stayed in their 2 bed cabins twice. The first time was Oct last year. We left the next day after a terrible night's sleep because we realized the whole cabin was far from level. Essentially we slept with our heads downhill. Also, as others noted, the AC unit was right beside the bed and was too loud to even stay asleep. They kindly offered a 1 night credit which we redeemed for this recent trip.

This recent trip was a big improvement from the last. The cabin was nice and level and they installed a new, quieter mini split unit above the kitchen counter area. Oddly, they didn't remove the bulky old unit beside the bed. The mini fridge door was ajar when we arrived and so the interior was not cold. There was significant frost buildup at the back wall of the fridge. There was also a tick crawling across the table but it was quickly squashed and there was no other sign of bugs inside.

I would say these cabins are great for couples more than families. They allow dogs but not cats. The cabins are much too small for large dogs or more than 1 child. If the weather is rainy, you will not enjoy being here. The outdoor space is essential for stretching out and being comfortable. The beds are comfortable and the linens decent. The hot water shower is great but the stall is narrow and the shower head is not adjustable. Curiously it will only spray at or above head level but not point down. The tap water is drinkable but it is very hard water and tastes salty. Bring water if you don't like salty coffee. The two burner cooktop is handy but the elements are very close together so using two pans at the same time is tricky. They provide non stick cookware that is very scratched. I recommend bringing your own. 5G cell service there was very good. The general store is not where you go to pick up food essentials. It's more of a a place to pick up games, books, toys and other non-essentials.

Overall we're glad we tried the cabins out because we've been curious to try out tiny living. It was an interesting experience. Cost of the min 2 night stay can be spendy though... especially if you don't get to use the firepit due to a fireban or...