Any suggestions for nice hotels near UT Austin??

[rainbow4321]

Taking my daughter down there next week for new student orientation at UT...any suggestions on the best hotel to stay at? We'll be in one from Tuesday night til she moves in Friday morning...busy all day with college stuff but want things to do in the evening--pool, nice restaurant, etc...
I'm looking for a place where we can kinda treat/spoil ourselves for a few nights since this is my oldest's "big send off" and probably our last mom-daughter get together for a long time!

I booked a room at Marriott (Capitol) for right now but is there a better place you guys can suggest??


Thanks in advance!!!

[TheCentepedeShoes]

1. The only place I've stayed in Austin

is the Driskell. Last time was in 1999 and I understand they have done some nice remodelling since then. Plus, I here it's haunted.

[crispini]

8. The Driscoll is very nice! nt

[PDittie]

2. The Doubletree on IH-35 is quite nice

It was the DemocracyFest attendees' hotel of choice.

Very clean, comfortable, breakfast buffet has hot items, high speed net access is free...

[Red_Viking]

3. The Driscoll is very cool

And, authentically Austin. Downtown, not far from UT. There is also the Omni and the Four Seasons. But, the Driscoll has great local flavor and is right on 6th Street.

I'm a native Austinite, lived there all my life until moving last summer to Oregon to attend law school (I'm 39). I also attended UT, and loved the experience. Best of luck to your daughter! UT is a terrific school, and Austin is a great town. She'll have a great time.

Peace,

RV

[sonias]

4. The Mariott is OK and closer to UT

If you want more of the local flavor of Austin then I would recommend that you try either of these hotels on S. Congress
The Austin Motel http://www.austinmotel.com/
or The San Jose Motel http://www.sanjosehotel.com/

Both of these hotels are in the cool and funky South Congress area. New, trendy apartment buildings, coffee shops, shopping, and restaurants etc. Lots of good walking tour type of things to do here over the Mariott, unless you just want to see the Capitol. UT is located 19 blocks north of the Colorado River. The Marriott is on 11th or 12th street so that's 7-8 blocks from UT. Both of the Motels above are South of the River but it's a pretty straight shot north on Congress. You'll be able to see the capitol from your motel. The capitol is located on a street named Congress Avenue that runs north to south. But when that same street meets UT property on the north side, it becomes Speedway. Go figure; this is Austin and we like to keep things weird. You can't drive through the capitol of course, but if you were a bird it would be a straight shot.

Good luck to your daughter next week. Wherever you stay just keep it weird and you'll have lots of fun. Every bit of central city is true blue!

Hook'em horns!

Sonia

[TomInTib]

5. Four Seasons

right on the lake, great food and a view of Congress St bridge and the bats.
Coolest hotel in Austin. Not cheap.
Be sure and try out EastSide Cafe on Manor St. They grow their own produce.

[DesEtoiles]

11. Four Seasons or the Intercontinental - hope you can get a reservation!

http://www.austin.intercontinental.com/

[PDittie]

6. Holiday Inn Town Lake

is not bad, but shows its age. Has a great location right on TL, and is actually within walking distance of Sixth, but isn't as close to UT as the others mentioned.

IIRC it's spelled Driskill (and it is very, very nice -- and expensive).

[Zen Democrat]

7. The Omni is very nice.

[lavenderdiva]

9. The Driskill Hotel...

This is an absolutely fabulous hotel, in every way! It has everything you are looking for and more, in the heart of downtown Austin. Here's their website so you can see:

http://www.driskillhotel.com/index.php

The Driskill has soooo much history, but is a luxury hotel at the same time. We stayed there one night a couple of years ago, and the rate was approx 150-200 per night, I think.

[Why Syzygy]

10. cool

As a new resident in Austin, I welcome her!

There's a Radisson and Hyatt on the "river", formally known as Town Lake.

My son was just in town and stayed over on I35 in order to reserve cash.

She'll love it here. Is she going to live in a dorm? I am amazaed at how many people here rent out part of their homes. And students seem to enjoy making their own housing arrangements.

How exciting! She'll be in good hands here.

[rainbow4321]

13. Thank you to everyone in this thread....

for responding!!! We can't wait to get down there!


Yes, she is staying on campus. I keep having to remind myself <and her> that it's not like she is moving to the International Space Station....it's AUSTIN..last time we visited the city there WERE grocery stores and department stores. :) And the campus looks like they make it pretty easy for kids to buy items they need for day to day living.
I think we have bought enough "stuff" and "just-in-case" items to last her waaayyy **past** college life! Guess you don't realize how much one needs/uses on a daily basis til you have to start from scratch. Right now, even her deciding just what color bath towels to buy is making her have this "deer in the headlights" look!



Thanks again!
(I am sooooo happy that she is moving to a **blue** area of Texas.)

[movie_girl99]

12. There is one near the Congress Bridge

that you can sit on the patio of TGI Fridays and watch the bats at dusk. Its a nice hotel and not incredibly expensive.

[lavenderdiva]

14. be sure to visit Amy's Ice Cream...

a little piece of heaven! Oh -so yummy! you'll love Austin, its a beautiful city, and blue!