Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel, Austin

The is the first review I have ever written - I felt inclined so as to help others. The walls of the hotel were paper thin - everything could be heard. That could have been lived with. The bad thing was the smell -- all of my belongings smelled like smoke even though it was a non-smoking room. The air conditioning stopped working twice. The humitity, for an indoor hotel, was way to high. The rooms were small. Maybe non of these things would have bugged me if the price charged for the room was in line with what it was offering.

I can't say enough about the Inter Continental Stephen F Austin! My wife booked a standard suite for our wedding anniversary and they upgraded us to the Governor's Suite at no extra cost!! That's a $2000 a night suite!! The Governor's Suite is just amazing!! Everyone at the hotel was very nice. We will definitely stay here again!

I am not quick to anger. Long story short...if you book on Hotwire...you will be relegated to a smoking room. If you smoke...you will get the least favorable bed configuration. The only way to change is to upgrade to another room. No doubt in my mind that this upgrade scenerio is policy for the Intercontinental in Austin. I don't see why they participate - if they are going to do this when you arrive. Bottom line - pay the full price and get what you want...unless you smoke.

A very good experiance. Stayed in room 311. Room was as big as a suite and had thought it would be noisy, but windows are sound proof! Internet connection was $9.95.. should be free but otherwise this was very nice. The Guest service department delivered cookies and milk for my daughter which was special. Thanks to Alex the Concierge who typed out a personal itiniary for us. This place rocks!

This hotels location is the best in Austin. One block from 6th street which means it is a retreat from the loud noise but is only 1 block from the main entertainment district. Also seems to be the closest hotel to the Capital Building... only 3 blocks. The Club rooms are massive... and they really went out of their way to make my stay excellen.. The only bad thing was that there is only valet parking.. but I guess that is the same at all down town hotels ?

We booked our stay at the Stephen F. Intercontinental in Austin via Hotwire, and after taxes, paid $170 a night. We had stayed at the Intercontinental in San Francisco, which is VERY nice, so we were excited. We were in Austin during an (unfortunate) awful winter ice storm, so we spent a lot of time in the hotel. While not as luxurious as the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental, it is still (compared to what else is available in the city) a preferrable hotel. Our flight arrived early, so we showed up at the hotel before check-in... the staff was SOO nice, they apologized for not having a room ready (before they were even required to) and gave us a complimentary upgrade to a suite. There was a choice of bar or restaurant to hang out while we waited. Our suite was lovely and spacious (although I will agree with some other reviews that the tub was a bit old and had seen better days). That said, the room was very comfortable. The bed was a queen and a bit smaller than we're used to, but for $170 a night it could have been a lot worse. I had to laugh at some other reviews about the water pressure-- coming from California, the water pressure at the Stephen F. was MORE than adequate! The pool and spa were very nice, the fitness room is much better than I have experienced at other (much swankier) hotels, and there was a large dry sauna as well. Best part was I always had all of it to myself- never saw another patron! The location of the hotel to SoCo, Sixth Street, Fourth Street, eateries and shopping, etc., was fabulous. I just wish the weather had been better so we could walk around more. :( Overall, the staff was so nice and accomodating, from the valet to the front desk to housekeeping. I wouldn't pay more than $170 a night to stay there, but I felt we had a comfortable stay and definitely got what we paid for.

Yes, the standard room is tiny. Hey, I got a good price on Hotwire and was looking forward to my stay anyway. Now, the official Hotel Intercontinental website lists a "queen standard" room. THIS, my friend, was one double-sized bed being passed off as a queen. Husband and I were MISERABLE in it for the duration of our 2 night stay. I think it was on the "special floor" they reserve for Priceline and Hotwire people to punish them! I'm not going back...forget it.

Room at the hotel was small and cheaply furnished, Looked as if it had been furnished @ Garden Ridge pottery. Sheets did not fit bed, view overlooking the alley way and rooftop air conditioning units was not my idea of a $179.00 a night room. The hotel restaurant was more of a bar. The only positives about this property are the very gracious staff and the location. Not Intercontinental Hotels best property.

-The first time I stayed there, they gave me an pretty nice sized room with a beautiful nice sized bathroom. -The second time I stayed there, they gave me a small, smelly room with a tiny bathroom. When I changed rooms, they gave me the nice sized room with the pretty bathroom, but some of the suite furniture was missing. -Another time, the room was on the nighttime noisy side of the building, so I switched sides for the following night and it was better. -Sometimes you get a pleasant person on the front desk. Other times you can get a rude person. It's a roll of the dice, and alot of speaking up.

My last two stays are the hotel were disasters. The first of the two, I drove into the Austin area and the valet from the hotel parked my vehicle. I have a light cream interior and they got oil all over the seats and carpet. I filed a claim and the hotel claimed they never received it. I faxed it on three seperate occassions only to be denied because they never received the details. Because my company uses the hotel, they begged me to stay again since the downtown area was all booked. Well, the rooms bed was all torn apart had never been made - they moved me to a new room. It had no shampoo - soap and very few towels. When I got my car, I had another stain in floorboard from oil from the parking garage. They claimed they would take care of it, nothing- so go at your own risk. Some of my staff tell me they fell Hotel Intercontinental is a "Shabby Sheik" and though convenient desire to stay elsewhere.