Embassy Suites Austin - Downtown/Town Lake, Austin

Strip club across street, filthy elevators, very outdated sofa/chair, a very dated hotel in need of major facelift. Reserved a non-smoking room and got one that smelled musty and moldy, strong stale smoke smell unable to sleep, room faced street so traffic noise all night long! Sink and shower faucets squeaked with every usage. Requested a different room, manager only provided excuses, eventhough there is a Sign hung in the lobby stating, "Satisfaction Guaranteed", at $200 a night, paid for location and a nice room. Got neither. Disappointed, after all expected more from a Hilton franchise hotel. Will NEVER stay at this hotel again and advice to future travelers to Austin, Don't do it!!

My first time in Austin and wanted to make sure my trip was memorable. After reading many reviews, I decided to stay at the Emabassy Suites/Autin-Downtown and was glad I did. For starters, the breakfast was GREAT!!! So many choices... The staff was very pleasant and very accomodating! Can't wait to go back....

Having lived in Austin during my years at UT, I wanted to revisit this wonderful town for a romantic getaway. The location was prime, within reasonable distance to many activities. Check-in was painless, front desk personel were friendly, and our room was well prepared when we arrived. Self parking for $8/day (charged to your bill) on the 3rd level in the adjacent parking garage was very convenient; no attendant/gate was present, so traveling in and out to see the city whenever and as many times as we wanted was very easy. Made to order breakfast was nice, but somewhat crowded at 9am (go earlier) and many choices were available. Our water pressure was very strong and the hot water was a quick draw and stayed constant. Our bed was very comfortable and the view of downtown Austin was beautiful. We slept very well, very quiet at night since we are about 7 blocks from 6th St. We truly enjoyed our stay and will definitely stay here the next time we visit Austin!

This is an older hotel; multi-story with rooms around an open atrium and glass fronted elevators. The rooms are laid out fairly well. Furniture rather dated, but clean. I knew that internet access was $10 a day and self parking was $8, so while I cannot complain, charging for internet is unwise in a competitive environment. The free drinks and snack in the evening and hot, made to order breakfast is above what one normally expects, so this is nice. If you have a family with small kids, this is a good place to stay. If you are adults only and/or a business person looking for a little quiet, stay away from this hotel. My wife and I went down to have a drink after checking in and had our senses assaulted by 3 yelling 4-5 year olds running laps around the lobby while their parents had drinks. When we complained at the front desk, we were told that this is a "family friendly" hotel and showed no interest in helping or any sense of apology. So, they tolerate this behavior at the expense of other guests as a matter of policy. Breakfast was a little quieter, but it still was not peaceful. The main problem here was with young children in food lines and parents consulting with them about what they were going to eat, which greatly slowing things down. There is nothing wrong with this, but I have been through that stage in my life and do not care to vicariously revisit it. Parking is in a multi-level garage behind the hotel and it is not directly attached. So, one is exposed to outside traffic and pedestrians while walking from behind the hotel to the front to enter it. This is not a particularly safe area, so you may want to pay extra for valet parking if you insist upon staying here. We checked out after the first night and found a more peaceful, less expensive suite a little further south of downtown.

I go to all the UT games and stay at this hotel. It's in an excellant part of town with good location. The rooms are very roomy and clean. The atruim is fantastic which is where you eat your free buffet breakfast. I would definitaly stay there again!

We checked in late and were greeted by a friendly staff. Inside, the open atrium had a waterfall, a restaurant, a variety of tables and three glass elevators. They assigned us near the elevators on the eighth floor. My warning flags went up and I almost went to ask for another room because I was concerned about noise, but there really was no noise to complain about. This is perahps more amazing becuase we were in Austin during conferences of musicians, independent film-makers, and writers. The free breakfast was excellent, service wise, taste wise as well as in the variety of food. My friend did pay for Internet service at the hotel, but they did provide 3 free Internet terminals in the lobby from which you could print also. The small hotel gym had 5 or 6 treadmill walkers and bikes and a good set of dumbells. I was suprised the treadmills were always in use, when I was there, because some of the best views of Austin were from the "lake" walking/running path just across the street, which was packed with walkers and runners on Saturday. From the hotel, it is about a 10-12 minute walk to the convention center, and about 12-15 minutes to 6th Street which had great live music, just like everyone says. Some people caught the hotel shuttle to go downtown, but I preferred the walk. If you are walking the bridge to or from the hotel around dusk you will see the swarms of small bats take off from underneath. It's pretty amazing. It was about 16 dollars by cab to get from the airport to the hotel, but on the return trip I walked to 7th and Congress and caught the #100 bus to the airport for 50 cents. I packed lightly and don't know whether or not the hotel shuttle would have dropped me at the bus stop. I split the suite (bedroom and front room) with a friend. Half way through we were going to trade sleeping arrangements but I slept so well on the fold-out couch (which might be considered by some a bit bumpy and a little hard to get out of) that I opted to stay there. I'm not sure if anyone would have made my couch/bed up had I called down to guest services because I never asked. The 2 TVs were nice as well. The room was clean, and the service was friendly and professional. I'd consider staying there again.