Quite frankly, I think that this is one of the nicer "regular" full-service Marriotts at which I have stayed. They did all the things that I care about right, and don't have any real negatives from my stay to report.

The front desk staff at check-in was great. As killebrew mentioned above, the young man who checked me in (Shakeel) walked me to the elevator and pointed out some of the hotel's features along the way. I was given a room on the C-floor, without having to beg (a major pet peeve at many other hotels). I was offered the opportunity to purchase the WFB internet plan at check-in, which I thought of as more of a convenience than an upsell. The lobby area is well-maintained and welcoming.

The room was not large, but it was by no means small. Upgraded bedding was present. As this is evidently a newer property, there were plenty of outlets for all the electronics one may carry. The bathroom was clean and spacious, and had all of the upgraded bath products that one would expect to find in the c-floor rooms. Two minuses -- there was no bathrobe. I sometimes use that. Also, the window did not open, and with the favorable weather here, I would have rather had an open window than air conditioning.

I used the exercise room, which had enough stuff to keep this novice happy. The equipment seemed up-to-date and clean. The pool area was nice, but had no hot tub or sauna.

The concierge lounge was good. There were hot appetizers in the evening, and scrambled eggs or oatmeal for hot stuff in the mornings. One nice feature of this club lounge is that it is open all day (until 10 pm). It is unmanned, except for standard breakfast and evening hours, but the option to go in, grab a bottle of water or small snack is nice. More hotels should do things this way. I did not spend much time there, but the staff was quite friendly when I was. I went one night after the guy had put away the snacks for the evening and started set-up for breakfast. I asked if there was anything left (snack mix-ish) and he went and grabbed a newly opened bag for me to have some to take back to the room. I am sure that many others would do this, too, but it was nice here.

The housekeeping staff respected my "privacy please" sign without disturbing me with a phone call, either. A big plus, as far as I am concerned.

I did not eat in the restaurant, and the surrounding area is a little corporate, so there is not much within walking distance, if that is important to you. However, if you are staying at this hotel, it is likely that you would have a car anyway, since it is quite a hike from AUS airport.

Calling this hotel "Austin North" is a bit of a misnomer. It is IN Round Rock -- easily a 30 minute drive to downtown -- maybe more. There is some construction on the highway near the hotel that makes getting downtown at rush times a bit inconvenient, but this is a growing area.

All in all, I would score this property a solid 7 out of 10, and considering the rate that I got, I would gladly stay here the next time I was in town -- especially if I cannot get the Ren, which is my preferred AUS hotel.

Enjoy,
Stevekoe