The Intercontinental was very unimpressive. The hotel was noisy. When people took a shower in the morning it sounded like an alarm going off across the street. The standard bed is small and not very comfortable. The room itself was large enough but there was nothing in it. I also had to pay for internet access. Is it 2002 again? Last time I checked, even Days Inns gave that away. I paid the rate and don't expect to be nickle and dimed. Going down to use your laptop in the lobby was yet another internet charge and not a cheap one. Once I saw I'd have to pay $10, I decided that it would be the last penny that the IC got from me. I spent all week drinking and spending money at the ICON and Elden in Houston. They didn't charge me for internet access and I had no problem giving them my money for breakfast, drinks, etc.

The valet didn't explain my parking options very well. I'll go with valet parking no problem, but not mentioning that parking in any of the metered spots around the hotel was free really made me mad. Guess who will end up getting his valet parking back and guess which hotel's valets didn't get a penny in tip.

The front desk experience was alright. They didn't really ask or case how my experience was when checking out. I wasn't at all overwhealmed by the property at all. I didn't sleep well and was treated in a Holiday Inn type fashion. Of course, I imagine that I paid a lot more than one would at a Holiday Inn.

Personally, I would try one of the funky niche Austin type motels around like the Austin Motel. It's not a $400 a night kind of place, but if you want the pure essence of Austin then that's it.