ClassicalGal

I did a search and didn't see any reports on this property, so I must be the first FTer to report on it.

I had reason to be in Austin last night, and I wasn't familiar with the Hilton properties there...I decided to try the Austin Airport location, in part because the Hilton.com website description reads "Executive Level with a private lounge area, offering continental breakfast and evening hors d'oeuvres." What the website doesn't mention is that the hotel is brand-new, not open 2 months yet...so I get to the hotel, check in, and ask what floor is the executive lounge, and can I just use my room key to access it. The clerk tells me there is no private lounge - "Uh, we're not set up for that yet...we've only been open since January 10." I got a smallish room, nicely decorated (at least everything's new), with a coveted parking-lot view.

The place was near-empty...the bartender at the bar (restaurant proper is closed mid-afternoon...you have to order and eat in the bar area) told me that a lot of things are still being worked on. The hotel is a revamping of a former administration building for Bergstrom Air Force Base...it's 4 stories, "in the round" with the bar area in the middle of the atrium and all rooms along the periphery. It's certainly one of the more unusual hotels I've been in. The food was mediocre as is standard in most hotels...but the menu is "still being worked on." Housekeeping/room service needs to be worked on as well, as several piles of room service dishes adorned the hallways on the floor where I stayed for several hours, even after I called down to have them taken away.
There's a 24-hour business center with computer use charges at 50 cents per minute.

Austin's new airport (it's new to me, anyway; it opened a couple of years ago) is bland in a kind of gray way...the Hilton's main advantage is that it's right on the airport grounds, and a free shuttle takes you to the terminal in about 2 minutes.

This could be a good hotel in another few months.

Flying High

Thanks for the review. Do you know of any nice properties in San Antonio? I have to be there in two weeks...

danville 1K

Classical Gal,

I stayed there on January 10th... and it sounds like nothing has changed. I'm going to guess that it'll take at least two more months to get the place up and running. In the meantime I stay downtown at the Embassy Suites when I have to go to Austin.

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danville 1K

UK Stages

re: san antonio

i just last week stayed at the hilton palacio del rio. not exactly a palacio, but not bad either. i was paying a pretty hefty rate of $264 a night, i think, during a sold out convention period... so there wasn't anything to really upgrade me to, as i was already paying for one of their better river view rooms.

i received continental breakfast coupons at check-in without asking, although i didn't use them... so i can't comment on the hotel's food service. but they seem to have several good dining options, including some value-priced lunch and dinner specials. all in all, a fairly unremarkable stay at a perfectly acceptable property.

the unexpected star of my san antonio trip was the san antonio airport hilton. i chose it for my last night in town, as i had a very early morning flight. i checked in about 10 PM; very pleasant desk clerk.

as an hhonors diamond member, i was prebooked into a mini-suite... which was very nice. nothing fancy by any means, not very large, regular neutrogena bath ammenities, the usual stuff - this is, after all, an older, very basic airport hotel - but it still gave me a little breathing room for my few hours there. without asking, i was given lounge access (but it was too late to use it and check out was too early for breakfast). the desk clerk seemed to be well trained with a good knowledge of hhonors benefits... i had to request nothing.

upon entering the room, i found a welcome gift of bottled water, a small bag of famous amos cookies and an apple... along with a computer printed, but personalized, welcome card thanking me for my business and recognizing my hhonors status. all for a rate of about $109 (if memory serves).

you see, it doesn't really matter if you're the finest hilton hotel in the world... i believe what frequent hilton guests notice is when you proactively fulfill the terms of the hhonors program (since some hotels still don't) ...and go out of your way to acknowledge or provide special benefits to elite hhonors members.

kudos to the san antonio airport hilton for getting it right!

oh, yes, one more thing: the shuttle to the airport was full at 6 AM (southwest pilots and crew, mostly), so they ran another one immediately, with no delay. how many times have you been to an airport hotel, when the shuttle was full, and they refused to run another one until twenty minutes later?

just another thing that impressed me about this well run property!

ClassicalGal

Addendum to the SAT Airport Hilton...I'm here right now, on a one-night stay. So far I'd give it a B+. Pluses: It's a 14-story hotel, with HHonors floors on 12 and 14 (no floor 13). I was pre-booked on floor 12. You cannot access HHonors floors on the elevator without your room key (nice security feature). "Executive Lounge" is on floor 14. When I went to floor 14 after checking in around 3pm, the Lounge was a ghost town. There was a prominent Concierge desk when you first get off the elevator, but I've yet to see a "concierge" (now it's 9:30 pm).

The Lounge is open for evening snacks and drinks from 5:30 to 7:30pm. Like other Hilton lounges I've sampled, the food is never more than mediocre. I really wish they'd improve things in that area. The Hilton staff is friendly. Beer/wine is $1.00/per, and they pour a good (from a quantity standpoint, OK from a quality standpoint) glass of wine. After 7:30pm, there's not so much as a nosh, until 6:30am continental breakfast. Midnight snack? Forget about it...!

The room is fine...guess I can forget about being upgraded to a suite, but I don't really care for one night. Anyway, two hours after I checked in, around 5pm a waiter came with an "HHonors amenity" (bottled water, a package of mini-Chips-Ahoy, an apple), and a pre-fab though personalized gold-embossed note from the GM. Nice touch.

Plus the lounge has free Internet access so I am always happy about that (I don't travel with a laptop, since I am a vacation traveler, plus I'm always nervous about laptops being swiped).

That's it so far.

ClassicalGal

Fly me to the Stars

I stayed at the SAT Airport Hilton on Saturday and received absolutely no Gold perks. Got a room on a lower floor which was fine since i checked in late and it was past cocktail hour. Didn't get an "HH amenity pack" and Sunday morning when I asked about the Continental breakfast i was told that they no longer provide it. As for newspapers, you guessed it, not on Sundays.

When I asked at the front desk if there were ANY advantages to being Gold when staying at the hotel the girl said "Oh, I'm sure there is" but couldn't come up with any. If I'd been in the mood I would have asked for an explanation from the manager but I have no intention of staying there again, so I'll just think of it as a learning experience.

ClassicalGal

Has anyone stayed at the AUS Airport Hilton since my initial report? Just wondering if they've improved.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Preface: We have a early morning flight home tomorrow so thought is smart to stay close to AUS. This is the last night of our outlet shopping.

Rate: Less than $100 without taxes.

Transportation: We had rented a car with Avis. Drove here then to a early dinner before returning it. Parking at the Hotel is not complimentary. The shuttle to AUS leaves every 15 minutes on the top of the hour. The shuttle from AUS is on request.

Check-in: Check-in was quick and efficient. Our room was upgraded to a boardroom "suite" on the fourth floor (highest). Also given a voucher for a full buffet breakfast.

Perks: As noted above. Our room contained a box for chocolate and two bottles of small water.

Room: Our room is intersting. Upon entering the room you have a large table with six chairs on wheels. We are using the table to pack our outlet bargains.
Two full glass doors separate the boardroom area from the bedroom. Our bedroom is large with two windows facing onto the atrium. A chair with ottoman, king bed and decent size bathroom complete the room. Of course the room has a good size desk and tv cabinet. The rooms does not have a frig. Looks to be renovated.

Communications: HSIA wired internet for $9.95 for 24 hours in room.

Location: Great for AUS flights and good for outlet shopping in San Marcos, TX. See my HI report within FT. We drove in from San Marcos and did not have lunch. Wanted to return our car within 24 hours. The bell person pointed us towards a family run Mexican restaurant which is less than 5 minutes from the hotel. EXCELLENT. I have no idea what the name of the place was but your can get it from the bell person. We drove our Avis car to and from before returning it to AUS. The bell person seemed to indicate they would take and pick you up from this restaurant. We had a FULL meal for two, soft drinks, chips / salsa and left a generous tip for $20.. I am still full. Recommend you try it. The restaurant is red.

Closing: A very nice Hotel and we are enjoying. Regards from AUS.

neuro0

Thinking of staying there for 4 days for a conference!
Any updates? Thanks!

dlwalt

Stayed at the Hilton AUS Airport for two night at the end of June for a conference in the hotel. It is the site of the former Bergstrom (sp?) Air Force Base.

It is on the airport property. What I recall is that there was not Executive Lounge, but I did get a free hot breakfast as a Diamond.

Room were good size, but for a new hotel the furnishings seemed a bit dated.

BamaVol

Search this forum for "Austin" and you may find other information on the property. I haven't been there in a couple years, I don't think. I found the Airport Hampton to be an acceptable lower priced option.

atxtraveler

Stay at the Hilton Downtown, get the government rate of $85 dollars a night, then use zip check in so you do not have to show Gov't ID.

Works everytime for me, and is a great way to be right in the middle of everything to do in Austin.

Chicago Wine Geek

I guess that's one way to scam the hotel into giving you a great rate, but also ensures you never get an upgrade.

dingo

Hello. I had a one night stay at the Austin Airport Hilton last Friday night. When I checked in everything was great...I was even told they may be cleaning the windows that look out into the lobby/bar/atrium area. I was on the second floor and at this hotel you either look out into the parking lot or you look out into the inside of the hotel itself...I had a room with the latter view.

I stayed here b/c I had a 6:00 a.m. flight and wanted to avoid hassling with rental car return so early and wanted the shuttle from the hotel.

So I went to bed about 9:00 to try to get 7 hours of sleep. At about 10:30 the music for a wedding reception started. It was in the ballroom in the basement, but because of the hotel layout I could look out my window and see the party coming and going as the lobby level is open to the lower level.

The music wasn't really audible; it sounded more like a car playing rap music...the bass reverbed throughout the hotel. I called down at 10:30 and spoke with Chad who told me he would have them close the doors. Ok. No change and that wasn't really the problem...again, the entire part of the hotel I was in was shaking from the bass.

Called back at 11:00 and asked how long it would be going on: until 1:00 a.m. I got pissed when he said "I told you I would have them close the doors" in a curt tone so I let him know that I thought his attitude sucks and was about to tell him to move me when he said 'this conversation is over' and hung up on me.

I tried using my Bose headphones, the TV and pillows but didn't fall asleep until the music stopped at 12:45 a.m.

I sent the GM a fax asking for 25,000 HHonors points. That is how many are needed to get a free night at the hotel and since my company paid for the stay a comped rooom does me little good personally.

Is this asking too much? I sent the fax on Tuesday and haven't heard a thing. If it is not unreasonable, what should my next step be?

Bondiboy

Did you ask for a room change?

Was a room change suggested when you complained about the noise?

Personally, I would have been asking for either a discount (30-50%) or a free night next time I was in town. 25000 points seems a tad aggressive - to me