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Hilton Austin {US-TX}
From January 5 through March 31, 2004, stay at the Hilton Austin and earn triple airline miles with American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines or Southwest Airlines
Request Plan Code H4 for the Hilton Austin offer. |
Austin Downtown - Anyone been yet?
I plan on staying at the Austin Downtown Hilton location unless a room at Hotel San Jose opens up. My dates are March 26-28, Friday through Sunday. The rate is acceptable, and a quick search turned up the H4 code for triple milage. I'm a HHGold (who isn't these days).
So, the question is: has anyone been there yet? How are the basic rooms? How are the exec rooms? How are the perks? Any surprises good or bad? Were there parking fees? The event I'm going to be attending is at the Continental Club on South Congress straight across the street from the Austin Hotel and Hotel San Jose. The event is an all day, every day type event and I don't think I'll be spending much time at the hotel, but I still don't want any surprises. |
Sounds like you're going to South by Southwest. Don't count on a room at the San Jose opening up. Those rooms have probably been booked a year in advance at least.
The Hilton should be a good place to stay for the event, though, since a lot of the activities are centered around the convention center. I drive by the hotel several times a week, but haven't checked out the inside yet. The local news has had a couple of stories about it. Looks nice from the reports. It's your typical convention center hotel, with a few bells and whistles here and there to impoart a bit of Austin ambience etc. There are actually residences on the top floors. I wonder if anyone has bought any of them yet. Have a good time in our wonderful town! [This message has been edited by swise (edited Jan 15, 2004).] |
Nope, not SXSW, but the LoneStar Roundup - Traditional Hot Rods and Music. I've stayed at the SJH many times, but the event has gotten more popular with media exposure and I waited a little too long...Austin Motel is booked too. I'm on the waiting list for both of them.
Hilton has lots of rooms open, but I was wondering if there is anything special about it, or if it's forgetable. |
Only driven by it, but it looks like a very nice hotel. I saw this recent review on Bidding For Travel. Not sure if it helps you make a decision or not, but thought I'd post it.
http://pub210.ezboard.com/fpriceline...icID=225.topic Austin/Downtown - Hilton Convention Center 4* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This hotel is newly opened and easily belongs into the 4* category. It is across the street from the Austin Convention Center in the heart of downtown. There is much construction in the area at this time. The room was typical Hilton with refrigerator/bar and coffee-maker. High speed internet service is available at $10.00 a day. There is no self-parking available, although there are a few parking spaces on the surrounding streets.Valet parking is $10.00/day. The very nice spa and workout facility is $10.00/day. There is a coffee bar in the lobby area. We did not make use of the restaurant or lobby bar although both seemed to be very nice. The personnel were extremely helpful and courteous. Obviously just out of their recent training. Because we stayed only the one night we did not see much of the hotels other amenities. This is definitely a 4* property and we would stay there again. It is most convenient to the Convention Center as well as the Capitol area and all the hustle and bustle of the 6th street entertainment district. |
Just stayed there last week. We used to stay at the AUS airport Hilton which was also a very nice property.
Since we only had 10hrs there it was a brief visit. Lobby is unreal. With plenty of checkin people standing there. I hate to wait in lines. The buisness center was awsome. They have wireless throught the hotel. You can see the routers on the walls when you walk down the hallways. I swear nobody ever stayed in my room it was that new. They also had wired connections for high speed another nice touch. We checked out at 4am and there were people downstairs. They even ran to go get me a newspaper for the cab ride to the hotel. The restaurant was new and there was a ton of things to do right next to the hotel. I've got a friend who told me. Didn't have time to go out. Stayed at over 200 different hiltons last year and definetly rate this one though the roof. An excellent property should be a 5 star. |
I forgot to mention... The local TV news spot mentioned that the Hilton was offering reduced rates through sometime in Feb or March. Worth looking into.
Also, there's a review on Trip Advisor, from what sounds like some Texas State U (aka Southwest Texas St U) students... Austin: Hilton Austin Convention Center: "Hilton was top notch" Date: January 10, 2004 Reviewer: A TripAdvisor User, San Marcos, Texas The brand new Hilton downtown is incredible. We stayed in a corner room and had a great view of the city. Rooms (especially corner rooms) are huge. Ammenities were outstanding. Beds were awesome. I highly recommend this hotel to anyone. My friends and I were in town to party downtown and the lady at the front desk put us in a corner room away from everyone else so noise was not an issue. At one point we probably had 15 people visiting and there was plenty of room to move about. We loved our stay so much that we already booked 4 more nights over the next 2 months. The location is perfect for 6th street or the warehouse district nightlife. I would add that if going to/returning from 6th st from the hotel, it would be worthwhile to hop on a bike taxi. I think the hotel is around 2nd or 3rd street, on the easternmost side of where 6th st begins. To get where the action is would take a little bit of a walk, if you wanted to get to, say, the Driskill. Particularly if you're coming back to the hotel after a big night in the entertainment district, this would be efficient and comfortable. The bike taxi folks work for tips, so compensation is up to you. You just flag one down if you see it and hop on. |
We stayed last Friday night. They have self parking now. Got a corner room on the concierge level.
Snacks consisted of Swedish meatballs and some sprimp pasta. Very large concierge lounge. Rooms were nice, the corner was very large. My wife loved the towels. Bed was very good. The restaurant has not yet opened - I believe they said Feb 1 or thereabouts. Hotel is on 4th street and the walk to Sixth was no problem. |
any bonus mile offers yet? http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif Might be worth a mattress run, especially for the 4k/7k bonus
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They had a 3x milage offer that expired March 31. Uses booking code H4.
When I booked with the code it came up with "dates unavalable" warning. The real meaning was that the really only offered that code on "selected" days, and a limited quanity of days and the desk clerk at the hotel told me that they had allready sold out on the available days - no more were available. I tried a number of trick questions to get to the bottom of it, or find other days that might be available, but no luck - it's dry. If anyone DOES have any promos at this property, I'm all ears. I've got a date booked for March 26-28. Or, if you find a rate for those dates lower than $109, let me know so I can take advantage of the best rate guarentee. |
You might want to get a west-facing room if you will be there this Wednesday night, so you will be able to see the Frost Tower.
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Frost Bank to get dramatic illuminated top City's newest skyscraper will be lit up Wednesday night By Shonda Novak AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Saturday, January 17, 2004 On Wednesday night, Austin's downtown skyline will get a dose of drama. The Frost Bank Tower's 99-foot-high glass crown will be illuminated, creating a beacon that will forever change the way downtown looks, whether from an airplane, Interstate 35 or a suburban back yard. The 515-foot-high Frost Bank Tower, Austin's tallest, already can be seen from more than 10 miles away; even the developer doesn't know how visible it will be once the top is illuminated. The illuminated top will be flashy by Austin standards: more like downtown Dallas, where the 72-story Bank of America building is outlined at night in glowing green argon lights. Turan Duda, the lead architect on the Frost Bank building, said he wanted to create a tower with a focal point similar to New York's Chrysler or Empire State buildings. "We wanted a building that comes to a singular statement at the top, a clear, memorable symbol," Duda said. "That was a missing piece in the skyline." Cousins Properties Inc., developer of the $142 million building, has invited 600 people to a private party for the lighting event. At 8:15 p.m., from a stage in the marble-floored lobby, a switch will be flipped, turning on 224 high-tech lights with ceramic halide bulbs, as well as 30 spotlights that will illuminate all sides of the building. The company has commissioned a 6-foot-high ice sculpture of the building for the party and hired a local artist to design a giant ceremonial switch, although Cousins won't say who will get to pull the big handle. (The fake switch won't actually turn on the lights; a computer will do that.) Cousins has made sure the event goes off without a hitch: It has quietly tested the lights three times in recent weeks, but it has done so at 4 a.m., when only the stray club-goer or night-shift worker would be around to see. Three years ago, when Duda first met with Tim Hendricks, Cousins' senior vice president of development in Austin, Hendricks made it clear that he wanted to develop more than just a building in his hometown. As they looked toward the site from the Starbucks on West Fifth Street, Hendricks told Duda that he wanted the building to be a symbol of the city for the next 100 years. "I told him it's a huge responsibility, and we cannot take it lightly," Hendricks said Friday. "It needs to be a landmark project for Austin. We're not just developing a building; we're creating an image." Cousins officials won't say how much it will cost to light the tower every night or what the company is spending on the Four Seasons-catered gala. The company is still deciding whether to keep the lights on all night or turn them off in the wee hours. The building is the first new skyscraper on Congress Avenue in nearly 20 years. A little over 60 percent of its 525,000 square feet is leased to tenants including Frost Bank, Heritage Title Co. and several law firms. The bank will move in early next month. The city's fastest elevators -- 1,000 feet per minute -- will carry passengers to the penthouse offices in 30 seconds....</font> |
Italian Restaurant Recommendation: Carmelo's (Across the Street from the Hilton)
For those Italian fare fans out there you may want to check out Carmelo’s.
Carmelo’s is on the north side of 5th street (the Hilton is on the south side) – literally right across the street from the hotel. Depending on what you order, you’re looking to spend $25 - $35 / person + tip for your meal (alcohol not included). The Austin location (there two in the US and the other one is in Houston) is built out of an old hotel which use to house a hotel for accommodating transiting passengers on Austin’s rail and stagecoach lines. As such, the restaurant achieves a secluded feel (despite being in downtown) as the old high brick walls from the original structure, old oaks and shrubbery serve to insulate the spacious entry courtyard, private dining rooms and main restaurant. Anyway, don’t get to swing by there as much as I’d like (but I do get to the one in Houston! :)) but when I stay at the Austin Hilton it’s one of the high points is making it over there for a meal with friends. Enjoy Austin – it’s a great city! ...and happy restauranting! :) |
I stayed there dozens of times since I let the lease on my apartment in Austin go (long story: I used to be there every other week, now just a couple days a quarter). I like it. Great views of the city. Nice executive lounge. I am also a Diet Coke addict so I make up for the rate raiding the fridge.
Shame you can't get into the San Jose. I would gladly stay there and forfeit the points. And the Continental Club....I asked the current Mrs. Maury to marry me there. If you are in town on Tuesday, make sure to see Toni Price. Can't go wrong there. |
I stayed at this hotel in Oct 2005. I was a gold member and got upgraded to a suite. The executive lounge was well furnished with decent breakfast and evening finger foods. I don't recall if the drinks were free or not. I was there for a conference which was convient. I also liked being able to walk to most restaurants. I enjoyed PF Changs.
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Any recent Diamond upgrade successes here?
I'm eyeing an upcoming trip later in March (after SXSW).
Just wondering if any Diamonds have received upgrades at the Hilton Downtown Austin recently? If not, any other suggestions? Thanks! |
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