For our stay in Austin my Friends Steve and Joyce and I booked at teh Embassy Suites, Austin. I've stayed here before.

Nice hotel, big room with convertable couch/bed in foyer. Best part: the Manager's
complementary pre-dinner "party" wiht free drinks (although I wish they had more than just two kinds of beer: Shiner Bock which was very good and I think Coors. First time I had a Shiner Bock and it convinced me to go to the brewer in Shiner, Tx.)

The free breakfast through was not that great. I got pre=cooked pancakes, the eggs were poorly prepared. Some Embassy's are better than others I guess.

But one of my big issues: WHY CAN"T EMBASSY
START UP A FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAM? Or at least team up with other hotels for a program? I think The Embassys are good business hotels for the buck and I would stay there more often if they had a program.

Are you listening Embassy? (Don't know who owns them.) CATMAN

no frequent stayer program is an integral part of Embassy Suite's business strategy---along with no hotel restaurant, limited meeting space, etc. These savings let them have big rooms and free bar/breakfast. They contrast with other hotels kind of like the European airlines with the US airlines several years ago---US airlines were heavily into frequent flyer programs, while European airlines got into lounges, business class, etc etc. Things have converged a bit.

The last time I was in Austin was about 6 months ago. I ended up staying at a Holiday Inn (Holiday Inn on the Lake, or something catchy like that).

It was the pits.

The bar & restaurant were only open when you didn't want anything and in the morning there was a scrum of people checking-out and complaining about Priority-Plus.

The main complaint about Priority-Plus seemed to be that plastered all over the hotel were 'instant' registration forms. But when people took them to reception to check-out and register, they were turned away and told they had to register by 'phone THEN check-out.

The place was full of delegates (including me) at a conference, and hardly any of them were PP members, but they all wanted to register to get their miles. It was chaos.

Then there were a couple of people who had booked using a rate quoted by AAA but the reception insisted there was no such rate.

Not a good experience.

Take my advice, avoid that hotel!
MF

Good observation, MF. Most of us Texans stay away from the circular HI on the Lake. The Marriott at the Capitol, the Sheraton, the OMNI(multifaceted word-maybe Catman will overlook it), the Hyatt, and the Doubletree(Guest suites downtown, and regular close to the airport) along with the Renaissance in NW Austin are probably the best.

Jamiel... Thanks for the explaination on Embassy. It's a nice hotel, especially if you have several people staying in one room and want to save a few bucks.

Doubletrees are good hotels, the personal choice of HOLLY (GOING OMNI I think it's for the free Chocolate Chip cookies -- which are as good as Pepperidge Farms and Mrs. Fields.) But again, NO FREQUENT GUEST PROGRAM!!! So I'm reluctant to stay there (I want something more out of my stay besides a cookie!) END OF OMNI.

JAWS' reviews of hotels gave me an idea: maybe when any of us are going to a "strange" area or nation we could mention on the boards
that we are looking for good accomdations.
Then like I can help with NYC, Jaws and AUSTXHIKER with Texas, Rudi with Switzerland,
Merry with G-B, BlondeBomber with Calgery, etc.

It will save us Merry's no HOLIDAY experience! CATMAN

OMNI: Catman, if you want gooooood cookies, try Otis Spunkmeyer. End of OMNI. EOMessage.

no Catman - in Switzerland I stay very seldom in hotels - the largest distance from my home to the border line of my country is about 200 km (120 miles) - no hotel stays necessary.

I can be more of a help probably in the US/Canada (practically all ski resorts and the major towns), in my european neibhour-countries France, Italy, Austria, Fuerstentum Lichtenstein, Germany and in the wine-regions of the world (all European ones, Napa Valley US, Chile, Australia; not yet South Africa).

C'mon Rudi, I can't believe that you left off the ever popular Texas wines?! (I know that there seems to be a joke buried in there somewhere) Should I ship you a bottle as a point of reference?

DuhWane: I am still learning.

But Texans would appreciate my beer-knowledge probably more - but this (beer-) OMNI-topic has been stopped some months ago by the CatPolice!

OMNI Posting... Rudi... the cat police are granting you a special pardon if you want to talk about beer and wine.

Extra points if you can work in any travel or hotel related experience.

The cat Police have made a New year's Resolution to be tough, but not go overboard
or their chief inspector will hear it from his "inner circle" of friends! CATMAN

Rudi I gave you a perfect platform to talk about beer and hotels under the Holiday Inn thread, by mentioning that Bass Breweries own non-US Holiday Inns.

All Bass need do is buy an airline and your three favorite subjects will be one!

Rudi makes a good point: Not many of us stay in hotels near home. I'd hesitate to recommend one in the DC area. On the other hand, if you want one in San Francisco . . .

Phil, you want to try living with my wife - you would spend many a night sent to a local hotel!!!

On joking my dear.
MF

Merry: Mine would insist on going with me, which would destroy the whole purpose.
Phil

Rudi, DuhWane is correct. When you are travelling Texas around Ft. Stockton, you have got to try the St. Genevieve wines and near Austin, the Llano wines. Note to Catcopper: Notice the word "travelling" above.