Austin, TX: Hotel & Motel Planning Guide

When to Visit Austin, Texas

Austin's sweltering summers are a big deterrent for visitors considering a trip to the city between June and August. However, the high temperatures also mean low hotel prices. If you can stand the potential for temperatures above 100, book your stay in summer and cash in on the savings.If you're looking for a comfortable season in which to visit this Texan destination, plan a trip between September and November or March and May. During these months, highs are typically in the 70s or 80s. This is also prime time for festivals and special events.Visitors in October will find the Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin Film Festival, and Formula One Grand Prix for added excitement. In March, the city hosts South by Southwest and the Star of Texas Fair and Festival. April sees the Austin Fine Arts Festival and Austin Food + Wine Festival. Come in May for the Pecan Street Festival.If you're after discount hotel rates, however, you'll want to avoid these popular seasons. Visit between December and February to find moderately lower hotel prices and decent, if somewhat chilly, weather. Cold fronts are short-lived and temperatures hover in the 60s. December is particularly fun, thanks to the Austin Trail of Lights and Armadillo Christmas Bazaar.

Best Discounts in Austin, Texas

Hotel discounts can help you trim your travel expenses, no matter what type of accommodations you're after. Loyalty programs are one of the best ways to save when you're travelling. If you have a favorite brand, sticking with a familiar chain can help you accrue points that are redeemable for special discounts or rewards on future trips.Accrue or redeem Marriott Rewards points at one of the company's many Austin locations. You can stay near the Blanton Museum of Art at the Courtyard by Marriott Austin South, head downtown to stay at the Courtyard Austin Downtown/Convention Center, or book one of nearly a dozen other participating locations. Marriott hotels offer discounts for AAA members, seniors, government employees, and military personnel.The Hilton HHonors program is another popular choice for accruing hotel discounts. Book at a location like the DoubleTree by Hilton Austin or Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown/Convention Center and build up your points. You'll also find special offers at these destinations, with perks like daily breakfast for a family of four or premium WiFi services.Howard Johnson hotels offer a wide variety of discounts with something for nearly every traveler. Check out special rates for AAA and AARP members, seniors, groups, government employees, and corporate travelers.You don't have to stay at a budget hotel to enjoy top-shelf discounts. The Four Season Hotel offers discounted rates, hotel spa and dining credits, free nights, and special celebration packages for various bookings.

Best Value Options in Austin, Texas

Austin offers a broad range of mid-priced hotels. With so many options, it's not always easy to find the best room for your vacation. These value-packed picks will give you the most amenities and convenience for your dollar.America's Best Value Inn-Austin South offers affordable rooms with numerous perks that add value to your stay. You'll enjoy a free continental breakfast each morning to help you start the day right. A seasonal outdoor pool provides the perfect place for on-site recreation. In the room, you'll find a fridge and microwave so you can keep snacks close at hand. The hotel's central location on I-35 makes it an easy pick for visitors headed to the Texas Capitol, Bob Bullock Museum, St. Edwards University, and more.If you want some added space to stretch out during your stay, try the Comfort Suites Austin Airport. This hotel offers a complimentary hot breakfast, free WiFi, fitness center, and business center. With free airport transportation, you won't need the added expense of a rental car. This hotel is conveniently located near the Austin Zoo, making it an ideal pick for families.For a truly distinctive stay, try Habitat Suites. This hotel offers both a complimentary breakfast in the morning and complimentary wine, beer, and light snacks in the evening. Suites include separate dining and living areas as well as a private balcony or patio. Non-toxic cleaning products, organic cotton sheets, organic coffee, and 100-percent natural hygiene products make this an eco-friendly choice for a green visit to Austin.

Getting Around Austin, Texas

Navigating Austin can be a bit tricky, so it's best to map out your itinerary ahead of time. Austin is best explored by car, so you should consider a rental if you want to truly get out and see all that this sprawling city has to offer.Keep in mind that many highways in Austin have multiple names, so you can move seamlessly from Highway 71 to Ben White Boulevard without ever making a turn. Locals joke that every road has two names, and in many cases this is true. Downtown, you can streamline your navigation somewhat by remembering that even-numbered streets run one-way to the west, and odd-numbered streets are one-way running east.If you're exploring Austin without a car, your best option is the MetroBus. Use the MetroBus Trip Planner or Google Transit to map out your journey ahead of time. The MetroRail offers service between Leander and downtown Austin on weekdays, and between Lakeline and downtown on weekends.Whether you're looking for an affordable hotel for a budget trip to the city, or you prefer all the trappings of luxury during your stay, you'll find the perfect accommodations for your agenda in Austin.

A visit to Austin Recapped

Austin is shrouded in mystique, and the reason why the city differs from others may not be readily apparent. Unlike other cities in the US, Austin is extraordinarily welcoming and open, with a huge chunk of the population newcomers themselves, and the rest living laissez-faire. Located in Central Texas, Austin retains some remnants of its small-town charm. However, a glance of its progressive urban landscape will tell you that its reputation as a boring college town has been long forgotten. This Texan city ranks on many best-places-to-live in lists, primarily because of its value to both maverick thinking and creativity. In fact, the city is billed as the Live Music Capital of the World, as the city hosts the annual South by Southwest Conferences and Festivals every March. A tour around Austin is incomplete without treading to the Colorado River's south to savor South Congress's unique and enchanting vibe, with its delectable eateries, oh-so-cool clubs, and colorful antiques shops. The wildflowers that cut the multi-colored swaths of the roadsides may be a sweeping view, but Warehouse and Second Street Districts has all the liveliest and hippest bistros, a crack from that entire mystique.

'Being a Texan is a point of pride for me. I could never imagine not being one, and I don't want to even when I could.

Matthew McConaughey, often counted among the best actors of his generation, was born and raised in Austin, Texas and is certainly proud of his Texan heritage, as the statement from him quoted above goes to show. 

That's the thing with Texans. They are awfully proud people who love their homeland better than anything else. The customary southern value of love, peace, bravery, family life, piety and righteousness are found to be overflowing in Austin “ a quintessentially Texan city. 

It's often said that if you want to see what real Texas looks like, take a hike from Dallas to Austin. Along the road, you will get an idea and when you finally reach Austin you will understand what Texas has in store for you. In Texas, bigger is always the better. From spacious front and backyards to sprawling ranches and from tall, strong people to their food items that need to be weighed before eating, excess of life is the norm here. But don't let that fool you, because you will struggle to find more loving and caring people than these rugged Texans who are quick to make friends with and even quicker to get along with! 

So, make mark free dates on your calendar, make some solid plans and visit the beautiful city of Austin as early as you can. We give you our word that you will fall in love with its ways! 

Budget Accommodation in Austin 

Austin is the capital of Texas but is often overlooked in favor of bigger cities like Dallas. But that's fine “ because in its own right, Austin has managed to blossom as good as any city you can think of. 

Housing over 1 million people “ a large section of which is comprised by students and professionals from other parts of the country and the world, Austin sure knows how to lead its life in the fast lane. That still doesn't keep it from enjoying some laidback life, though “ and, that's the reason why tourists keep getting enticed to Austin over and over again. 

It's only imperative that to accommodate these many tourists, Austin must have a good infrastructure of hotel and resort establishments. And it indeed does, as over 200 official hotel, lodge and resort units have been registered with the city records, with over 50,000 rooms available to be rented to visitors. 

A big part of this hotel strength is made up of cheap hotels that do not burn booming holes in the pockets of their guests. We would be the first to agree that they don't offer you over-the-top amenities to glorify your stay, but they can surely provide a decent value for you money, however little you might have paid. 

Kimber Modern Hotel and Roadway Inn & Suites are our two top choices in this category of cheap hotels, as they stand true and tall on the custom criteria we usually employ to rank lodges and resorts. 

Luxury Resorts, Hotels and Spas in Austin 

Since Austin is the capital of a huge state like Texas and it already houses many businesses, industries, universities, corporate complexes and tourist attractions, it's only expected that it also features its fair share of luxury resorts that can be described in one word “ regal! 

While Texas may take pride in being simple and straightforward, these lavish hotels in Austin certainly seem to take an exception to that idea. 

Take Four Seasons Hotel Austin, for example. It's a truly magnificent hotel that has everything that a tourist or a business traveler would want from a luxury property. Landmark location, spacious rooms and suites, round the clock room service, free limo pick-up and drops, excellent choice of menu and a perfect restaurant to boot “ all boxes are ticked emphatically by Four Seasons, and to see how, you will have to visit! 

W Austin is a fitting alternative to Four Seasons, if you come to know that there are no vacant rooms available at the latter. It brings to the table that remarkably fabulous brand of luxury that we have come to know W resorts for. 

Hotel Ella is a locally developed five star hotel which you can give a go, if you don't wish to splurge all of your travel budget on brand-named Austin hotels. 

Alternative Lodging Options in Austin 

It must be admitted that lodging at a hotel for long periods of time is not something that many travelers are comfortable with. Hence, while travelling to Austin on business or leisure, it's a good idea to find an independent rental option or a boutique hotel “ especially if your stay is going to push two weeks or longer. 

Among various boutique hotels in Austin, Super 8 Austin is our top pick. It's situated very close to the airport and room tariff is quite reasonable for the kind of luxury you get here. 

What Not to Miss Out on While Sightseeing in Austin? 

It's a tough one. There's so much to see in Austin that you wouldn't ideally want to miss out on anything at all. 

The State Capitol is perhaps the most important must-see place in Austin. It's a majestic conglomerate of buildings from which the State of Texas is run.

Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Memorial Library is worth visiting as well. Not too far from the library is the Congress Avenue Bridge that houses over 1 million bats and is swarmed by tourists who want to see the spectacle that is quite unique to Austin. 

Austin Weather: Nothing to Worry! 

Austin is blessed with warm weather pretty much throughout the year. During the months of early winter, that is October and November, the weather is very pleasant and fuzzy, meaning that tourists flock the city and Austin hotels run dry on vacancies. 

High summer can be a good time to visit Austin if you can handle the heat. Cheap room tariffs and airfares during summer present good reasons to visit Austin during summer.