Downright Austin, A Renaissance Hotel

Older hotel which is about to be renovated. The lounge for Bonvoy members is closed. Good location - 10min walk to Capitol Hill.

Great staff

Honestly this hotel has been the best I’ve stayed at so far. Loved the staff, the room & the CLEANLINESS

It was not disclosed until check-in that parking was $50. Staff were friendly and hotel was clean and cute. Very thin walls. I could hear guest next door talking and partying until 11pm.

The only down fall was waiting 15 min to check in. Instead of just saying we don’t allow early check in they stated rooms weren’t ready. Which is ridiculous when you know rooms are booked and should be ready by then. I literally was off by those 15 minutes and was told to come back in 15 minutes. Other than that everything else was great.

In the past, this hotel received poor reviews (perhaps prior to renovation), but I think it's more than overcome those ratings! I stayed here 3 nights for a conference. I thought the staff was very friendly and responsive with everything from restaurant recommendations to providing a hair dryer and bottled water anytime I asked. I had a quiet room on the 8th floor. The room was very clean, bed comfortable with plenty of pillows of different fills so you could be assured to get one that works for you. I felt totally comfortable. Shower perfect pressure and no issue with hot water. I loved the Aveda amenities. A/C was responsive and kept the room very comfortable. One cleaning person spoke only English, and when she did not understand a request I made, she pulled out her cell phone and used Google translate to communicate, which was really appreciated! Clearly the folks here want to do whatever they can to help. One night our conference had a happy hour with food, and the buffet style tacos were outstanding. Each morning we had a breakfast buffet with plenty of offerings, Starbucks coffee all day, and lunch, all buffet style. Another attendee commented on the clearly labeled GF options, and she was impressed. One evening I ate at the hotel restaurant downstairs - quesadillas - and they were really good and full of vegetables. My only complaint about this hotel, which is why I gave 4 stars instead of 5, was its location. It is not easy to just run out and grab something nearby unless you had a car. I am a big walker, but did not feel comfortable walking in the evening, alone or not (and I am a Chicagoan) to the "hot" area of 6th street in Austin. The very few nearby restaurants were several blocks away through vacant areas with no pedestrian traffic, and not the cleanest. You had to walk through areas where there was considerable loitering of questionable characters, some just down on their luck but others clearly on something and eager to interact and ask for money. I did head over to 7th street for dinner one evening, which was lovely. I heard about how awesome a city Austin is, but hardly was able to explore it due to my conference, but also due to this location. I was looking for more convenience. I do prefer to stay at the hotel where my conference was being held for convenience, but I did not anticipate the somewhat isolated experience. If you're worried about this hotel's quality due to earlier reviews, look no further. It's a different hotel. Two of the ladies at the front desk stood out with their helpfulness and I regret not getting their names.

I stayed two nights for a conference in the hotel. The staff at the front desk and Morningbird Café are incredibly friendly and helpful. The room was very clean, updated with clean lines and functional furniture. I like the gold bathroom appliances. The TV is huge and the bed and pillows were comfortable. The lighting in the bathroom made it difficult to apply make up, but I find this to be true at a lot of hotels as rooms are generally dark these days. The food buffet served at my conference throughout the 2 days was also pretty good including the first night when they had outstanding beef tacos with the most tender beef.

This hotel really wowed us! Beautifully remodeled rooms and common areas. So clean and nice. The staff were helpful and polite. The highlight of our stay was eating at the Morningbird restaurant often for both breakfast and lunch. The egg biscuit and chicken sando were amazing. We really want to say how much we appreciated the staff of Morningbird. The location of this hotel is perfect for us, and we plan to stay there in our future visits to Austin.

The place is too noisy, it seems sound insulation is not done properly. Be careful that the advertised price is inaccurate as it does not include $52 parking fee or $59 in case you want to use valet.