The Driskill Hotel, Austin

The Driskill in a word - outstanding! Right in the heart of the 6th Street music scene is this grand, historic hotel. I loooooooove staying in historic hotels. Who wants to stay in a sterile corporate hotel when you can stay somewhere with so much character like the Driskill? The Driskill is fully restored and lovingly cared for with all the amenities that you would expect in a modern hotel.




This is THE hotel in Austin and the Texas size lobby with it's massive stained glass ceiling left me breathless. The attention to detail was so impressive! Every surface of the hotel is well designed and feels true to the original decor with pressed tin and stained glass ceilings, carved wood railing and banisters, and shiny brass handrails. Then, there's all the Texas touches - a steer head hanging in the bar, the use of the Texas star in so much of the decor, cowhide chairs and couches. It's like a grand Victorian hotel of San Francisco meets a Texas cattle ranch. It's grand in scale yet warm and inviting.
Q and I had a few drinks in that bar pictured above. The bar has several different seating areas we usually cozied up on a couch right under that steer head. The music they played was perfect for the setting too, everything from Patsy Cline to Lyle Lovett.




We stayed in one of the Senate Rooms -

They have one on each floor of the new tower of the hotel, they are slightly larger than the traditional historic rooms and they include a nice seating area in front of the bed.


Every surface in the room is well designed and feels so plush! From the fresh crisp white linens on the bed to that fabulous faux fur throw.




We settled in like we were at home very quickly. The room was so comfortable it was hard for us to leave most mornings. The free wi-fi made it easy to blog/twitter/facebook and even research fun stuff to do in Austin. I love free wi-fi! I actually avoid booking hotels that charge for wi-fi just out of spite, so I really was happy that the Driskill provides it free!


Even the guest rooms are all about the details!

The desk area -


with a notepad and pen ready to use.

The bathroom with it's lush towels and oatmeal soap -
and some really nice toiletries too!!




Before we walked to our dinner spot on our first night, we stopped for a photo op on one of the breezy verandas upstairs -


That's the famed 6th Street right there behind us. When we came back from dinner I found our bed was turned down and this sweet yellow rose of Texas was there on the pillow.

The Driskill keeps impressing us with all the attention to detail!!

The staff was so friendly and helpful and saw to our every request. We bought some wine but we failed to bring a cork screw - the hotel had one in our hands within minutes of our call for one. We needed help getting our luggage downstairs, no problem - again within minutes we had help at our door. My niece had some questions about the history of the hotel, one staff member gave us all a quick guided tour, he gave us lots of interesting historical facts about the hotel and even let us take a peek at the LBJ suite - gorgeous!

The hotel doesn't have a parking lot, but they do have a valet with in and out privileges for $25 a night. Most downtown Austin hotels have similar parking rates, but they don't mention them on the hotel websites. The Driskill clearly states the valet rate on their website, so there are no surprises.


Now, here's the best part - the Driskill has all kinds of special rates and package deals!! I highly recommend you follow them on Twitter for the inside scoop on special deals, you can also become on fan of theirs on facebook for great deals too.

604 Brazos St. Austin, Texas 78701

Toll Free RESERVATIONS & SALES: 800-252-9367
PHONE: 512-474-5911

The Driskill website
The Driskill on Twitter http://twitter.com/Driskillhotel
The Driskill is having all kinds of special rates and packages this summer, check 'em out by clicking here