I already live, work, and play in downtown Austin, which means that I know a lot about this area. However, one element that I’m not really that familiar with is the hotels in downtown Austin.
Recently, I was lucky enough to receive a complimentary stay at the Omni downtown. I decided to take advantage of the free stay and do a mini stay-cation with a couple of fun girlfriends. I figured this would be a different way to get to know the city, and have a really fun time while doing it. Here’s us (aren’t we fun?):
The Omni is unique to most of the other upscale hotels downtown (I’m talking Four Seasons, The W, The Hilton) in that there are no residential condos attached or incorporated into the hotel (very interestingly, that’s not always been the case – more on that in a later post, though). There are offices there (the office tower is called the Austin Centre, and Netspend is a major tenant), but that’s not really the same, either. I actually kinda dig this, because there is a definite “hotel” vibe / upscale party atmosphere where we were able to meet TONS of people who weren’t just jaded Austin locals – but who were all definitely looking to have a fun time. This fun, party atmosphere also probably has something to do also with the fact that the Omni does about 40 events a year, most of them weddings.
We did our check-in (super smooth) at the front desk and went up to our room. All of us were pumped over the décor. Turns out that the hotel recently did a big remodel of their suites – and the new look was done by Leo Daly (they managed the project from Dallas, and the design is unique to the Texas Omnis). My FAVORITE thing was the faux fur wallpaper in the guest bathroom. It’s awesome.
Some nice pics of the suite itself:
Very Texas-y.
We got settled in, did the obligatory exclamation of surprise at the mini-bar prices ($6.50 for cashews!):
And suited up to head to heated outdoor rooftop pool.
The rooftop pool, although small, is nice – and there is a conveniently located bar available. The hot-tub was not in working order on our visit. 🙁
Lots of pretty people at the pool – again, definite high-energy atmosphere.
After the pool, we headed to Ancho’s located at the Omni. Although there were a couple of hiccups with the service – everything got resolved and we also got a special drink from one of the waiters! The food was on par with upscale bar food.
We ended up heading to Easy Tiger after hanging out at the hotel bar for a while. The proximity to 6th street was really nice, though, if you are trying to have a RELAXING night and avoid noise on a Friday or Saturday, I would recommend trying to book a room on the north-side of the hotel facing AWAY from 6th street.
Overall, we had an absolute BLAST. The Omni Hotel in downtown Austin is perfect for a high-energy weekend get-a-way, wherever you live.
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