Accommodation options with access to major sights and attractions of Austin - downtown sold out! (Houston: 2014, rentals)

[andrewmillichamp]

Hello chaps,

Me and my significant other are planning to visit Austin from Houston (by road, we have a car) next week. However, it happens to be SXSW and most hotels are sold out or very expensive.

It is our first time to Austin and we want to see some sights and sounds of Austin including SXSW if there is some public/low priced event, but not necessarily.

SXSW is not our motive for the trip so we can see everything else there is to see in Austin apart from that.

Can you recommend any part of town in or near Austin (as we have a car!) that may provide comfortable accommodations, e.g. Courtyard Marriott type or better, and yet allow us to either drive or take safe public transportation/reasonably priced taxi to and from Austin.

Thank you for your help!

Much appreciated,

Andrew

[RoadWarrior12]

Check La Quinta or Hampton Inn by Lakeline mall. You can grab the train into downtown Austin.

[A-Tex]

Originally Posted by RoadWarrior12

Check La Quinta or Hampton Inn by Lakeline mall. You can grab the train into downtown Austin.

Nope. They're booked. I think the closest one can hope to get to downtown at this point is Round Rock, and I just checked the LQ there online. They have vacancies but starting at $249 a night.

[RoadWarrior12]

Originally Posted by A-Tex

Nope. They're booked. I think the closest one can hope to get to downtown at this point is Round Rock, and I just checked the LQ there online. They have vacancies but starting at $249 a night.

Whoa. Booked the Hampton for a group at $139 about a week ago.

[andrewmillichamp]

Hi chaps,

Thank you for your reply. Is this Hampton Inn the one being referred to:

Hampton Inn & Suites Austin Cedar Park - Lakeline
10811 Pecan Park Blvd, Austin, Texas, 78750, USA

If so, is this a reasonably safe neighborhood? Can we park our vehicle at the train station? Are the trains generally safe?

Any other areas we should look at?

Thank you!
Andrew

[mamacatnv]

There are also about 6 hotels on 1431/Whitestone in Cedar Park including a Candlewood, La Quinta and Motel 6. All are in a good neighborhood and within about a mile of each other very close to 183 for access to downtown as well as the Metro.

The Hampton near the mall is also a decent neighborhood and the Lakeline and Leander Metro stations both have parking

[centralaustinite]

Hotel rooms, vacation rentals, and airbnb will all be booked and at their highest rates for the entire year!! It is SXSW!! We are full.

[atxcio]

Can't speak to the accommodations, but Lakeline area is a good option. The trains may be pretty full, though. Personally I recommend the Arboretum area, there is usually something available (several hotels there) and it is closer to downtown. You'd need to drive or take the bus downtown from there. The Arboretum area also might be easier for other things you might want to do in Austin -- especially if they are in the west/hill country area. You can take 360 south for a nice drive if you have anything planned in Southwest Austin.

You might also look at "specialty lodging" on tripadvisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g3...as-Hotels.html. Look for small hotels or B&Bs with no online booking option, then just call them up. If there are any last minute vacancies, that's the way to find them.

As for free/no-badge events, there are LOTS of them during SXSW. They may even outnumber the official events. Here is a good searchable list of just the public/free stuff: 2014 SXSW Side Parties | Austin360

Or just get yourself downtown and walk around. You'll find something. Are you coming during the interactive part or the music part?

[Komeht]

Everything within 20 miles of the CBD has been booked for months.

[andrewmillichamp]

Thanks for the replies. We will be there Saturday (March 8) through Tuesday (March 11).

So if I understand correct, if we stay in Lakeline/Cedar Park we can take the train to the downtown Austin station.

However, if we stay in the Arboretum area we will need to drive downtown - if so, how about parking, I presume it will be very difficult to find parking downtown.

It is our first trip to Houston, but here are some things we want to do:

1) Walk around downtown to soak in the ambience and maybe listen to some music - We do not drink but I presume we can still enjoy

2) Have a meal at the main 'Whole Foods' in Austin - just something on our wish list

3) Visit a nice park or some outdoor area to take a stroll for an hour or so

4) Is lake Travis worth visiting in this weather? We are not very outdoorsy type, but enjoy nature

5) Any other suggestions!

And of course any accommodation location suggestions too!

Anyone need anything from Houston?

Thanks,
Andrew