Hotel Magdalena

Nice location but not a great experience. We stayed 2 nights. The pillows are the worst I have ever had and the mattress is lumpy and not comfortable. The room is bare bones-no bathrobes, no cotton balls, no vanity mirror. Room service did not provide clean towels even though we left our used ones on the floor. The check in staff was surly. No smile no Welcome to the hotel and the room was not ready and we had to wait and as they never called us to let us know the room was ready, we went to the front desk and asked about it and it was clear they had forgotten to let us know. Also the parking is $55 a night and at the san Jose which I think is nicer, the parking is $30 a night. The bar they have that they tout at check in (the equipment room) you have to reserve but they don't tell you this so you will not get in either. Finally the coffee that is free in the lobby at 7 am was cold and not great. There are much better experiences on SOCO and given I am there about once a month, I would go to another hotel.

We had a fantastic experience. The staff was friendly and welcoming, especially Ivy and Colton at the front desk, who went above and beyond to make sure our stay was perfect. Stylish hotel and great location. Highly recommend.

The hotel is in a good location, turn left for the buzzy Congress Avenue or turn right for central Austin (about 20 minutes walk). The reception is on the first floor (not the UK's ground floor, the US first floor) which means the lift is needed to check in. The lift is sooooo slow! There are stairs but with luggage the lift is essential but does it have to run on Austin time? The reception is light and bright and the reception staff were always friendly and helpful, dealing clearly and helpfully with some off-the-wall requests for sending parcels. The rooms are an unusual layout. The bed is in the second half of the room, past the seating area and a desk which semi-divides the room and faces away from the door and towards the end wall. There is a mini bar in the room but very few plug sockets, so while there is a coffee maker provided there are not many accessible options of where to put it. The room was a bit spartan but quiet and I had a good night's sleep every night. The blackout curtains were effective which always helps if you are jet-lagged. The closet was large and there were plenty of hangers but there was no drawer space in the room. I was a bit disappointed to be charged quite a heft 'resort fee' which turned out to be for the use of the outdoor swimming pool which I didn't use and for the in-room tea and coffee making facilities, oh and the water dispenser in the reception area - either up the room rate or just call it a tax, otherwise you should be repaying guests who don't use those facilities! Luckily, Music Lane has lots of restaurants, although apart from Joes Coffee Station they all open after 10am for breakfast. Lucky because the hotel's breakfast was a big disappointment. The order of French toast was slow to arrive - and served in a plate with a runny. milky/honey liquid and not much fruit. The breakfast choice was limited - which is fine for a small kitchen - but it was also unvaried. There was no fresh fruit breakfast for example.

Avoid! Hotel hosted private event and did not tell us. Pay to use the pool and bar and they have parts closed? Terrible customer service. Plenty of places in Austin that actually give you what you pay for. Don’t waste your time or money here.

I visit Austin regularly for work. My team has stayed here before but I avoided it because of negative reviews. This week I decided to try it. Should have stuck with my gut. At check in I was initially encouraged by the style of the place. I asked for a quiet room and was then directed to my room in building C. I was told that it would be an adventure finding the room. It was. The wayfinding signs are terrible. Eventually I found one with an arrow pointing to buildings C and D. So I walked that way but the buildings themselves don't have signs on them, so there was no way to tell if I was looking at C or D. I finally gave up and went back to the lobby and asked for help. The front desk fellow graciously offered to walk me there. Finally made it into the room and I gotta say, it was strange. It felt like a stylish hospital room. Institutional floor tiles. The bathroom sink was across from the bed. Awkward. And the soap and shampoo bottles in the shower were just sitting on the floor. Awkward. Every other hotel has that figured out. Meanwhile, this supposedly quiet room had street noise all night. And then leaf blowers early in the morning. I'll be going back to Austin soon but it'll be at a different hotel.