My husband had a room booked for months @ this hotel to attend the Austin City Limits Music Festival. We felt very fortunate to have this reservation due to the threat of Hurricane Rita. We chose to leave Houston Friday 9/23 to go to Austin to avoid the storm, which thankfully did not make a direct hit on our city. We had a reservation for Thursday night but due to the horrific traffic, we were not able to make it. The hotel was very accomodating and cancelled our reservation for Thursday night.

My dog and I arrived hot, tired, and stressed on Friday afternoon while my husband went to the ACL festival. I was thrilled to be greeted right away by a concierge who was very welcoming. We had let the hotel know that we were bringing our dog, their rule is 30 lbs. or less w/ a non-refundable $50 pet fee. Our beloved dog is 70 lbs. but we could not leave her to weather the storm in Houston. I was so greatful that the gentleman who greeted us upon arrival did not say a word. In fact he took the time to pet our dog and let me know that the hotel offers food, walks, etc. What a relief!

When my husband made the reservation he applied for the Omni Club. With this free program we received a coupon to use for a room upgrade. I was so pleased that even w/ all the hurricane evacuees @ the hotel and all the people there for the music festival, they were still able to upgrade us to the Club Floor on 13.

The room was HUGE. It had a living area, small kitchen w/ coffee maker (sink only, no other appliances), king bed, bathroom, and large floor to ceiling windows. Club floor rooms get you access to beer/wine & appetizers from 5-7 PM and continental breakfast from 7-10 AM. We enjoyed the spacious room but we did notice that it needed some updating. The tiles in the bathroom were cracked and worn. There were several noticeable stains on the carpet. It seemed clean but definitely well used. The bed still had a nasty old fashioned cheap hotel bedspread (I am easily repulsed by those things). The mattress seemed old and creaky. You can hear doors slamming along the hall at all hours. However, there was a clock w/ "sounds" that I really liked because I am someone who requires "white noise" to sleep. One of the best features of the room was FREE wi-fi.

The location of the hotel is great. It is on 8th street. 2 blocks from the bars & restaurants on 6th, and a short walk to the capital.

We were most impressed with the service @ this hotel. All of the staff were friendly and extremely welcoming & helpful. I found them to be genuinely caring- even w/ everything going on @ the hotel.

One more gripe, the pool is SMALL for such a large hotel. I was able to use it one time on Sun when there weren't 50 screaming kids splashing around. The gym is on the small side too, but it was not as crowded as the pool. Did not eat @ any of the restaurants or use room service.

All in all, the excellent service, free wi-fi, and the size of the room is what will stand out in my mind about this hotel. I think the room features (like bathroom & bedspread) were average and need some serious updating, considering it is a AAA 4 diamond!

I hope this review was helpful.