Review: Intercontinental Austin

Several weeks ago, I stayed at the Intercontinental Austin using an Ambassador BOGO certificate. It was quite a nice stay, and being the time that SCOTUS announced their gay-marriage decision, a stay certainly encompassed by celebration.

I booked the Intercontinental Austin for two nights for the cheapest room. Being an Ambassador, they gave me a 7 step upgrade to the One Bedroom Suite, a couple days in advance to my arrival. What a treat!

The Intercontinental Austin is arguably one of Austin’s most historic hotels, just behind the Driskill. It is not a huge property, and is situated within a 10 minute walk of the Capitol.

The property is a little old, and feels like a solid four-star hotel. The front-desk staff were very pleasant, though not quite polished – they didn’t know what to do when I asked for a bottle of water at checkin (it was 40C!), and had to grab some mini bottles from the lounge.

The suite was huge, well decorated, and modern. My Ambassador amenity was a bottle of water and a mix of nuts. The mix was quite nice, and I devoured the entire thing in a sitting (I have an eating problem…). Unfortunately the bed was quite hard, and didn’t have that “sink-in” feeling that Intercontinental beds usually offer.

You could see the Capitol right from my room, which was awesome.

For breakfast, I avoided the hotel’s restaurant, and went to the Driskill instead. There, the breakfast was cheap, filling, and very upscale.

As previously mentioned, I was in Austin for the SCOTUS gay marriage decision. The entire city was in celebration, which was a delight to see. In honour of the day, I had a drink at the hotel’s bar. It was very expensive, and the drink was ‘meh,’ but the view, being a balcony facing the Capitol, was to die for.

All-in-all, my stay at the Intercontinental Austin was enjoyable. Now, I was upgraded to one of the best rooms in the hotel, so that certainly biased my perspective, but I slept well and had a great place to celebrate.