Culture / Travel

Austin’s 5 Coolest Hotels — Where to Stay If You Want Something Extra Distinctive

From a Farmhouse Brewery to a Historic Estate to a Proper Hotel

BY // 10.09.22

It’s a long-known fact that some things are just a little cooler — and dare we say better — in Austin. When it comes to hotels and standout places to stay, that may be (arguably) even more the case. From a private retreat reconceived by a lauded international designer to a farmhouse brewery turned inn poised on 165 acres in the Texas Hill Country, here are The 5 Coolest Hotels in Austin:

 

Jester King Inn Austin
Jester King Inn Austin is a former brewery turned Inn in a countryside-worthy setting.

Jester King

Originally co-founded as a brewery in 2007 by brothers Jeff Stuffing and Michael Steffing, Jester King is now comprised of a kitchen, a working farm, an event space, nature trails, and one of Austin’s most interesting places to stay. Set in the outskirts of Austin on 165 sprawling acres lined with nearly 100 fruit trees and a large herd of goats (mainly Nigerian dwarf goats), you can now stay the night at Jester King’s new lodging option consisting of five individual cabins outfitted with kitchenettes and private porches, and four campsites equipped with hammocks, picnic tables, and a communal firepit.

Hotel Saint Cecilia – Pool x SOUL Sign – Nick Simonite
The pool at Hotel Saint Cecilia

Hotel Saint Cecilia

Housed in a historic Victorian home built in 1888 and reimagined by Bunkhouse (its sister properties include Hotel Magdalena and Hotel San Jose), Hotel Saint Cecilia has just unveiled six new Garden suites that seem to have everything — all of it cool.

Saint Cecilia’s new Garden suites come with in-room spa minibars curated with Haoma holistic body care products, turntables with vintage LPs available at the on-site lending library, oak wood floors, organic beds from Swedish purveyor Hästens, and outdoor patios.

Paying homage to the patron saint of music and poetry, this secluded 20-room hotel is located one block from the South Congress District and features a 300-year-old oak tree, a swimming pool and a boutique stocked with design tomes, playing cards and hand-block printed scarves.

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Austin Proper Hotel Residences
Austin Proper Hotel & Residences (The Ingalls)

Austin Proper Hotel

Built in 2019, Austin Proper Hotel & Residences came to life with the creative vision of renowned interior designer Kelly Wearstler (who is also behind the Santa Monica Proper Hotel and the San Francisco Proper Hotel) and restaurants from McGuire Moorman Hospitality. Lined with 244 rooms and suites and 99 residences, the glam property features raw travertine sourced from nearby quarries, a sculptural staircase layered with more than 60 patchwork vintage rugs, intricate string and fiber artwork from Austin-based textile artist Magda Sayeg, and vessels and trays from local ceramicist Rick Van Dyke.

On Sundays, you can make a reservation for afternoon tea in the lobby lounge at Goldie’s Sunken Bar for a menu with everything from egg salad canapes to French macarons. Or recharge at Verbena Spa with new Body Planing treatments.

The Proper Renewal treatment begins with a foot cleansing ritual followed by an application of firming body oil and body exfoliation. Now, that’s a stress-free cool.

 

Four Seasons Hotel Austin is classic Austin Cool.
Four Seasons Hotel Austin is classic Austin Cool.

Four Seasons Hotel Austin

With 294 rooms overlooking Lady Bird Lake, an open-air fitness center, and a saltwater pool, Four Seasons Hotel Austin is a city oasis. Located on nearly three acres, the nine-story hotel designed by The Beck Group — which is also behind  The Cape, a Thompson Hotel in Los Cabos, Mexico — boasts two on-site restaurants, a 4,000-square-foot spa with a Himalayan pink salt wall, and a slew of cool activities.

These include everything from a new bocce ball court to off-site hiking, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, golf, and tennis. But that’s not all Four Seasons Hotel Austin can provide.

Feel like making music? Borrow a premium guitar to take back to your room or bring onto the lawn. Yes, this Austin hotel has its own Guitar Concierge program.

 

Commodore Perry Estate Austin
The Commodore Perry Estate in Austin is a reimagined historic estate.

Commodore Perry Estate

When cotton shipping mogul Edgar Howard “Commodore” Perry first arrived in Austin in 1902, he began construction on a city hotel. Today, you can be instantly transported to a bucolic hideaway at Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Resorts Collection.

This hotel makes great use of the Perry family’s original 10,800-square-foot Italian Renaissance Revival-style mansion. Picture manicured gardens and fountains and a 50-foot oval swimming pool. The 54-room hotel, painstakingly overhauled by San Francisco-based design visionary Ken Fulk, is appointed with vintage cocktail carts pre-stocked with the spirits of your choice, and a curated selection of old typewriters, writing desks, globes, and curiosities evocative of a bygone era.

Sometimes cool is vintage.

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