A Stay At The Austin Fairmont Hotel Is Unbeatable & Worth The Cost

If you’re looking for a place to stay in Austin, then you might want to consider booking the Austin Fairmont.

It’s definitely on the more expensive side of hotel stays, but it’s the best city hotel I’ve ever stayed at, and it’s worth the extra cost.

I stayed here for 5 nights when we visited Austin in March 2023. I’ll go over why and how we booked it, and all the important details you need to know.

Let’s just say that I loved the hotel so much that I would come back to Austin just to stay at the Fairmont Austin hotel. It’s not only the best hotel I’ve stayed at, but the best of any Fairmonts that I’ve stayed at. I’d come back for the incredible rooftop pool and the best sleep I’ve ever had at any hotel.

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Austin Fairmont Is Not Your Typical Fairmont Hotel

From the moment you walk into the Fairmont Austin, you’re greeted with the smell of spring. This is the Fairmont Austin’s signature scent (and yes, you can buy an overpriced candle to take home with you – I even considered it, the smell was so refreshing every time we walked into the hallway or lobby).

I don’t know about you, but the Fairmont hotels we’re used to are old buildings that they’ve converted into hotels with the tiniest rooms.

That is not the case for the Austin Faimront.

This is a full fledged modern hotel. Even their basic rooms, which are the cheapest rooms, are spacious with floor to ceiling windows.

But, as with other Fairmont hotels, you also have unbeatable amenities at your fingertips and great service.

How Much Does It Cost To Stay At The Fairmont Austin Hotel?

The nightly rate to stay at the Austin Fairmont varies based on when you’re visiting, how far in advance you’re booking, and the type of room you want.

It typically ranges between $300 and $1000 USD / night. This doesn’t include breakfast or parking, which is $50 to $60 USD/ night.

The Fairmont often offers discounts on your stay, that you should keep an eye out for. For example, if you’re a member you can usually get 5% off. If it’s low season it can be 25% off!

I’ve also seen the Austin Adventure Package which seems really worth booking. It was only $10 more than the regular base room rate BUT they give you complimentary parking for one car and a $25 hotel credit, which can be used for food at the hotel, or even drinks by the pool!

How (&Why) We Booked The Fairmont Austin Hotel

When we were looking for downtown Austin hotels, it came as quite a shock at how expensive everything was. We also wanted to make sure that we were in a safe area in Austin.

Knowing that Fairmont is a trusted hotel brand made it an easy choice in that regard.

As it turns out, though unknown to us at the time, we visited Austin during quite possibly the worst time of the year: during the South by SouthWest conference. This apparently happens every year in March, and this year was no exception.

This meant that although we had a very lively downtown to enjoy, it also meant very expensive hotels. Even your run of the mill Hampton Inn came to $400/ night…

We ended up searching on AirCanada Vacations and found a discounted rate for the Austin Fairmont. I guess they have a deal for the entire year, so they weren’t affected by the conference rates, unlike all of the other hotels.

So for us, the Fairmont was only a few hundred dollars more than the Hampton Inn. You might want to see if they have any deals on AirCanada Vacations here.

A Bit About The Hotel

Staying at the Austin Fairmont is still a big expense, but it’s worth the cost. Like I said, I would come back to Austin just to stay at this hotel – it’s that good!

From the location to the unbeatable hotel amenities (like have I mentioned the rooftop pool yet?).

The Location: What Part Of Austin Is The Fairmont In?

Like I said, part of why we booked the Fairmont is because we trusted that the hotel would be in a good and safe location in Austin – and it was… well, sort of.

It wasn’t in the heart of downtown, I would say, but it was still within walkable distance to everything. It was more on the edge of the city though – in between downtown and the highway.

You could tell that this area was still being built up, with a lot of construction going on.

Like I said, you could walk to Congress Av, Sixth Street, Second Street District, and Rainey Street.

It’s also right across the street from the convention centre, if you’re there for a conference. I don’t think you even have to walk outside, there’s a covered pedestrian bridge between the two.

We walked basically everywhere from the Fairmont Austin hotel.

The only places that were too far were those across Lady Bird Lake (like Terry Black’s BBQ) and the Texas State Capitol and University of Texas (with the Bullock State Museum). Those would have been closer to a 30 minute walk from the hotel.

How Far Is The Fairmont From The Airport?

The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is about 7 miles away from the Fairmont Austin hotel. It’s about a 15 minute drive by car.

The Fairmont Austin does not provide shuttle service to and from the hotel to the airport.

The Hotel Amenities Make The Fairmont The Best Hotels In Austin

If it’s one thing Fairmont knows how to do, it’s the amenities. The Fairmont Austin pool was out of this world.

They’re also known for the spa at the hotel. Although we didn’t get to enjoy that part of the hotel, we definitely felt like we missed out!

Usually Fairmont hotels charge a $25 resort fee on top of the nightly rate, but this wasn’t the case for the Austin Fairmont.

Parking At The Austin Fairmont Hotel

As with all the downtown Austin hotels, parking is not free – so make sure you consider it in the costs of your stay.

We thought we would find another place to park, but it was never worth it.

It seemed like the Fairmont Austin was actually the cheapest parking out of all the hotels in the city. Not to mention it was also very convenient.

It was $50/ night for self parking or $60 for valet. Self-parking was in an underground garage below the hotel. You did have to walk to a separate elevator to get to it from your room. You can find the most up to date parking rates here.

The Health Club: Fairmont Austin Spa & Gym

The health club at the Fairmont Austin includes the gym and spa on the 6th floor.

They offer several amenities at the spa from massages to facial treatments, even manicures and pedicures (in case you didn’t have time before you left!). But what sets them a part from most spas are their CBD treatments.

You can see a full list of spa treatments here.

The gym is probably one of the largest hotel gyms I’ve ever seen. Also instead of being in a small, forgotten, dingy room, it also has floor to ceiling windows overlooking the downtown skyline. How’s that for an inspirational view while you work out!?

The Fairmont Austin Pool Experience

The Fairmont Austin pool is the reason to book this hotel every time.

Their rooftop pool is on the 7th floor. In front of you is the downtown skyline, and you can see Lady Bird Lake in the distance.

I suspect they have the pool on the 7th floor to take advantage of the cooler temperatures up there… and trust me when I say, it was still really hot (and that was in March!).

We would start to feel chilly sitting at the pool but then get to the ground floor and it was still very much 30 degrees (celsius).

I imagine the breeze on the 7th floor makes sitting there much more bearable during the summer months.

Anyway, it’s relaxing beyond belief there. We rarely go to hotel pools and we were here EVERYDAY! It was the perfect place to come relax at around 4:00 P.M. after a day of touring Austin.

The best part is that they have lounge seats set up in the water! They also have a hot tub you can use. Plus, there’s of course pool service to order a frozen drink to cool down!

Free Bikes To Use

I always like booking Fairmont hotels for the random amenities they sometimes offer. In this case, it’s the complimentary bikes.

You won’t get this with any other downtown Austin hotels.

The bikes are on a first come, first served basis. But once it’s yours, you have the bike for 3 hours. This is more than enough time to head out to the Lady Bird Lake boardwalk and the Tejano Trail.

They even offer helmets for you (so bring a bandana if you’re like me and care for safety but are afraid of lice!).

These bikes were more suited up than mine at home. With a handle mirror, bell, and even a small pouch for your belongings. They also had an adjustable water bottle holder and give you a lock. How impressive is that!?

Pet Friendly Hotel Policy

As with other Fairmont hotels, the Austin Fairmont is no exception to their pet friendly policy.

Although our little travel cat didn’t come with us this time. I saw that there was a pet fee of $150/ stay. Your pet also has to be under 25 pounds. Service animals are exempt from these policies.

How Was The Basic Room At The Austin Fairmont

We booked the basic room through AirCanada Vacations. Let’s just say, this room did not feel basic at all, especially compared to what we’re used to from basic Fairmont rooms, and booking through third party sites.

The room was spacious, with incredible floor to ceiling windows, and CLEAN beyond belief! Like the cleanest hotel I’ve ever stayed at.

The room was large enough to have a full king size bed, a TV, desk, and lounge chair. Plus, more than enough space to walk between everything (it’s sad that I even have to say that as a perk!).

The bathroom had the shower and sink on one side and a separate toilet next to it. This made getting ready in the mornings very easy, and we appreciated the separated sink.

Shoutout To The Cleaning Staff For Doing An Impeccable Job!

The Fairmont Austin hotel took cleaning to a whole other level. When we came back to our room, everything that we had left out was placed on their own towel. I had never seen this before.

Even in the bathroom, everything looked like it had been tetris-ed to fit on the one towel square perfectly. They even tied up our chargers to keep the room looking tidy A.F. I was very impressed.

There’s also always some leftover grime or dirt that I learn to not see in hotel rooms… there was none of that here. I felt clean every step of the way.

One Downside Of The Room: The Noise…

This is a big problem with most hotels, and unfortunately, the Austin Fairmont is not the exception.

I will say that the noise levels weren’t too bad, but it also wasn’t perfect.

We couldn’t hear too much from the hallways even though we were right next to the elevator. But we did hear our neighbour’s TV. We had one of those shared rooms that has a locked door you could open if you knew your neighbour.

Either our neighbour was blasting their TV at night, or the walls were just very thin. But once we turned on our TV we thankfully couldn’t hear it anymore.

What Are The Restaurants At The Austin Fairmont Hotel?

The Austin Fairmont hotel has 5 restaurants – all very different from each other! Their main restaurant bar is in the lobby of the hotel: Fulton. This is where you might also get lucky with some live music one night (you’re in Austin after all!).

Around the corner are Good Things, Revue, and Garrison.

Good Things is their small cafe – this is a great spot for breakfast, snack, or coffee (or souvenir shopping!). It’s the only restaurant we actually tried at the Austin Fairmont but honestly couldn’t complain. They had fresh fruit everyday, and delicious pastries!

Revue is like 5 restaurants in one, probably a good option if you’re travelling with multiple people in your party so everyone can choose what they want to eat. We checked out the menu and were surprised to see relatively normal prices for a Fairmont restaurant as well. This is also where they’ll have the classic Fairmont breakfast buffet in the morning as well.

Garrison is the classic Fairmont dining experience where you’ll have the exorbitant prices and a steak dinner.

And finally, if you sneak up to the 7th floor you can head to Rules and Regs. This is a bar with an outdoor rooftop patio and cigar lounge. If you’re sensitive to smoke, I wouldn’t exactly recommend coming here. But the view might be worth it!

Is The Fairmont Austin Texas Good Value For Money

The Austin Fairmont is not a budget hotel in any sense. But unlike most Fairmont hotels that I’ve stayed at, I’d really say it’s actually worth the cost.

It’s clean, it’s modern, and so so so relaxing! It really takes staying at a hotel to the next level and I really felt like my money was well spent.

Of course, would I like it to be more affordable? Absolutely!

Cancellation Policy

Fairmont also offers a very reasonable cancellation policy allowing you to cancel up to a day before your stay.

That’s why I’m never concerned with booking a stay at the Fairmont Austin. See their cancellation policy here.

Alternative Downtown Austin Hotels

If you’re looking for a more budget friendly option with an apartment style hotel, we were considering Mint House At the Hatchery. But you do sacrifice location a bit to stay here (alternatively, they also have a Mint House on South Congress). They’re reasonably priced, modern and updated style apartments, and offer a more local experience to your stay. See room rates and availability here.

For a more brand name hotel, we were also considering the Homewood Suites in the Rainy Street historic District. Homewood Suites offers larger rooms with a full kitchen and even has breakfast included! See room rates and availability here.

For more hotels in Austin Texas, click here.

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