Embassy Suites By Hilton Austin Downtown South Congress

We recently left our second stay at this hotel, and I’m fairly certain it will be our last. We’re in Austin usually twice a year for work, and this hotel is in great proximity to the Palmer convention center, where we’ve been working the past couple times we’ve traveled here. We also choose to book at Hilton almost exclusively for our work (and personal) travel, so this hotel makes the most sense for us. Unfortunately, we’re going to look elsewhere for our next trip as our recent stay was very underwhelming. Though the lobby area appears to have gotten a recent “facelift” within the past few years, the rooms are pretty terrible still. Whenever our AC was running, it sounded like it was dripping a ton of water (we joked that we had a “water feature” in our room). The lighting throughout the room is yellow and dim. The corners of the bathroom and shower floor are quite dirty. The body wash and hand soap have been downgraded to a cheap smelling floral option. The pillows on the bed are laughable- we had 5 of the smallest bed pillows I’d ever seen before. They appeared to be the same size as throw pillows for a couch. Oh, and then we had some mystery splatter on the walls of the bedroom, and on the bathroom ceiling. I’m sure you can catch the drift of our experience staying in our room by now. Oh top of that, parking is $55/day in their parking garage. We opted out of that, and are glad we did this time. The garage has many dusty/abandoned cars throughout, and features dirty stairwells and an elevator I only used once on a previous stay as it didn’t seem too sturdy. We’re thrilled with our choice not to park here this time, as on our way out of the hotel today, we heard a woman at the desk claiming her car was stolen from the garage during her stay. To top off this whole experience, we needed to check out a day earlier as we had a family emergency back home. We asked the lady working the desk about cancellation options, and if we could be refunded for our final night, but she didn’t show too much concern or compassion when explaining our situation. Instead, she seemed happy to tell us “you’ll just lose the room night and your money”. We didn’t go back and forth with her much because we could easily read the dismissive attitude. It’s just a shame with as much as we stay at Hilton hotels. Next time, we’ll choose differently. Learning experience.

Stayed here for the Hope for Minds brain injury conference. Staff at this hotel was amazing tending to multiple families with special needs children for 4 days. Rooms were spacious and clean meals and snacks were great. Wonderful stay. Thank you for accommodating large groups with exceptional needs with care 💞

PHENOMENAL overall experience. Genuinely one of the BEST hotel experiences I have ever had in a LONG time. It's spacious. The staff is all super friendly. They have snacks, a bar, food. The breakfast is huge, amazing, and included (which is super rare these days). The rooms are spacious. There are meeting spaces. There is an INDOOR pool, fitness center, and the friendly staff gave me water bottles as I entered. Also, it was nice that I didn't have to fool around with my key card just to ride up and down the elevators. Again, SUPER excellent experience. I would HIGHLY recommend.

Stayed here for a work trip and it ended up being a great pick. Best part for me was being walking distance from the convention center. Not having to deal with parking or a ride every morning made the whole week a lot easier, and it was nice being able to walk back to the room during breaks. The suite setup is the big draw. Having the separate living area and bedroom made a real difference after long days, gave me room to spread out and actually get some work done at night instead of sitting on the bed. Room was clean and comfortable, no complaints. The free breakfast is legit too. Made to order eggs and the usual spread, and it's a nice way to start the day without hunting around for somewhere to eat before sessions. The evening reception with drinks and snacks was a nice bonus after work too. Front desk staff were friendly and check in was quick and easy. And when you do get some downtime, South Congress is right there. Solid, comfortable stay in a good location for anyone in town for the convention center. Would book it again.