Spa and Garrison Set the Downtown Hotel Apart
In the spring of 2022, we paid a check out to the award-winning Austin outpost of the Fairmont manufacturer, a sky-large hotel that defies its dimension with astonishing warmth.
With The Correct, Lodge Van Zandt, and the Commodore Perry Estate, Austin doesn’t want for luxe, significant-stop hospitality. In the spring of 2018, however, the city’s lively downtown community welcomed its most significant resort to date — the Fairmont Austin.
At a Glance
The gleaming, 37-story tower attributes 1,048 rooms, five restaurants and bars, a magnificent spa, and a prime bash pool (the most significant in downtown Austin). But even with its grandness and immediate entry to the conference center, the Fairmont Austin maintains a shocking warmth. This may well be why, in addition to getting the most significant U.S. outpost of the lodge chain when it debuted, the Fairmont Austin is also one particular of the most loved — it at present sits in the range one place of Condé Nast Traveler’s Best 20 Motels in Texas: Readers’ Choice.
The Minor Points
In every home, hope plush bathrobes, a Nespresso device, and luxe Le Labo products, which include the Fairmont’s signature scent, Rose 31.
The Gold Lounge
We were being blessed to rating 1 of the 131 upgraded rooms underneath the Fairmont Gold umbrella. Billed as “a hotel inside a lodge,” the practical experience sent. A Gold space important grants you obtain to a focused concierge staff, non-public verify-in and checkout, and most importantly, the Gold Lounge, which provides an expansive breakfast spread, night hors d’oeuvres, and impressive downtown Austin sights.
Who Stays Below?
All people. We saw couples of all ages, though that weekend was notably youthful — a large faculty girls’ volleyball tournament was occurring in the space. Provided its proximity to the conference centre, the resort is an apparent cease for conventioneers, but talking with local close friends, it’s apparent that Fairmont Austin also will make for an great staycation.
A superior deal of people also manufactured an visual appeal that weekend. Our group incorporated a 5-year-previous, who uncovered lots of new friends to participate in with at the pool.
The Fairmont Austin Spa
My pay a visit to to the Fairmont Spa — a gorgeous room that could go toe to toe with some of the best in Dallas — was a bit past moment, so a massage or facial was off the desk. The good thing is for me, anything just as comforting awaited: an appointment with Ni Saletta.
I say this in all seriousness — Saletta gave me the biggest manicure and pedicure of my entire lifestyle. (And I take into consideration myself somewhat seasoned in the mani-pedi division!) Actually, I would take into account building the 3-hour generate from Dallas just to spend some time with her magic fingers. If you really do not take my phrase for it, just peruse the a lot of, many 5-star TripAdvisor testimonials for the Fairmont Austin Spa, numerous of which call out Saletta.
Dining at Fairmont Austin
In addition to Saletta’s transcendent pedicure, yet another spotlight was Garrison. It felt unusual not to be venturing out into a town filled with amazing impartial restaurants, but it turned out, there was a hidden eating gem right beneath our noses.
Ahead of receiving to Garrison, even so, I really should set the one of a kind and expansive eating scene at the Fairmont Austin. Just off the lobby, Fulton, residence to elevated bar treats and a towering, twinkling oak centerpiece, is the 1st of 5 bars and restaurants you will find out at the hotel. Just past, you’ll locate Revue, a Las Vegas-style foodstuff court (cuisine choices contain Japanese, American Italian, Thai, and more) and Superior Factors, which doubles as a lodge reward store and a cozy espresso outpost. Ascend to the seventh floor to locate Guidelines & Regs, which offers vivid views of Rainey Avenue and sits following to Fairmont Austin’s buzzy complete-support pool.
Enterprise previous all the l0bby-degree places described above to get there at Garrison, tucked powering the façade of a classic Southern household (very front porch, Greek Revival columns, and all). We experimented with just about every inventive dish our waitress confidently recommended: truffle tater tots, tuna Crudo with yuzu koshö, Parker house rolls with fermented honey, and the Environmentally friendly Circle Hen with black truffle. We would buy just about every final chunk once again — paired with the restaurant’s award-successful wine program.
Pro Idea: Sit at the bar if you can to enjoy government chef Jakub Czyszczon and his talented workforce make eating dreams a wood-fired truth.
Closing Thoughts
Really do not dismiss the Fairmont Austin as just a further connection in a lodge chain. Confident, there are moments of hospitality homogeny, but there are also loads of considerate touches and lavish facilities to established the downtown place apart.