a moo view: Dubya in Austin

Over Memorial Day weekend I spent quite some time in the new W Hotel in downtown Austin.

view from the street

upon entering.
we saw a lady trimming the hedges ;)

lobby

secret room.
aka red bar.

records room
...just off of red bar.

My top 3 positive comments:

-Great steel work...
Someone had their hand in a lot of business here! And I found out who; Austin Outdoor Studio.
They not only did the exterior facades and niches, they were involved in the interior as well. Most of it is blackened steel with little to no detail, except in the installation.

floor detail

niche at entry

-Great concrete work...
Both inside and outside the concrete work was clean, minimal, and close to perfect.

exterior concrete work

-Excellent attention to detail...
Some of the many examples (aside from the design and architecture) include:
*an old fashion typewriter that sits in the lobby with a blank piece of letterhead rolled in it, ready to be punched. MY FAVE!

duh

*the mats at entries and exits changed morning, afternoon, and evening to greet you (a bit superfluous, but I guess it keeps the staff busy)
*in the lounges/locker rooms, they have a chic siting area which offers teas (accompanied with brown/white sugar cubes and precious tea cups and stirrers), fine cheeses and watercress crackers, and diced fruits. The glass door showers are lined with three kinds of decorative tiles (a couple of which are replaced with mirror tiles...integrated strategically for both the tall and the short viewers)
*in the gym there is a basket full of pouches with complimentary headphones along with a bowl of cool apples and a fridge full of moist towels
*all of the rooms come equipped with a box called "The Sanctuary" which contains chargers for multiple devices.

lounge amenities

plug "sanctuary"

My top 3 negative remarks:

-Sustainability vs. comfort...
Just because something is "green" or LEED certified should not mean that it should sacrifice comfort/hospitality (speaking, in this case, for a hotel). For instance, in the rooms the HVAC system is energy efficient and shuts off based on a censor. What this means is that if there is no movement in the room, it turns off! This does not calculate for me...not in a hotel, a high-end hotel, where people sleep, and when they sleep they usually do not move much...hence sleeping in an uncomfortable atmosphere!
Another really inconvenient feature are the lights. There are switches like normal, but if you do not have the main switch all the way at the entry turned "on" then you can not turn a light on in the bathroom (for instance)...you have to walk all the way back to the front then go to the switch you want and turn it on/off. I could see this being a real pain for those who get up during the middle of the night.

-The pool...
Although quite the entertaining people-watching spot, the layout is ridiculous! The pool itself is very narrow and long...not in a lap-pool kind of way...that would be impossible with all the hard-bodies grasping their cocktails. One side is your typical paver to pool edge, the other is a sharp, glass tile wedge that many nearly busted their you know whats on or cut their skin on while swimming and sun-bathing.

-Valet...
I know it is typical for a hotel to charge to keep your car overnight...but at the W they are charging $32. If my calculations are right, after a 3-day weekend at the hotel you could spend near $100 for your car to sit there. {a suggestion: park at City Hall right next door...you will either get it free or pay max $10 per day}

I regret not taking more pictures of the rooms, people, and experiences within the hotel but I plan on going back to try the other elements in and around the W...like the new ACL venue, Trace Restaurant, and the SPA.