Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol

The hotel is currently undergoing renovations, but even at that… ugh.
The water in the room was disgusting so they provided bottle water. We found this out by trying to drink the tap water to discover it tasted a bit fishy. We called down for room service to bring up some water and we were told to call the front desk instead as housekeeping would provide it for free. This went back and forth over my week-​long stay — some nights I had to pay, other nights it was free. With undrinkable water, they should have been on the ball with the bottled water situation.
As the same tap water comes out the showerhead, my hair was gross by the next day regardless of my level of activity. I never felt truly clean and the water was definitely leaving something (sediment?) behind in my hair. If there had been a salon close by, I would have gone in for a wash my hair/​scalp felt that gross.
I found out they also do not have anyone working room service from 2 – 3. I ordered at 2:15p.m. one day and my food arrived at 3:15pm with an apology that the previous worker got off at 2:00p.m. and the nice person who brought my food later just clocked on at 3:00p.m. Yet they took my order and prepared it and let it sit until then.
I requested a fridge but the freezer part had no door so it was more of a freezer than a fridge. I had to watch the housekeeper struggle to find a place to plug it in and it was just awkward for both of us as there was no designated space in the room for the fridge.
There was no restaurant or bar in the hotel at this time. The makeshift restaurant was a meeting room they stuffed tables and chairs into and set up a buffet in for breakfast. I tried to visit for lunch, but it was already closed up at 2:15p.m. and there was not an employee in sight.
This was all during a week when a conference was taking place there so they knew they would be booked up and what they should be doing on their end and they failed miserably.

This hotel is awful! It doesn’t event have the basic services and it is really dirty. In the room there isn’t a fridge and the carpet is full of dust everywhere!!! There is something called restaurant which is really bad and after 11.00pm is closed and you can’t find anything to drink. In addition they don’t have a cafeteria! So don’t choose this hotel if you can!!!

Kind of disappointing stay. First off, after our drive in from San Antonio we checked in and they notified us that our room was not even ready so we had to stay in a temporary room for the mean time but weren’t able to get comfortable until we were settled in or permanent room. The next morning, we went downstairs for breakfast to find out it wasn’t even free! It was 10 dollars for a buffet that you could get free at the Marriott. And then being disappointed, we walked over to the vending machine and they didn’t even have water! So we were like «okay we can work with soda» being hungover we wanted water! Yeah needless to say never staying here again.

Horrible service. No notification of construction when I booked. Went extra for club level but got the room by the elevator and you can hear them every time they move. Requested to move got sent to the 10^th floor one room further from the elevator and you can still hear them. Been to Austin several times but this is a first to stay here and I will not stay here again.

I thought the Sheraton was a very solid three star hotel. Check-​in was somewhat easy but co-​workers found it difficult with a long line. There was no good food around the hotel and the in house bar and café were both VERY substandard. The room was small but not too small considering it was downtown Austin.
I would avoid staying at the Sheraton in the future because there are much better options in Austin for a similar price in a good location.
Room Tip: our wifi was free but normally I think it costs money.

Staying here now. They are in construction. And I was not told that when I booked. But that is not the problem. The problem happened this morning when none of the phones in my room work. Wanted to order room service so called from my cell phone the direct line. That didn’t work. Went out to the hall with my wet hair to use the call phone. That didn’t work. I saw housekeeping, and asked her if she could help me she said no, you have to go downstairs. I said no you can’t help me? She said no you have to go downstairs. Unbelievable !!! Fuming right now! Horrible horrible !!!

What can I say about this place… Its walking distance from 6^th street, but I’m not sure everyone will be confortable doing that walk at night. It just looks deserted by there.
The hotel rooms are smaller than I’m used to for a sheraton. The lounge is ok. The hotel has a pool and a couple of restaurants.
The prices are a bit too high when I compare it with other sheraton hotels (I was there ACL wknd).
I’m glad I picked this over the more central options, I’m not sure how much noise the other hotels near 6^th street get… Im sure its not as quiet as here.
Overall, decent hotel, nothing wrong with it, but not the best sheraton I’ve seen.

After reviewing the comments of other guests at this hotel it appears my experience is the norm rather than the exception. My check in was at 3:00, however, when I arrived at 4:30 to check in I was told my room would not be ready for at least an hour, unfortunately it wasn’t ready until 6:00. When going to my room I noticed the elevator seemed a bit dirty, heavy stained carpet and crumbs. In the 3 nights I stayed at this hotel the crumbs in the elevator were never vacuumed. My room is another story, walking barefoot in the bathroom I stepped on something… A dried up contact lens. Really gross! There was black hair in the shower, the bathroom sink stopper was broken and to drain water I had to manually put my hand in water to lift the stopper. Walking barefoot on the carpet I stepped on broken glass from a previous guest. The glasses in the bathroom were not clean and the paper coasters they sat on were stained from water. My bed was made sort of, the mattress cover was not smoothed and left lumpy causing me to have to remake the bed so I would be comfortable. The bedskirt was dirty. The list goes on and on. I went to the front desk to ask for the manager and was told all management was in a meeting and would not be available. I thought Sheraton Hotels had higher standards, perhaps it’s time for the management staff to be removed from this establishment and bring in true professionals who truly care about customer experience.

The hotel was decent. This review is more for the customer service. Or lack thereof.
I was in town for a convention. We checked in on a Wednesday evening and were told that we could not have a roll away in the room. Ok, that’s fine, I understand. My roommates wanted to move rooms so that we could get one. So we checked out of that room and into another one on Thursday. Wednesday night I went to bed wearing my pajamas that I packed for the trip. Fast forward to Thursday night, in the new room… I realize that I don’t have my pajamas. I go down to the front desk and housekeeping claims that they didn’t find anything in the room but to check back again the next day. And I kept getting the check back again run around.
Now that I am back home and can’t keep going to the front desk… I can’t get anyone to call me back! I have left several messages with house keeping and NOTHING back!

The first person you will meet when you arrive at the Sheraton is a man named Xavier. Despite being in a supervisor position, he treats new arrivals in an aggressive and impatient manner that gives the impression that they are unwelcome at this hotel. If his behavior is any indication of the rest of the management’s attitude then I’d say take this place OFF of your shortlist for Austin hotels. It is not a reflection of the friendly and caring attitude this city has to offer its visitors.

I had a very poor experience at this hotel. The staff is not friendly and accommodating. The room I pre-​paid for wasn’t ready at 4pm even though normal check-​in time is at 3pm. The staff refused to provide an estimated time for when I could check in, so I had to settle for a smaller room rather than the one I paid for. The staff also refused to credit the difference in prices. The room itself was old and the towels were dirty. Definitely not the way to treat a regular SPG member.
WOULD NOT RECOMMEND

I had a pretty bad experience at their bar last week. I was attending a conference so it was most convenient for me to stop at the bar for lunch. I didn’t know that they had a restaurant and when I did find the restaurant it didn’t look like it was open anyway.
First, it took forever to even get a menu. They gave somebody else a menu and took their order way before anybody even came to my table.
Then they overcharged me by $ 23. Just noticed when I looked at my transactions online and I contacted my credit union. I don’t know if there’s any recourse.

Terrible cleanliness. Pool was so dirty you couldn’t see the bottom and black scum was covering the 3ft tiles in the jacuzzi. Hairs were rampant like the hotel hadn’t seen a vacuum in days. Went to locker room to change my daughter who had jumped in to the jacuzzi despite my horror. When I went to shower her off, the water was ice cold and there was nothing there to rinse her body. Went back to the room to shower and go to bed. Found several small pubic sized hairs in the comforter and the shower flooded.
Saving grace was the friendliness & apologetic attitude of the front desk staff.

This is a decent hotel. Nothing amazing or standout. If I’m honest, I was expecting a bit more for how much the room costs.
The beds are comfy. The room size is adequate, though not what you’d call spacious. There’s not many television channels to choose from, there is no mini fridge or microwave and the WiFi is very high priced for pretty average speeds. 13 bucks for a night tho. That’s pretty standard hotel rates, but the Hilton gives you an amazing connection for the same money while this place seems sluggish. Not the worst I’ve had though, so I wouldn’t call it a strike against them pre se.
The best part of our stay was an extremely friendly bartender named Rodrigo who worked in the lobby bar. He was quick to offer suggestions, made our drinks to order, and was a pro all night while we sat, ate, had some drinks, and made conversation. In addition to Rodrigo, the entire staff were very friendly and helpful. I’ve stayed at other hotels where the staff are not very personable. But the Sheraton has employed a number of extremely nice and helpful folks. They deserve those tips, so don’t forget them! :)
This is far from the worst place I’ve stayed, but it’s nowhere near the top of the list either. Hence the 3 star rating. You could do worse, and we are right in the center of town which is nice. But I doubt I would use this hotel again unless I scored a heck of a deal on the room price.

This not a swank hotel but it’s actually quite practical in many ways. It’s just of I35. A block from the beginning of Austin’s downtown scene. Still remote enough for some peace and quite. Not terribly modern but clean with all desirable amenities; pool, gym, bar, food, lounge, good friendly service, etc. and relatively well priced.
Very solid bang for your buck hotel.

So here is the good and bad:
Location. Perfect downtown location. It was a $ 4 über to Rainey district, and could have been walked, sans heels. 6^th street is even closer.
The quality of our room is eh. Not bad, not worth the $ 300 a night I’m paying though.
They did accommodate us with a super early check in which was nice.
Service is spotty. We were first given an awful, smelly, damaged room. Upon arrival I called down to guest services to have it switched — I was given zero apology and very minimal assistance — again for $ 300 a night, that is sub par. Other services (room service, valet ect) is sometimes great, other times not even present.
Also, everything is extra. Things that I’m used to coming standard at Marriott and Westin are an extra charge here — parking is $ 23 a day, wifi is a fee, any kind of anything that you want brought to your room there is a service charge associated. Just a little excessive.
All in all, I wouldn’t stay here again. The Marriott and other good options are close by.

Got a killer deal for a room here on the Hotel Tonight App. When I say killer I mean we paid $ 127 with tax and fees for a room they sometimes charge upwards of $ 500 for. Ridic.
If you are traveling anywhere and need a hotel you should really download that app.
Anywayz…
As far as the hotel is concerned:
It’s a big hotel, lots of rooms. I saw a lot of your typical «Starwood Preferred Guests»…
It was definitely nice. Would I ever in a million years pay $ 500 a nite to stay in the room we had? No. Hell no!
It was a nice room to be sure. Clean. Bed was ok. Not $ 500 a night ok but comfy enough.
The hotel charges for wifi (unless you are preferred guests) and parking. Guess they gotta get it in any way they can.
Check in was fast and easy but we arrived pretty late in the evening. Valet and/​or concierge Xavier was very professional as was Phillip at the front desk. The nicest person we encountered while there was the young lady at the front desk upon check-​out I believe her name was Nasia? It was a beautiful name and im sure im butchering it, so I’m sorry! She was very warm and friendly.
The absolute best thing about this place was the shower. I’m not in the least bit exaggerating when I say that this was the best frigging shower I’ve had in years! Then again I’ve been living in Brooklyn for the last 5 years and NYC apartment living is not really conducive to a luxurious shower experience. The Sheraton’s got some stellar water pressure game let me tell you! As soon as I’m settled in our new place I’m gonna buy one of those shower heads in an attempt to emulate the heaven that went on here.
One thing I would like to say:
I worked for a Starwood property about 10 years ago that shall remain nameless. During my time there I remember the company rolled out some kind of signature brand, company-​wide, marketing plan (forget what they called it) which was supposed to appeal to the guests’ sensory experience and what not. I believe it involved some kind of product line and I was immediately transported by the smell as I walked through the hotel hallways and into our room. They must spray that ish everywhere. Admittedly, I’m more sensitive to chemicals and fragrances than the average person but bb also thought it was pretty nauseating. I’m pretty sure the stuff is toxic. Not everyone wants to breathe lilac-​scented-​dewdrops or whatever the hell that was.

Location is good because it is close to everything. Staff is friendly. They so have valet parking — billed to your room if used. The rooms are a bit old, and the bathrooms are average, at best. Bar area is nice with TVs and good drink menu, although drinks are somewhat weak. Stick to the beer or draft. Food menu is ok, just expect a long wait during high traffic times.

So, four uniformed Austin police officers were drinking and hanging out in the cocktail lounge Friday night. Same night, some guest’s truck, parked right in front of the hotel’s front door, got broken into! Next to the valet desk?! Seriously? Nice security!
Rooms were kind of beat up, headbands cracking and flaking, dirt here and there! All for $ 279 a night? Staff was nice, and outside areas are nice, won’t be back

Let’s start with the positive — the smell of this hotel is incredibly addicting and delightful. It smells impeccably fresh, like a high end store or spa. Seriously, I want this in a candle.
The location is pretty great.
Now for all the reasons I regret spending my money here–
Parking is $ 20 and it’s the only option, which is okay but good grief they could have knocked it down since you’re already paying an arm and a leg.
Don’t ask to use a bag cart, they won’t let you use one on your own and if it’s busy then you can stand there and wait for a bellman.
Wanted to go swimming but there were far too many skanky women running around in swimsuits six sizes too small. Not a family scene, at all.
No free wifi. Again, really guys?! This place is way overpriced.
The room is tiny and we got «upgraded». There is extensive damage to the headboard and the herringbone chair in our room. With all the money they’re making they could start working on these repairs.
Hotel staff was okay. Not super friendly, but not rude. The lady standing near the bag cart desk by the front door made me pretty uncomfortable about asking to use the cart. When I said no I didn’t want to wait for a bellman she made a big scene and that sent me running. Ugh!
Next time I’ll stay at the Fairfield Inn, better prices, better amenities, and a far better experience. I’d rather pay less for a great hotel and just take a can, which would still have saved me money.