Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown - University, an IHG Hotel

"The a/c in my rm (303) never cooled the room & the phone didn't work. The parking situation is a bit confusing at first. You have to park in a garage just to come up one elevator walk across the lobby (a short distance-literally around a wall) & then go up another to your room. The front desk folks and security guards are super nice. They were always smiling & had a "welcome back" on their lips every night I came back in. For the food, THE PANCAKES are SO good. Its one of those machines you push "ok" on & it makes two pancakes at a time. I ended up making 4 because they're small, but they are delicious ans FRESH! The patty sausage is nasty, but the bacon is good. They also have fruit (the oranges were so GOOD) & cereal, milk & bread to make yourself toast. The bars surrounding the hotel can be quite loud, so take some ear plugs (unless you love the party-life yourself). Overall a decent experience. Recommend."

"Security is the best quality of this hotel with gated card only access parking, and card access elevators. Walking distance to night life, a nice pool and exercise room. The guest room was relatively clean. Complimentary breakfast was adequate with sausage, bacon, eggs, pastries and fruit."

"Staff was super friendly, but everything else was AWFUL. I was told upon check in that no king beds were available even though I booked ahead of time and already paid for one. So it was reserved but it wasn’t held for me. I booked a king because I was traveling with my partner who is a large, 6’4 man who needs a king bed. I was in town for an exam so I didn’t have time to look for other accommodations, so I stayed for the two nights in a double bed room. The room smelled stale and was very dusty. My allergies from the dust caused me to have a persistent headache for my extremely tough, two day exam. I took a video with flash and could see the hundreds of particles filling the air. The air conditioner looked and sounded so old, I thought it would break — might’ve contributed to the terrible air quality. It was really disgusting to look at when I took a picture with flash. We realized on night 2 that the white blanket were covered in a layer of dust (likely the cause of most of the dust in the room), as if no one has been in the room in weeks. So we slept with the thin sheet instead. I was only able to sleep about 4-5 hours a night during my stay, and I usually sleep 10 hours just fine. I couldn’t even enjoy a long warm shower after my stressful exam days because the shower knob could not fully extend, causing the shower to shriek and water to shoot out from the top shower head and from the bottom bath tub faucet. Also, the tub wouldn’t fully drain so I could only stand in there for a few minutes at a time without risking overfilling the tub. The restaurant food in the hotel was so incredibly bland, gas station food would be a better option. But this was the least of my concerns. I am no stranger to Holiday Inn or 3-star hotels, but I have never had a worse experience than this in any hotel or motel. I’ve stayed in cheaper and cleaner motels. If you’re choosing between this hotel and some random motel because of cleanliness, don’t bother. Either find another hotel or go with a cheaper motel."

"Holiday Inns are always comfortable. The room was nice & the view was nice. It was more pricey than all of the IHG hotels I’ve visited. There were are few things that warrant a comment in the reviews… Parking Garage: I couldn’t even find the parking garage, it was on E 9th street with an unmarked ominous garage door that you wouldn’t know to enter. There were mostly valet parking spots and you have to go like 4 levels below the hotel to find a regular spot. It cost $30-50 daily to park in the garage. That is unbelievable. There are other parking lots around but they are all paid parking. The garage felt safe but there were only a few signs to direct you to the Holiday Inn Lobby. Signs at every corner/level would be helpful. There were a lot of signs for valet parking… Is valet any cheaper??? Elevators: You must use your key to activate the elevator or make your floor selections. I suppose that increases security but there were NO signs in the elevator to say, press your key card here to use the elevator. Kinda makes you feel silly, standing there pushing the button and nothing was happening. Location: This is not a location for guest that wants a quiet room. There is a concert venue or bar across the street and music & cheering could be easily heard in the room. I did not investigate the location. I needed an IHG close to the hospital. I’m not familiar with the city, so I wasn’t expecting the amount of activity around this hotel and for tourist, it would be perfect."

"The staff was the absolute best!! They went above & beyond to make sure we were educated on how the key cards and parking worked. The pool was very clean and well maintained. The room was also very clean and comfortable! The hotel was in the best location for us to experience everything within walking distance of downtown! Thank you for a great experience and we will be back again!"