Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown/Convention Center

By alantvuong on August 21, 2023

A friend and I visited Austin, Texas earlier this month and stayed 5 nights at Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown/Convention Center. I wanted to stay somewhere with great accessibility that was downtown and close to a lot of things to do and places to visit. This hotel was definitely perfect for my needs.

The Hotel

Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown/Convention Center was built in 1985 with it being renovated in 2007 and has 254 rooms on 18 floors. Arriving at the hotel, we are in a covered area which leads us to the main front doors. Valet parking staff is always there greeting people.

front lobby area

There are automatic double doors which makes it easier to enter and leave the hotel. The lobby is spacious and there is even a water bottle refill station right by the front desk that we use everyday multiple times.

always getting free water refills many times per day, right beside front desk

The only issue with this hotel is that around one side of the hotel, there is a tree that is a bit uprooted which made the sidewalk all crooked and bumpy and made it a bit hard to wheel over.

one side of the hotel has a sidewalk with 2 areas where tree roots damaged it

Room

2 Queen beds in a spacious room

There were two large Queen comfortable beds with ample space underneath in the big room. A desk, dresser drawer, TV, mini fridge, microwave and coffeemaker right at the end of our beds. A big open closet is also beside one of the beds that seems to hold a lot of clothes.

roll under sink

The bathroom was nice and big with lots of room to maneuver my commode around. The toilet was a great height with grab bars and was close to the roll under sink. The roll in shower was easy to get in and had a flip shower bench, a removable hand held shower head, and a few grab bars.

roll in shower

Amenities

common area with fireplace on the 10th floor which is right beside our room 1010

There is the usual free wifi that worked well everywhere in the room and around the hotel. The 10th floor where our room was on also had a big common public area that had comfortable seats and a fireplace.

snack/gift shop was quite expensive

There is also a fitness center, meeting rooms, a business center, gift/snack shop and a restaurant/bar with 18th floor views of the city. A covered multi level parking garage with valet service is also available for an additional charge.

restaurant/bar on the 18th floor with great views

Pool

There is a small shallow pool at the side of the hotel that is gated. We did not spend any time there but did notice that there was no wheelchair pool lift. Even the area surrounding the pool was quite small. It was surprising as the hotel was quite large with many rooms and guests.

small pool with no wheelchair lift

Location

The hotel has an address of 500 N Interstate Hwy 35 and was only about a 12 minute drive to the Austin-Bergstrom airport. This downtown hotel is in such a great location as there are so many hot spots nearby like the busy 6th Street which is a historic and entertainment district. It is full of restaurants, pubs, and piano bars.

Austin’s famous 6th Street
is a block away and is full of pubs, bars and clubs

The Convention Center is only 2 blocks away and just a few blocks from busy Rainey Street and Red River Cultural district. South Congress district and Texas Capitol are also within walking distance too.

Texas Capitol is not too far from the hotel

Final Thoughts

Hilton Garden Inn Austin Downtown/Convention Center was a great accessible hotel with a location so close to everything. Bars, pubs, piano bars, food trucks, and more were just a few minutes away. The room and bathroom met all my needs. The only issue I had was the one bad sidewalk but will definitely stay again if I ever return to Austin.