The Suite Life @ Austin Hyatt Regency

On my recent trip to Austin, I decided to stay at the Austin Hyatt Regency.

The hotel is located off the South Congress Bridge, where one can view the bats at dusk.

The hotel's parking lot/garage is under renovations. One has two options, self-park for $10 a night or valet at $24 a night. I valeted, because the self park option was limited and tight. However, the parking situation was not a surprise to me. There were notices about the lack of parking on the Hyatt website, I was told about the parking situation when I called to book an upgrade and received an email from the hotel a few days before arriving. I applaude Hyatt for their proactive communication.

The reception desk is to the left of the lobby. Check-in was smooth. They welcomed us to the hotel, acknowledged my Platinum status and asked about my parking choice. What was not discussed was our breakfast vouchers. I booked with a AAA rate that provided for breakfast for 2 each day. It wasn't until later that I noticed the lack of vouchers. A quick call to concierge gave me the answer: charge it to the room, it would be removed later.

I decided to use one of my suite upgrades provided to me by my Chase Hyatt Visa for being a platinum member prior to applying.  We were given keys to room 503 and 504.

When we opened the door, my sister and I were pleasantly surprised:

This was my first real suite. So, I was giddy like a child in a candy shop. The suite had two double beds, a living area and two full baths. The suite can turn into a three room suite by the unlocking of this door below. The room next door has a king bed and another full bath turning the suite into a two bedroom, three bath suite.

The views from the room were amazing.

The lobby of the hotel has plenty of places to sit and relax. It was inviting, but also invoked a night club feel at night.

There is additional seating outside on the patio with multiple TVs and fire pits. Great for warm Texas nights.

Also, on the ground level is the gym which is open 24/7. The gym was a good size for the number of rooms in the hotel. Each elliptical and treadmill had its own TVS. The gym was stocked with cold towels, dry towels, headphones and citrus flavored water.

The pool is located outside and opened late.

The hotel has a business center on second floor. The center has four computers, but the price to use was extremely expensive. $6.95 for 15 minutes...exessive.

Breakfast is served in the Southwest Bistro located on the second floor.

As I stated, the AAA rate came with breakfast for two of us. The breakfast buffet was amazing with every option that one could want. I especially liked the fried french toast with the berry compote.

My sister ordered off the menu and got the Austin Eggs Benedict, which she enjoyed:

 

Our bill came to over $50 and was removed, as promised, on my final folio.

The hotel is located on the southside of Austin, but it is a short walk over the bridge to the major tourist bar scene. If walking is not your style, there were always cabs right outside the hotel waiting for fares.

This is was amazing hotel stay. The staff was attentive, the product clean and modern and food amazing. I wish I could have afforded to stay here more than one night.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints!

Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

Observations from my Recent Trip to Austin

Two weekends ago, I had to fly to Austin to help my baby sister, as I described here. Ultimately, everything worked out well: no major delays, decent hotels, and friendly people. However, like all trips, I learned many things:

       1) Mr. and Mrs. Pee Pee slowly coming to airports
                 
                  In college, I spent a semester roaming Europe, I learned of the phenomenon know as
                  Mr. & Mrs. Pee Pee aka elderly people who you pay to use the bathroom. In return, they
                  ensure the bathroom is cleaned. I haven't seen this model put into place anywhere in
                  the United States.

                  When I got off my flight from DCA and went to the bathroom, I was a little shocked to
                  see a bathroom attendant. He greeted me when I arrived and thanked me for coming on
                  my way out. He had a locked glass box for tips. While this is different from the Mr. Pee
                  Pee model, I fear that airlines and airports, who are on a fee binge, might turn to
                  charging to go number 1 and number 2.

      2) CRJ is a small plane for 2 1/2 hour flight

               

                 Most of the flights between CLT and AUS are operated by regional jets. It was a little
                 cramped height wise. On the other hand, I felt like I had more leg room on these flights
                 than my flights to and from DCA.

      3) Sometimes prepaying for gas make sense

                I made a small mistake. I decided not to prepay for fuel when renting the car. They were
                offering gas at $3.05, I ended up paying $3.30 a gallon. Normally, I don't accept the
                prepay option, because the cost will be taxed making it more expensive.

                I was in a mood, so I really wasn't paying attention. My sister asked me why I didn't take
                the half tank option. "What half tank option?" I said. Supposedly, the rental car attendant
                offered for me to prepay for only half a tank.  I have never been offered the ability to
                only pay for 1/2 tank; only the full tank option.  Is this a new trend?

    4) I love the benefits of Chase Hyatt Visa

                I wrote here about how I used my two free nights at the Tokyo Park Hyatt. Since I was a
                Platinum Member of the Hyatt program prior to applying for the Hyatt Visa, I earned two
                suite upgrades on paid stays as well. I used one of those for a night at the Austin Hyatt
                Regency and was given a two room suite. This was my first suite, so I was kinda blown
                away:

                 

                 The view from a fifth floor suite was beautiful.

 
            5) A+ Apartment Locators is a great service

                     My sister contacted A+ Apartment Locators to help her with the search for
                     an apartment. I was blown away by their service. In essence, Apartment Locators
                     are realtors for people looking for apartments. First, one sits with them in their
                     office to discuss the must haves in an apartment. Then, A+ calls various apartments,
                     on your behalf, to see if they have availability. Finally, they take you to visit the
                     apartments like a realtor does with houses. The kicker, one owes them nothing. A+
                     gets paid by the apartment company once a lease is signed.

                     For my sister, this service was so helpful. When you are moving to a brand new city,
                     knowing which neighborhoods are safe, trendy or overpriced is difficult. Having
                     someone guide you through the process is so helpful. Nick, our A+ representative,
                     was amazing. I would highly endorse him over and over again.

                     I wish DC had a similar service. Shopping for apartment sucks!


              6) The ants didn't even want to stay here

                     My stay at the Country Inn and Suites started out not so well. We arrived in the room
                     and saw a massive quantity of ants by the window and AC unit.

                           

                   The ants had been there for a long time, as many of their friends had passed on to the 

                   other side. The staff got us a new room within minutes and kept on apologizing over

                   the next two days.

                 

                7) Spinning shower head is cool, but not practical

                   Our shower at the Country Inn and Suites had a spinning shower head:

                   

                   It was cool to look at it, but I don't know if it added to the shower experience.
                   Maybe if it had neon lights.

              8) The bats under the Congress Bridge are a must see!

                   Wrote about it here. One of the coolest things we saw on the trip.

              9)  Stubb's Gospel Brunch Overrated?

                    My sister got us a table for Sunday brunch at Stubb's. I was excited to try this
                    place out as everyone talk highly of it. However, brunch was a little overrated.

                   The food was not very good and then ran out of it. We arrived shortly after 11am 

                   and were seated quickly. They took our drink orders and then told to go outside 

                   for food.

                     The buffet was hotel brunch quality at best with someone carving brisket, chicken, 

                     and  sausage at the end of the table        

                    The real draw must be the band, which is downstairs. There are table down there, 

                    but reservations must be made weeks ahead of time.

                    I brunch did not impress me. They ran out of food. Did not replenish stuff in time and
                    it was a little overpriced. I think the brunch at the Hyatt was better:

     

                
Overall, the trip was great. My only regret was I wish I had more time to plan things to do.



----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com

Da Bats, Da Austin Bats!

When I mentioned to people that I was head to Austin, the first thing thing everyone mentioned was that I must visit the bats. Bats? Why would I want to visit the bats?

Well, now I understand and I also will be telling people headed to Austin to spend some time watch the bats fly

Here is the back story....under the Ann W. Richards Congress Street bridge lives hundreds of thousands of bats.

 

Yes, you read that correctly. It is estimated on any given day anywhere between 750,000 and 1.5 million bats hang under the bridge. It is the largest urban bat colony in North America. This About.com article can give you much more information.

Just after dusk, the bats start to emerge and its a HUGE attraction in Austin. My sister and I went two of the three nights, we were in Austin.

The bridge is located right next to the Hyatt Regency that we were spending the first night at.

 



There are three options to view the bats: from the water, from the bridge or from the park.

From the Water:

One can rent kayaks, paddle boards or water bicycles and make your way right under the bridge. If this is to much work, Capital Cruises offers Bat Watching Boat rides that take you super close to the bridge and with someone on board to narrate what is happening. The cost is $10 per person and reservations are required. Here is a video to see how close you could get from the water:



All the options can be picked up right by the Hyatt Regency

 

 

From the bridge

 

The first night we went to walk the bats from the Congress Bridge. Most people stand facing away from the Hyatt. However, on the night that we went, turning around gave you this wonderful sunset.

 

 

One will need to get there early to get a spot on the railing. It was extremely difficult to see the bats, as my video shows:

 

One had to lean over and tilt your head to see the bats emerge and fly away. It was a sight to be seen, when you could see them.

From the Park

On our last night in Austin, we were by the bats again and decided to give it one more try. This time from the Statesman Park.

 

If you are driving, most people park in the Austin Statesman Newspaper parking lot. It filled up pretty quickly, so bring snacks and chill-out like we did for some time. People come with picnics, chairs, and lawn games and wait for the bats to move.

Then like Tattoo from Fantasy Island someone scream "da bats, da bats" and everyone runs closer to the bridge



 

The view from the park on that night was amazing. Here is the video I shot. It takes until about 30 seconds in to see them coming out in force...keep an eye by the bridge for the best view:



I am extremely happy that we went back to see the bats a second time. Watching them fly as a group is amazing experience. When you think all the bats are gone more and more and more come.

So next time you find yourself in Austin....go spend some time with the BATS!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow us on Twitter @doit4thepoints! Have a question for us? E-mail us at chris@doitforthepoints.com or jd@doitforthepoints.com