Hotel Van Zandt

Nice hotel near Rainey street. It has a nice vibe and a classy look. Rooms have good value and well appointed extras. Food at both Geraldine’s and the pool was all delicious and creative. I also enjoy a hotel with a coffee shop that isn’t Starbucks. Being right off of Rainy street meant you could just go out your front door and good music was at your feet. Front desk service was spot on and the property was clean. A couple of negatives to think through. We were on the top floor and still had some pretty bad noise until late into the night. If that bothers you ask for the backside of the hotel. You absolutely need ear plugs. Secondly, their pool is poorly run. We spend 10 hours at the pool across two days. While there are only six or so cabanas that’s all they spent time serving. Not once in two days did ANYONE ask if we needed something. Not one server made eye contact or smiled. The bar was open most of the morning, but after about 2p it was 20 to 30 people deep trying to get a drink. I wish hotel management just sat outside and watched how grumpy and unwelcoming their staff is and how inefficient it’s run. Don’t stay at this hotel if pool time is a must for you. It was for us. Read less

Adding $100 PER night to a stay for parking and “hotel fees” its just a big no-no. $64 for valet parking, what kind of nonesense is this? Will def. not stay here again. This is not the type of hotel (not luxury enough, no perks as a high end hotel, not in an area or city, etc. etc. etc.) to be charging these amounts, it just isn’t. Just be aware of that. Other than that stay was OK, again nothing special. Read less

I gave it a 2 star because I felt the hotel was not upfort with the on going construction in the hotels and the surrounding areas. We checked in on a Friday afternoon and there was only 2 staff working the front desk. Waiting for over 20 minutes just to check in was a little over the top for me. On top of that finding out to valet for your car over night at $63 and no self parking was expensive. The valet did do a good job of pulling your car in and out whenever you need it. On Saturday we also ran into another issue with the elevator not working and ended up taking a service elevator to get to our 12th floor. The good pont was the room and house keep was clean and I thought it provided good service. To sum it up, I would not be coming back due to their business practices. Read less

The service at the hotel was great! What makes my review 2 stars is the pricing and how it's explained (or actually, the LACK of explanation). We booked their "pay for 2 nights, get the 3rd free" offer. The quoted rate was $139.33/night, but it ended up being $209/night (they took the 3rd night that was "free" and redistributed that amount over the 1st and 2nd night to come up with the $209/night amount). I attempted to discuss how this practice was misleading and could be perceived as deceptive considering this was not disclosed within the e-mail I received regarding my reservation, nor is it thoroughly explained on their website. Basically, if I'm told my nightly rate is going to be one price, that is the price it should be. So overall, it doesn't really make it seem like that 3rd night is free. Disappointed is an understatement. Getting to the hotel was a bit of a pain due to significant construction, but unlike other guests, the noise did not bother us (construction, music/people on Rainey, etc., noise wasn't an issue for us. Being on the 16th floor may have played a part in this). Also, no mention on the website of ongoing construction on the hotel and that Cafe 605 is closed. Put a damper on our plans as we had planned to go to Cafe 605, but we made do. Rainey St. is super cute, and I wish I knew more of its history and the history of some of the restaurants/houses. The hotel is conveniently located downtown near many restaurants and things to do. We utilized the discount with Austin Rowing Co. and rented kayaks. My husband and I loved how it was all very close to the hotel. Enjoyed the gym - though the weights could use some updating (missing weights/sizes), and maybe signs reminding other patrons to use the wipes to clean equipment after use, with a more efficient wipe holder. The wipes fell into the container and I scraped my hand reaching in to grab some wipes (not a huge deal just potential ways to improve). Rooms need microwaves also! We brought leftovers to our room from Rainey St and were a bit disappointed to find out we did not have a microwave. Geraldine's for breakfast and dinner was a great experience! At dinner, we didn't quite understand the menu, but our waiter Gary took his time explaining how things worked, different dishes, and was just overall very personable. Jose was our breakfast waiter, and he was extremely kind and efficient. Overall, a 10/10 experience! Read less