Element by Marriott Austin at The Domain

Breakfast was the one decent part of our stay. We arrived at 4 a.m. last Thursday after hours of difficult driving, and there was no greeting. We had to wait 5-10 minutes. We wanted two beds so we wouldn't disturb each other, but were told that only double rooms were available on the fifth floor that night. We were too exhausted to argue and accepted it. The mattress was uncomfortable, the room was small, and the AC roared so loudly we couldn't sleep. We chose to turn off the heating and be cold, but the button didn't work. We were so tired that all we could do was cover our ears with pillows and put up with the traffic noise from the main road. If you need a comfortable mattress and good service, read the reviews and compare prices. This stay wasn't worth it.

The lobby at Element Hotel - The Domain (Austin) looked clean and modern, and the staff were friendly and helpful. I stopped in for a quick meeting with customers and got a chance to look around. The front entrance is a little small, with valet service. Large IBM and PayPal offices are nearby, and Q2 Stadium is just a traffic light away, along with Starbucks and other options.

We enjoyed our two-night stay. The whole facility felt clean and comfortable, and the hotel still seemed new. Breakfast had a good selection, and coffee was available around the clock. The staff made the stay very enjoyable and were extremely nice and helpful. We also appreciated that my Marriott Platinum status was recognized at check-in and the level benefits were applied automatically. We'll definitely stay here again.

I paid USD 1,302 for four nights booked through Booking.com, and this was one of the most disappointing hotel stays I've had in 27 years of extensive international travel. There was no apology or effective resolution. I missed the breakfast I'd paid for, went to work in wet shoes with a soaked bag, and spent the day stressed and anxious. On the first night, I reported to the front desk that the bathroom sink was draining extremely slowly and asked for maintenance. They said it would be handled the next day, but nothing was repaired. When I returned, there was no sign of an inspection, and the sink was still slow. I was jet-lagged and had a very tight work schedule, so I didn't have the energy to keep complaining. At about 5:10 a.m. on the fourth morning, loud, forceful knocking woke me. The bathroom had flooded, soaking about a third of the room's carpet. A staff member brought a lot of towels and asked me to put them on the floor myself, then said she'd check whether another room was available. I waited over an hour without an update. After I contacted the front desk, I was told the hotel was full. A male supervisor came with water extraction equipment, asked for my name, phone number, and passport number for insurance, and told me to call the police to investigate. As a foreign guest, this was very difficult. I asked to give my details at the front desk, with proper supervision and cameras, rather than in my room. I explained that I had a meeting and needed to leave around 7:30 a.m. I would be staying one more night and could provide the information later, but was told I wouldn't be allowed to leave the hotel that morning without giving it. Later that day, I was moved to another room. I ran that sink at full flow for five minutes, and it drained immediately with no risk of overflow. That made it clear the original room had plumbing defects that hadn't been properly fixed after my report.