Hilton Austin

The rooms themselves were nice, and the hotel comped one night and gave me food vouchers, which I appreciated. But that didn't undo how unsafe I felt almost as soon as I arrived. There was also music and other noise carrying through the building, and the elevators were so slow that waits reached 5-10 minutes. During Austin Marathon weekend last month, with travelers coming in from around the country, I was standing by the front desk when a man in the lobby chairs began shouting abusive remarks at me. He wasn't a hotel guest. Among the insults, he told me to “go kill myself.” It was shocking and deeply unsettling to have that happen in a hotel lobby right after arriving. I alerted the front desk quickly. By the time staff tried to deal with it, the man had grabbed some of my bags and sprinted out the door. The hotel says it has security, but there wasn't a guard in the lobby at any point during the incident. For a property hosting families, runners and visitors for a major event, the lack of visible security and prompt action is unacceptable and concerning. Hotels should give guests comfort and security, and both felt threatened immediately here. I hope Hilton reviews this property's security procedures so no one else has to go through the same thing.

The location works perfectly for the things I like doing in Austin, so this is where I keep coming back. I've stayed at the Hilton Austin seven or eight times in the last couple of years, and it's always my go-to. The lively, luxurious feel hits as soon as I walk in to check in. Rooms are nice and well kept, the bar is good, and having a Starbucks inside is a big help in the morning.

The location is great and, apart from the lifts, the stay was decent. But after this experience I may never stay at Hilton again, even though I've usually had stellar stays and recommended them. I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone until they sort out the elevator mess. There were at least a thousand people at the venue that week, with four events taking place. The hotel had five main hotels and three or four service elevators, yet over two days most of the elevators were out of order. Lines went beyond half an hour for a one-way trip, and at times the buttons didn't work at all. With twenty-something floors, there was typically only one working elevator. Residents told us most of the hotels had been non-operational for four weeks. How does that happen? It made my time in Austin much more frustrating, and this kind of oversight is absurd. I doubt I'll be the only one complaining.

I've never had a worse hotel stay. Getting there was a mess: the parking garage was full, there was no parking available or valet, and check-in took over 45 minutes while we tried to find a spot. The elevators weren't working. After waiting ages to reach the room, I found there was no microwave and was told to go back down to the first floor. I couldn't manage 15 flights without walking up and down. The next day there was still no elevator. I had to walk 15 floors, then after running a marathon climb those stairs again, and go back down with all my luggage. I wasn't alone. Tons of families were made to do the same.