Daniel B.
Yelp
The Marriott Residence Inn on 4th St. in downtown Austin is a solid hotel. A group of us booked three rooms here over Cinco de Mayo weekend this past weekend. The hotel is conveniently located just a couple blocks south of 6th St. and a few blocks north of Lady Bird Lake (Colorado River), making it easy to walk to all of the city's popular bars, restaurants, and tourist attractions. In addition, the city bus (Capital Metro) stops right at the corner of 4th St. and Trinity, next to the hotel, making getting to and from the airport an absolute breeze.
The theme at Residence Inn is the hotel rooms are supposed to feel more like a home than a hotel room. For example, our "room" actually had two rooms inside -- the bedroom/bathroom and a living area/kitchen. The two rooms were divided by a wall with another door.
The kitchen came fully equipped with a full-sized fridge (and ice maker), stove/cooktop, dishwasher, microwave, coffee maker, and kitchen sink with garbage disposal. Other kitchenware such as silverware, cooking utensils, pots and pans, plates, bowls and glasses, even knives, a cutting board, and paper towels were provided. The living area had an L-shaped couch, a section of which folded out into a bed. Both rooms had Philips flatscreen TVs mounted onto the walls with swivel brackets, so we could watch TV from the couch or in bed. Satellite reception, but no HD unfortunately.
The hotel rooms were very clean and the place felt relatively new (carpet, wallpaper, furniture, etc.). Thermostat worked well. The rooms had nice views of downtown Austin. My room on the 11th floor was nice and quiet at night, so I slept well. Comfortable bed, but the pillows could have been bigger. Note: My room faced 4th St. The rooms on the opposite side of the building face 5th and 6th Sts, so they might be more susceptible to late-night noise from the bars.
Valet, front desk, and housekeeping staff were all friendly and helpful. Free buffet-style breakfast at the adjacent Champions Sports Bar next door. It's not bad, but nothing special about it. I did like the Texas sports memorabilia on the walls, TVs playing ESPN, and the waffle machine that made waffles in the shape of Texas. The breakfast staff also did a good job. Attentive and welcoming.
The Residence Inn is also connected to the Courtyard. Free Wi-Fi. No password or Web login required.