Lake Buchanan is a favorite getaway for locals and visitors alike
Austin is known for being the capital of cool in
Texas and the city's unofficial slogan, "Keep Austin Weird,"
aptly describes this city of contradictions. For one thing,
Austin is a big city that feels smaller. With around 30,000
citywide guest rooms - 6,000 of which are located in downtown
alone - Austin has the capacity to host anything from intimate
corporate gatherings, to large association conferences, to
massive conventions like South By Southwest (SXSW).
Tech Support
Downtown Austin boasts one of the most tech- nologically
advanced convention centers in the country. With 900,000 square
feet of meeting space, the LEED-Gold certified Austin
Convention Center is a gigabit-rated building, which means that
it can host thousands of wireless computers and mobile devices
on its network all at once. The facility's communications
infrastructure is capable of moving voice, video, and data at
more than 1 billion bits a second. How much will this wireless
service run you? No worries, it's complimentary. The Austin
Convention Center has 246,000 square feet of contiguous,
column-free exhibit space, two ballrooms (43,000 and 23,000
square feet, respectively), and 54 meeting rooms.
Those in search of advanced videoconferencing solutions in a
somewhat smaller package should check out the new TelePresence
Room at the AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center.
Located on the University of Texas at Austin campus, where it's
part of a 297-room hotel complex, this high-tech venue features
a Cisco TelePresence System 3010, which includes three 65-inch
plasma screens, integrated cameras, lights and microphones, and
an additional LCD display for sharing rich media content and
other data. The system allows six people to connect with up to
48 remote locations at a time.
Complementing the high-tech TelePresence Room is the advanced
technology housed in the rest of the hotel's 40,000 square feet
of meeting space, which includes a tiered amphitheater,
divisible ballroom, 12 breakout rooms, seven tiered classrooms,
and five conference rooms. All tiered classrooms have Ethernet
and power at many seats. Other offerings include ultra-bright
high-definition projectors; a mobile meeting management app
that allows planners to build event-related bios, schedules,
and maps using smartphones and tablet computers; and a 200,000
Mbps broadband network that includes free wireless internet.
Construction Boom
White Lodging will build the 34-story, 1,200,000-square-foot JW Marriott Austin on the square block bounded by Second and Third Streets and Brazos Street and Congress Avenue. The J.W. Marriott Austin is expected to open in early 2015.
Also opening in 2015 is the 1,035-room, $350-million hotel by
The Manchester Texas Financial Group. Adjacent to the Austin
Convention Center along Waller Creek, it will include 100,000
square feet of meeting space, top-notch restaurants, and a
rooftop bar and lounge.
White Lodging Services is also looking to build a
300-room upscale property a few blocks away, at the northeast
corner of East Fifth Street and San Jacinto Boulevard.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will open its first hotel in
Austin in 2015. The $350- million Fairmont Austin will be
located within easy walking distance of the Austin Convention
Center in a 50-story building. The 1,000-room hotel will
include more than 70,000 square feet of meeting space. Green
building practices are being employed so that the hotel can
seek LEED certification.
A $240-million planetarium complex that would include a 150- to
200-room boutique hotel, as well as 50,000 square feet of
retail and restaurant space, is also in the works for the city
of Austin. The first phase of the project is expected to be
completed in 2014.
The 392-room Omni Austin Downtown wrapped up a $5-million
renovation of its luxury suites in June. Four specialty fitness
suites also were added. The project increased the number of
suites from 375 to 392, including 42 one-bedroom and three
two-bedroom suites. The property has more than 20,000 square
feet of meeting space.
The DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Austin recently renovated all
350 of its guest rooms with new linens and other soft goods,
updated kitchens, and high-definition TVs. The hotel offers
1,400 square feet of meeting space and boasts an entire floor
of allergy-friendly rooms. Additional renovations will be made
to the hotel entrance, lobby, and public areas. Meeting and
event spaces will be touched up and the hotel's popular 15th
Street Cafe will gain a new lounge and patio.
The swanky 251-room W Austin opened late in 2010 to some
initial hiccups. Eight of the panels that made up the
building's facade fell that June, injuring four people after
crashing into the pool and hitting the street. About 1,000
glass panels were then replaced with safer glass. The hotel has
10,500 square feet of meeting space. The W Austin complex also
includes the theater that plays host to the popular KLRU show
"Austin City Limits."
The 340-room Westin Austin at the Domain made its debut a few
miles north of downtown in March 2010. The hotel is part of a
mixed-use development featuring 1.3 million square feet of
retail, dining, and entertainment space. With 17 meeting rooms
and over 17,000 total square feet of event space, the property
can accommodate groups as small as 10 or as large as 875
attendees.
Fields of Green
Austin is also home to a host of eco-friendly venues. The
Barton Creek Resort & Spa, for example, was awarded
bronze-level certification from Green Seal, an independent
nonprofit that strives to achieve a healthier and cleaner
environment by identifying and promoting products and services
that are highly sustainable. The award was based on the
property's extensive sustainability program, which includes
designating a portion of the resort grounds as a wildlife
habitat, recycling more than 62 tons of assorted products in
2011, and using an ozone treatment process in the laundry
department that reduces both the need for detergent and water
consumption. The 312-room Barton Creek offers a total of 43,000
square feet of meeting space. Last year, the resort completed a
two-year improvement program that touched on its
6,000-square-foot Resort Pavilion and the 4,800-square-foot
Foothills Veranda, a patio that adjoins the Hill Country dining
room. In addition, new decor was installed in all 30,000 square
feet of the resort's meeting and event space.
It would be a shame not to venture out of the city limits a
bit, especially since the Texas Wine Trail, which begins just
about 20 miles outside Austin proper, boasts more than 30
wineries. The grape harvest came early this year after a mild
Texan winter was followed by warm temperatures in early spring
- textbook weather for growing grapes. Wineries are even now
gearing up for the fall crush, and some are calling 2012 the
"Harvest of the Century."
Duchman Winery, about 25 miles southeast of Austin, offers
private tours and tastings for groups. The estate also has a
total of 4,400 square feet of event space, and can accommodate
both small groups and receptions for up to 500 guests. To the
north, Flat Creek Estate, set on 80 acres in the rambling Texas
Hill Country, can host up to 300 attendees. The winery has a
tasting room, outdoor pavilion, enclosed event center, and an
elegant port room available for use by groups. There is also a
restaurant on the property with a stone fireplace, a granite
wine bar, and stunning vineyard views.