Tommie Austin Review
My dad and I stayed at the Tommie Austin for 2 nights in December for an MtM Diamond meetup. Everything about this hotel was excellent…except for the room. It was very loud, and the room design was not great. Let’s dive into this Tommie Austin Review.
Tommie Austin – The Booking
We booked our stay at Tommie Austin in September for 9K Hyatt points per night. The Tommie is a Category 3 property, meaning it will be either 9K, 12K, or 15K points for off-peak, standard, and peak standard room redemptions, respectively.
Also, note that there is only award availability if there are king rooms available. Due to the small size of the hotel rooms, there are only king rooms, so that also means the rooms fit at most two adults. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to squeeze more than 2 people in one of these rooms. They are even tight for two!
In comparison, cash rates with the resort fees would have been around $800 for 2 nights, making the Hyatt points worth around 5 cents each for this particular redemption. That’s terrific and one of the reasons Hyatt points can be so great.
Location
This was my first “real” time in Austin, as I’ve otherwise only taken small day trips from San Antonio. Overall, I could not have asked for a better location. We were located near 5th street, which was home to countless bars and restaurants. There is also a Voodoo Doughnut store, which was excellent! I also love how walkable Austin is. We walked for miles on one of the days we were there and Tommie Austin was perfectly located for that.
Tommie Austin Review – Check-In
After flying in from Vegas, we arrived at the hotel at around 8 PM. An amiable front desk agent thanked us for being Explorists with the World of Hyatt program. We were upgraded to a King Pool View Corner room. This is considered to be the largest room in the hotel, as there are no suites at the Tommie. On a side note, the attached Thompson does have suites and one of our members was upgraded as Globalist on his Thompson reservation. I’d also note that the Thompson check-in desk is shared with the Tommie, but they are two separate hotels as far as rooms and upgrades go.
Room
Our room, 920, was located on the 9th floor out of 17. It was located at the end of the hallway and was…quaint. When you enter, there is a small coat rack on the left, as well as an iron and blow dryer. On the left, there is a small board that explains the property’s amenities.
Then, there is the “bathroom” which is just another space in the room. To start, there is a small sink/desk in the room itself and then a small area that houses both the toilet and the shower! That is absolutely bizarre. In the shower/toilet area there is a small wooden stool of sorts to step on in the toilet. It is because the shower water can then flow right into the toilet area. The toiletries were from Imperial, and they were in refillable bottles not attached to the wall. I’d also note that although there is “frosted” glass in the shower area, in the main room, you can see right through it. Intimate to say the least.
About two feet from that, there is a bed, a bedside table on either side of the king bed and a television. On the plus side, the TV was quite large for this room size. Rounding out the room, the bedside table on the right had earplugs and there was a notepad with a pencil, which is something that you don’t see often anymore. As is standard these days, Wi-Fi in the room was fast and free.
Thoughts on the Room
Overall, I thought the room was…not great. While the rest of the hotel was excellent (it shares so much with the upscale Thompson), the room was not great and this is the only reason I wouldn’t stay at the Tommie again.
Here are some more thoughts on the Tommie Austin room:
- The room was quite small. Although I knew that going in, there was barely enough room to walk between the bed and the tv.
- I found the bathroom situation very strange. I’d love to know who thought it was a good idea to put a toilet and a shower in one room.
- This is a personal preference, but my dad and I both found the feather pillows to be super uncomfortable. Even when you stack 2 pillows, your head “sinks” right into the bead. I requested foam pillows, which were a lot better.
- The noise was not great. This is primarily due to the location, but you could almost hear conversations clearly, even though the noise was from the street level which is 9 floors below. Disappointing in a new hotel.
- I took a shower and left my clothes in the main room area 5 feet away. After showering, I discovered that they were completely soaked.
Tommie Austin Review – Amenities
I found the amenities at the Tommie to be great. There is a pool located on the 4th floor, and although it wasn’t crowded in December, I assume that it gets quite crowded during the summertime. The pool was also not very big and there is not a hot tub, but it is one of a few hotels in Austin to have a rooftop pool.
There is also a gym on the third floor. This has to be, without a doubt, the best hotel gym that I’ve ever visited. There were 3 peloton bikes, a Mirror display, a golf simulator, a yoga room, as well as a large variety of gym equipment from Technogym. The only thing that this gym is lacking is a sauna and steam room. Otherwise, this is an impeccable gym, and it’s even better than the Park Hyatt Bangkok.
Food and Beverage
There are four options at the Tommie for eating and drinking: Grey Market, the Tommie Coffee Bar, Wax Myrtles, and the Diner Bar.
- We ate breakfast at the Grey Market each morning with some fellow MTM Diamond Members. I ordered the NYC Eggs the first morning. I, unfortunately, didn’t take a picture, but I did also get a Strawberry Banana smoothie, as well as a Yogurt Parfait with Strawberries and Blueberries the second morning. The Globalist breakfast benefit includes an entree, a drink, and a side per person.
- Wax Myrtle’s is the “premier” restaurant located on the 4th floor. It is open from 11 AM to 11 PM daily. They serve weekend brunch, “afternoon delight”, happy hour, and a daytime menu.
- The Tommie coffee bar is located next to the front desk, and it is similar to Starbucks. The prices are quite steep. An espresso costs $6, and Cold Brews and Cappuccinos cost $7.
- The Diner Bar is located next to the Grey Market and serves breakfast Monday to Friday, and weekend brunch Saturday and Sunday. It is also possible to eat breakfast if you are a Globalist during the week, but it is not possible during the weekend.
Service
The service at the Tommie was excellent. It has to be one of, if not the best hotels in the U.S. that I’ve stayed in service-wise. The front desk agent when we checked in was very friendly and gave us some great ideas for points of interest to check out. Then, when I asked for new pillows at the front desk, I spoke with an agent who sounded French. I asked her if she was and I had a conversation with her about France. Overall, although the room could have been better, the service was for sure. I guess this is all a good advertisement for the Thompson which has much nicer rooms with all of the same service and amenities.
Tommie Austin Review – Final Thoughts
Overall, while I enjoyed my stay at the Tommie, I’m not sure I would stay here again. It is great if you are traveling solo, but that’s about it. When you add a second person, it can be very tight, particularly due to the bathroom situation. With that being said, I really enjoyed the location, amenities, food and beverage and service, so I would likely spend the extra points at the Thompson and stay there instead. This hotel really is best for a solo traveler who isn’t planning to spend a ton of time in the room. It works for that purpose, but not much beyond that.
What are your thoughts on the Tommie Austin? Would you stay here, even with the small rooms?
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The location is great, but the toilet in the shower is a dealbreaker for me.
If I didn’t live in the ATX, I would stay at the Driskill (on points, only, because of the parking situation) – which is the haunted “Grand Dame” a stone’s throw from the Thompson. Otherwise, there’s a Hyatt Place nearby and the Hyatt Regency is just across the river…
No thanks. I’m perfectly happy with a run of the mill HGI or similar. One day an insta-worthy trendy hotel is going to completely jump the shark and disappear up its own rear end into oblivion.
NedsKid, I totally agree with your opinion. It is definitely nice to stay at a reliable brand like HGI, as they are probably one of the only consistent brands, no matter where you stay. That said, I’d probably stay at the Hyatt Place or Regency if I was in Austin in the future.
Also good for a Brand Explorer FNC! Not many jdv props outside Cali
Pam, great point! It looks like there’s only 16 total in the US, and 8 of those are in California. Thanks for reading!
It’s kinda the Hyatt equivalent of a Marriott Moxy hotel. I stayed here w P2 for a couple nights before heading to Miraval Austin. It was a fine place to sleep while being close to the action of the bar zone like half a block away (6th Street maybe?).
But yeah it’s not super luxurious but that’s not what they are shooting for. It’s nice to burn certs which you cant at the Thompson that is attached.
Definitely. This is not the place that I would want to spend a week in, but it is a good place if you want to use your room simply to sleep in.
In Asia this is not that uncommon for a toilet to be within the spray of the shower. In our families home just outside Ho Chi Minh city we have 3 bathrooms. In all three bathrooms the toilets get rinsed when someone uses the shower. On the positive side the toilet is rinsed and somewhat cleaned by the shower. On the negative side the floor and toilet seat are wet for quite a while after someone uses the shower. My wife actually loves the design.
Unrelated to this we dont use toilet paper there. Like many toilets in Asia we have a sprayer next to the toilet. You spray yourself clean after using the toilet. On the positive side you are very clean. On the negative side your bottom is wet!!!