I have visited Austin, Texas a few times for a variety of different activities. I’ve stayed mostly in Downtown Austin – both at the Hilton Austin Downtown / Convention Center as well as the Hyatt House Austin/Downtown. This time, I decided to branch out, so I settled on the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown. This Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown review will give an idea of the different amenities and features and hopefully help you decide if you want to stay here if you’re in the Austin Downtown area.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown Hotel location
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown is located at 805 Neches Street on the eastern edge of Downtown Austin, and shares a parking garage and building with the Hotel Indigo.
Once you enter the building, there’s a fairly large lobby with seating. Checkin desks are to your left as you walk in.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown cost
Cash prices at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown range anywhere from $100 to $200 or more, depending on what is going on. On similar dates to when I was booking, the refundable cash price was around $129, and $140.01 after tax. The points cost was 22,500 points, which is a value of about 0.7 cents per point. While it’s often a good idea to book IHG stays in 4 night increments if you have the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card, IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card or IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card (to get the 4th night free), I only had a 2 night stay. I booked one night with a free night certificate and the other on points.
You can check prices for your nights at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown at HotelsCombined or Hotels.com. You can also read Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown reviews at TripAdvisor.
Downtown Austin Holiday Inn Express & Suites review – room
I reserved a 1 king bedroom, which was exactly what I got. The bathroom is just to the left when you walk into the room, followed by an area that had a microwave, minifridge and coffee maker.
The bed was directly in front of you, and was quite comfortable
The desk and TV area were to the right of the room
The bathroom was to the left and had refillable soap and lotion in the sink area.
The shower also had refillable toiletries, and the temperature and pressure was great.
Austin Holiday Inn Express & Suites Downtown wifi and amenities
Wifi is complimentary in the lobby and in the guest rooms for IHG members. The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown wifi was decent but not spectacular
There is a fitness center on the ground floor which was surprisingly large for a “basic” hotel brand.
There is guest laundry available on a few of the floors. You have to pay for the washer and dryer, as well as the detergent and dryer sheets.
The outdoor pool area was quite large, and is shared with the Hotel Indigo as well. There was also a bartender serving drinks outside in the evening.
There is also a small business center on the main floor near the lobby.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown hotel review – parking
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown parking is $30 / night, and they have a large parking garage underneath the hotel that they share with the Hotel Indigo. I was not traveling with a car on this trip, so I did not use the parking garage.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown food
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown breakfast is complimentary and included as part of the rate. Breakfast hours are from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. on weekdays and 7:00 to 10:00 a.m. on weekends (Saturday and Sunday).
The breakfast had the standard fare, including a selection of breads and cereals. There were 3 hot items which had pancakes, bacon and sausage and a cheesy egg omelet. The bacon was quite good – large, thick and crispy. And of course there were plenty of my favorite IHG cinnamon rolls. One minor quibble is that the water in the drink machine was off – instead they had “fruity” water off to the side, which I do not care for.
The breakfast area was quite large with plenty of room to spread out.
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown also has a “Market” near the front desk with a variety of things you can purchase for outrageous prices.
There was not a price list posted – when I asked about it, they said that there is supposed to be one there but didn’t have one, and they would have to print out another one. That did not happen in the 2 days I was there…
The Bottom Line – Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown hotel review
Overall this was a good stay if you need to stay in the Downtown area of Austin or are looking for a Downtown Austin hotel. I would mostly recommend it on points but if you can pick it up on a cheap cash rate it’s super convenient to most things in the area. If you’re looking for a travel card that you can use to pay for your Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown stay in either cash or using IHG One points, I recommend one of the following cards:
- IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card – Read our full review here.
- IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card – Read our full review here.
- IHG One Rewards Traveler Credit Card – Read our full review here.
(SEE ALSO: Which IHG credit card is the best?)
I personally have the IHG One Rewards Premier Credit Card and IHG One Rewards Premier Business Credit Card and recommend them both for both the welcome bonus offer and the annual free night certificates.
Have you stayed at the Holiday Inn Express & Suites Austin Downtown? What did you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments
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Dan Miller travels with his wife and 6 (SIX!) children. He loves to help families travel for free / cheap, especially larger families. If you are looking for help, drop him an email at 
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