Girl's Trip: 24 Hours at The Thompson Austin, Including a Site Inspection!

In these modern times of self-care and wellness treatments, some activities remain basic. We girls like camaraderie, sharing our experiences, asking our besties for advice, dipping our toes in the water and being able to take a few deep breaths. No matter what age we are, this aspect of us never changes, and it is a fun ritual to do whether you are 23 or 60. What makes it all the more wonderful is when we are doing it with the perfect backdrop! The key is staying at the right hotel to augment and accentuate the experience. So, carve out that 24 hours and book as many adjoining suites as you need with me!

THE THOMPSON AUSTIN

Perfect for everyone! First, the Thompson brand by Hyatt is always located in the center of the action! They offer modern luxury and great service at a reasonable price point, especially when able to incorporate additional perks through your favorite travel advisor! Hat tip to the attentive concierge team of Saige, Jennifer and Alexis, who worked with me up front to see that we were taken care of! The result was a right-on-the-money hotel experience!

Roadmap for 24 Hours of Fun

Arrive early! As I am finding, the more hotels I stay at, some of the best are the ones that start with an understated entrance, and this applied to the Thompson Austin! As soon as you walk through the door, you have that WOW feeling! The lobby definitely sets the tone of the space and the Thompson embodies the Austin scene of vibrance and tactile energy that comes through in the mixture of design elements and textures, with of course, a bit of weirdness thrown in!

Have your travel advisor secure you an early check-in. Normally room check-in is at 4pm. We arrived at 10am and were greeted by Emily in reservations, who checked us into our room and upgraded us to a higher floor with adjoining rooms for the slumber party effect!

Upon entering the room, brew a little espresso (other than the obvious caffeine boost, coffee is a powerful antioxidant too)! The rooms at the Thompson Austin have a loft-urban-moody feel in deep tones and shiny surfaces mixed with concrete on the ceiling. Good little respite to end up in at the end of the night! Beds are super comfy with nice linens and just the right amount of filling in the pillows!

Also, something unique to the Thompson Austin, is that it has a connected sister hotel that shares amenities but offers a different room experience at a different price point. In this case, the Tommie Austin is the little sister, and her rooms give off a Swedish modern vibe with bright light and crisp furnishings. They are smaller, harkening to a more European hotel room feel and are therefore, perfect for the business traveler or solo traveler that needs a comfortable clean affordable place to stay.

Back to your perfect day, throw on your suit and head to the pool to snag your daybed, cabana or lounger! Thoughtful detail, a cooler of water with plastic cups and a big jug of pump sunscreen at one end of the pool! We were there early and had a moment to enjoy the pool before it became crowded.

The whole span of the hotel on the 4th floor begins left with the long narrow pool flanked by lots of cabanas and loungers. Then comes a seating area with a mix of couches and tables. Then it's the long bar area embellished with a DJ playing music, then at the end on the right, more tables and comfortable seating. Point is, there are nice corners to inhabit while ordering drinks and the best tapas ever. We had the snapper ceviche, shrimp ceviche, crab tostada, shrimp tostada and fresh guacamole, all with sprinklings of fresh greens and herbs. We also had margaritas, on the rocks and frozen. For the record, the Prive rate includes a $100 credit per room and free drink tokens, so all of this was covered.

After a day of fun in the sun and catching up, we returned to our room. The hotel concierge department gifted us with a bottle of champagne, craft beers, local trail mix and Happy Birthday cookies. All four of us had birthdays within 30 days of each other. It was the perfect accompaniment to our getting dressed up Texas style to go out on the town!

Appreciated the fact that as a frequent traveler, there was a steamer (instead of an iron) in the room for our clothes. We had fun getting ready in our adjoining rooms, laughing and listening to music. Of course, on our way out, we had to take a few fashionable pics as we were in a fashionable spot.

Our first stop was at P6 during sunset to have an appetizer and a drink. On Lady Bird Lake, you can watch the Congress Ave bridge boats fly by, a local favorite past time. Then we went on to Clark’s Oyster House, which had a very Gatsby-like kind of feel, old, traditional and delicious branzino by candlelight. Lastly, we had envisioned hitting the bars but ended up making it to only one honky tonk. We danced to one song from the live band before we decided to call it a night and head back to our moody dark rooms and comfy beds.

We slept well and were excited that they had given us a late 2pm checkout. One of us was really hungry, so we were up, dressed and at the Grey Market on the first floor by 9:30am. The Prive rate included our breakfast with no ceiling on the dollar amount, and we ordered off the menu. We decided to finish out our stay with some mimosas, served up by our fun server, Abandonro. Also worth mentioning, is that Mashama Bailey, the James Beard Award-Winning Chef, is the Chef at The Grey Market.

Consistent with the long, narrow spaces theme, the market is also long and narrow. At one end, there is a gift area to buy local goods and logo t-shirts along with a cooler stocked with a wide variety of drinks. Right around the corner is a cool bar area with lots of seating and funky/weird art on all of the walls!

In conclusion, don’t discount the value of a 24-hour stay at a wonderful place like the Thompson Austin to celebrate friendships and undefined resets!

This trip report is part of our ongoing series on travel to Austin. In need of further inspiration? Check out Jordan Nocerino’s guide, Luxury Getaway To Austin, Texas.