Penang to Portland & Austin: Short review of Embassy Suites Austin Town Lake

• Introduction
• Penang to Singapore on Silkair
• Singapore to Portland on United Airlines
• Portland and review of Hilton Portland
• Portland to Austin; First Bump ever
• Short review of Embassy Suites Austin Town Lake
• Heading back home - Austin to Penang on United Airlines

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The choices of “company approved” hotels that we can stay in Austin are pretty limited. There are a bunch of hotels in North Austin but god knows why one would one to stay there. There are however two hotels in downtown Austin on the list – the Radisson and the Embassy Suites Town Lake. Being a Hilton guy, the Embassy Suites is my preferred hotel when visiting Austin.

The rooms are the typical Embassy Suites style rooms with a separate bedroom and a living/work area. The hotel went through some minor renovation a couple of years back with the televisions switched from CRTs to LCDs. The furniture however it slightly dated. 

Bedroom

Work Area

Living Area

As with any other Embassy Suites, it comes with free cook to order breakfast and a free cocktail hour at 5-7pm every day. The breakfast is the typical American breakfast with cook to order eggs, potatoes, fruit and breads but it does get old after a while - I once had a one month assignment to Austin and by the first week, a muffin at Starbucks was a better option.  The cocktail hour serves a selection of red and white wine, crappy American beer and generic spirits. Good way to start the evening with free booze but nothing to shout about.

What I like most about the hotel is its location. The Embassy Suites is located on Congress Ave right by Lake Austin which gives some rooms a really nice view. I was happy that there is a good running trail right by the lake that’s good for running before or after work – gotta loose the weight after all the food and alcohol from this years travel! There are also several good restaurants close by the hotel. Another 10-15 minute walk gets you to the infamous 6^th Street of Austin or 4^th Street for some of the other restaurants.

View from the room

There are better hotels in Austin like the Hilton, W or Four Seasons but I would definitely recommend Embassy Suites for those on a budget.