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Wyndham Austin

chapjim

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Wyndham VIPF & PresRes, HVC/DRI (Gold), Quarter House (4), Resort on Cocoa Beach (2), HGVC Tuscany Village, HGVC South Beach-McAlpin, HGVC Parc Soleil
I've never been to Austin. San Antonio, El Paso, and Dallas yes but not Austin so I have no idea about what goes on there other than the usual -- state capital, Austin City Limits, etc.

I just canceled two full week 2BR Presidential reservations -- one the second week in January, the other the first week in February. They were too expensive to put on LMR but I had them listed on TUG2, Craig's List, eBay, and RedWeek.com. Not one nibble from anyone on any website which kind of surprised me. My price wasn't way out of line, especially for a PresRes unit.

Maybe not a tourist spot in winter? More a weekend place? No people with business at the capital?
 

dgalati

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I've never been to Austin. San Antonio, El Paso, and Dallas yes but not Austin so I have no idea about what goes on there other than the usual -- state capital, Austin City Limits, etc.

I just canceled two full week 2BR Presidential reservations -- one the second week in January, the other the first week in February. They were too expensive to put on LMR but I had them listed on TUG2, Craig's List, eBay, and RedWeek.com. Not one nibble from anyone on any website which kind of surprised me. My price wasn't way out of line, especially for a PresRes unit.

Maybe not a tourist spot in winter? More a weekend place? No people with business at the capital?
Great place to visit. Resort is also in a good location. You can walk and dont need a rental car.
 

jwalk03

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Jan & Feb are not big tourist months most anywhere other than Ski destinations, Florida and maybe So Cal.

I have only been to Austin once. I really enjoyed the LBJ Presidential Library.
 

sjsharkie

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And the food is great in Austin. I'm there about 3 times a year for business - always head to Rudy's for barbecue (though there are better places, you may have to wait). Franklin's is popular but there is always a line sometimes 60 minute wait or more.

-ryan
 

amycurl

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I think Austin is a summer/fall/spring destination, special event city (SXSW, college football.) I don't think people tend to gravitate towards Austin for mid-winter getaways.
 

jabberwocky

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Austin is a weird place - I love it! :cool:

UT has a big presence there and classes will be out during that time of year (and no academic conferences likely during that time.) I can't say that Austin has ever crossed my mind as a winter vacation destination.

Rudy's is good for BBQ - but my favorite is Terry Black's BBQ. You can't go wrong with any restaurant that sells meat by the pound.
 

ecwinch

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If you are not driving and are staying at the Wyndham, Coopers Old Town and Iron Works are solid choices.
 

Eric B

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Just got back from 5 days there (12/11-15). The line at Franklin's was long (~3 hours on Saturday if you get there at 8:00 am), but they have a breakfast taco trailer with really good coffee for folks waiting - worth it if you're a foodie. Didn't try Coopers or any other well known BBQ places, though we did eat at Bangers on Rainey Street one night.

We didn't drive anywhere; took the CAPMETRO bus from the airport for $1.25 each to get to the Wyndham and took the Super Shuttle (which is closing) back for an early flight home. Had a great time there, but it seemed like there weren't a lot of folks visiting town. If you go, I'd also recommend Barley Swine and Torchy's Tacos (in SoCo) as places to eat; I've also heard that Uchi and UchiKo are good.

Maybe not a tourist spot in winter? More a weekend place? No people with business at the capital?

The state legislature is a part time one and isn't open (at least in December, though I'm not sure about January and February). It's also not the right season for bats.
 

Janann

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Disney's Saratoga Springs

Eric B

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In case anyone is interested in the restaurants noted above, there are at least two that have multiple locations in a few states:

https://rudysbbq.com/locations/all

https://torchystacos.com/locations/

Didn't try Rudy's but for Torchy's one important thing to know is that they have a secret menu (https://torchystacos.com/menu/secret-menu/). There are a few of them closer to the Wyndham, but we thought they one on South Congress had the most character; it's in a stand alone building as opposed to being a storefront in a downtown building.

One other thing about the Wyndham - we got the best local recommendations from Brandon, one of the maintenance guys. The "concierges" that try to recruit you for sales had some pre-printed recommendations for restaurants, some of which might be good (included Cooper's and Terry Black's) but most of which were probably quite touristy. Lots of good food trucks around.
 

chapjim

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Thanks for all the responses. My reservations were upgrades from studios to a 2BR Presidentials, exactly the kind of reservations we spend hours looking for. Just didn't work out.
 

Jan M.

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When you walk down the hill to 6th St. on the left hand side corner there is a bar with a food truck behind it. The food truck has really good breakfast tacos.

On the other side of the street going down the hill is Ranch 616. Their quesadilla of the day was recommended to us. It is on the list of appetizers but two of us ordered it for dinner. It was delicious and as much to eat as the other two people got with the meals they ordered.

If you are there on a Friday an absolute must is the Friday pork chop lunch special at Perry's Steakhouse and Grille. It is a smaller cut of their 7 finger pork chop dinner and I still had enough meat for a second meal with my leftovers.

We really liked and would highly recommend both the Iron Cactus and the Moonshine Patio Bar & Grill.

It you are hungry for a really good burger try Casino el Camino but be warned the place is nothing fancy. Happy hour is 11:30-7 every day. Our beers were $2.25 and the burgers are 3/4lb. We ate in the enclosed courtyard out back.

Do the tour of the Capitol building and eat in the Capitol Grill while you are there. We had the grilled chicken wrap and the large fresh fruit platter that comes with cottage cheese and chicken salad. I had so much fruit in my platter that I shared because I couldn't eat it all.

The Texas Chili Parlor is kind of an Austin tradition. I can recommend the Freidas enchiladas and I picked the black bean and Elgin sausage (another Texas thing) chili to go over my enchiladas. It's a mild chili.

We weren't thrilled with Stubbs BBQ. It was pricey for the amount of food you got and we weren't that impressed with the food. We can however recommend Coopers. I'm still wanting to try Franklins but everyone told us that you have to be in line hours before they open if you want to get anything as they sell out quickly when they open.

We've been to Austin twice now and both times flew and took the bus to the resort. You walk out of the airport and go to your right to the bus stop. Route 20 will take you to 8th and Lavaca. Going back you get on at 8th and Guadalupe. Both are one way streets. The fare is $1.25. have cash. An all day pass is $2.50 and is good for 24 hours. The bus runs every 15 minutes so you don't have a long wait.

After we got in we emptied our suitcase and took it with us to bring our groceries back when we went to Trader Joe's to buy our food and drinks for the week. After we were done shopping we packed our groceries in the suitcase for the walk back to the resort. Maybe half a mile. The Whole Foods isn't far either. It is huge and is their flagship store.

On the first Sunday of each month admission is free to the Bullock Museum of Texas History.
 

Sandi Bo

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Thanks for all the responses. My reservations were upgrades from studios to a 2BR Presidentials, exactly the kind of reservations we spend hours looking for. Just didn't work out.
I tried unsuccessfully in Austin, as well. I booked some extra stuff when we were there for the owners meeting in November. Thought I had a hot ticket, no such luck.
 

dagger1

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Hyatt Wild Oak Ranch, Hyatt Main Street Station, Hyatt Ka’anapali; Marriott Ko’Olina, Marriott Waiohai; Marriott Maui Ocean Club; Wyndham CWA points, Worldmark credits.
We live in Houston, have family in Austin. Never really considered it a tourist destination, maybe during SXSW, but a fun place to visit. The Wyndham Austin is a great place to stay, plenty of good bars and restaurants/food trucks nearby, plus Lady Bird Lake/Lake Austin. You will definitely need a car if you want to hit nearby destinations, such as San Antonio (Alamo, the Market, the River, Pearl Street, etc.); New Braunfels and Gruene; Wimberley or Fredericksburg; Lake Travis (and all it offers), Enchanted Rock, and myriad other Hill Country destinations.
 
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