Thompson Austin

When the first Thompson hotel opened in downtown Manhattan, Austin was still unmistakably “weird.” But the Texan capital has grown, and the Thompson hotels, with Hyatt’s help, have spread — and in downtown Austin, just off the East Sixth Street nightlife and entertainment strip, this booming city and this ever-stylish hotel brand are together at last. Thompson Austin occupies the lower floors of an unmissable 32-story mixed-use building by Chicago architecs bKl — a significant addition to the skyline.

The hotel’s interiors pay tribute to their setting, but not in an obvious way — jewel-tone colors and polished stone surfaces reflect the local geology, and textures in raw concrete and wood convey a certain no-nonsense vibe, but ranch kitsch is nowhere to be found. The rooms and suites are modernist-inspired, dark and dramatic, and they’re outfitted with all the essential boutique-hotel comforts.

And the public spaces are just as essential to a Thompson’s appeal. The ground floor features the 5th Street Diner and the Coffee Bar, as well as the Royale Room, serving upscale cocktails, oysters, and gourmet burgers. And the high point, quite literally, is Arriba Abajo, the rooftop cantina that opens onto the 4th-floor pool terrace.