Hotel ZaZa Austin

Austin, now that it’s booming, is home to a hotel from just about every boutique and luxury chain under the sun. But the Texas-based ZaZa group took its time. Long a familiar name in Dallas and Houston, ZaZa hits the state’s capital city at a moment when it takes more than just a quirky design sense to stand out. Fortunately for everyone involved, Hotel ZaZa Austin is very much up to the task.

Of course, a quirky design sense is very much part of the package; Hotel ZaZa Austin is an eclectic blend of eras and influences, from bohemian to modernist, from retro to contemporary. The one conspicuous absence is any Lone Star kitsch. Rooms are not just stylish but substantial as well, with plentiful lounge and work space and marble bathrooms stocked with Bigelow bath products.

On the ground floor, ZaSpa is open to guests and locals alike, while Perfect Strangers, the lobby-level café, is the spot for breakfast and hand-pulled espresso drinks. Group Therapy, meanwhile, is the hotel’s restaurant, set on the seventh-floor rooftop, right next to the pool deck with its stylish rows of loungers — which, in classic Austin style, features live music a couple of nights a week.