The Loren at Lady Bird Lake

I don't get some of these reviews. More on that later. I spent the weekend here just before Christmas for the UT college football playoff game. Our stay was fantastic.The decor is contemporary sustainable. Did I just come up with a new category?Common areas are lush with greenery. Being the holidays, there were lots of Christmas trees, lights, ribbons, etc. Beautiful, inviting and charming. Staff from Valet, Front Desk, Room Service and Door/Bellhops were friendly and knowledgeable. Special shout out to Douglas who helped us bring our bags to the room.The room itself was a great size and had a great view (room 607). There are separate shower and tub and double sinks.The location is south of the river (lake) and near 1st Street and S Congress. Our view was just left of Austin's downtown and still in view.The hotel has a cafe that many walkers, cyclists, and other healthy Austinites drop into. It's dog friendly. So is the hotel. There is also a top floor restaurant, Nido, with indoor and patio dining options. Great at night with friends or a date.Now the complaints/bad reviews. Many are focused on noise related to construction over a year ago. It's sad that writers can't give some grace. While an inconvenience for your trip, is it really any indication of the establishment? It's like rating a restaurant poorly for a third-party valet issue. Rate the valet poorly instead.The hotel is great. I'll be back.

If you were to ask me what was negative about my stay at The Loren, I couldn't find anything. Not one single thing. From the day I arrived to 5 days later when I checked out, it was absolute perfection. I was visiting Austin for the first time at one of the lowest points in my life. I booked a plane ticket and a hotel room with zero clue what I was going to do on this solo trip. I got there on a Sunday morning and was immediately greeted at the front door, which was kindly held open for me by the doorman.When I got to the front desk, I was greeted with a smile by Umut. I let him know that my only request was to have a nice view and I told him I would go somewhere to wait until the room was ready since I was there so early. When I expressed to him that I had no clue where I was or what I should do, he pulled out a map and started circling places I should visit. He told me how to get to S Congress Ave where I could go have brunch while I waited for the room.As soon as I got back near the hotel, I received a call that the room was ready. Perfect timing! After walking in the 90 degree heat, I was offered water. When I got to the room, I was absolutely blown away by the view. It was like a dream. I couldn't ask for anything better. The room itself was chic and spotless. I treated myself to a suite because I hadn't traveled somewhere new in years. I'm so happy that I did because I was on the 7th floor and that room was a complete sanctuary... exactly what I needed at the time.The four nights that followed were pure bliss. The bed was super soft and I slept better than I have in quite some time. It was extremely quiet, which I loved. I even took a bath every night. I wasn't a "bath person" before I got there, but I think I've changed my mind. (Pro tip: walk to Whole Foods on 5th/N Lamar and pick up some bath salts or a bath bomb.)Every morning I would go downstairs with boundless energy (I wake up very early and I have more energy than a toddler upon waking) and Umut would be there at the desk with a cheery "good morning!" He didn't seem bothered by my high energy and he'd ask me if I needed any ideas of things to do, and every day he'd give me excellent recommendations. From where I should walk to how far I should go to where I can get the best food, he definitely knows his stuff.When I'd come back at the end of the day, my room was always freshened up and clean. Anytime I would see a staff member in the hallway, they were super friendly and asked me how I was doing. At night, the turndown service was simply awesome. The nighttime lighting in the room had such a cozy vibe. The day I had to leave was quite sad. I was practically in tears, but Caitlyn was so sweet at the desk as I checked out. Of all the hotel experiences I've had in my life, this is by far the best. Nothing else compares. I started off my trip full of fear being alone in a new city. By the time I left, the kindness of all the people I met melted my once cold heart. Everyone at The Loren played a huge part in this. It was a week that I'll never ever forget.I'm so glad I stayed here rather than downtown because the view was the number one priority for me. The restaurant and the cafe were both incredible with the same friendly standard of service found throughout the hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't even check out the pool or fitness center because I was on the go the entire time, but now I have a reason to go back.If you're visiting Austin, do yourself a favor and book a room at The Loren. You won't regret it!

Wifey and I discovered The Loren at Lady Bird Lake during our most recent stay in Austin. This is a boutique hotel in a quieter part of town, but still near everything. There is (as is typical for Austin) very limited street parking. So, don't be a cheapskate and just use the valet. The attendants are very friendly and retrieve your car ASAP from their private garage. The lobby is small but ample. The front desk staff are knowledgeable and super helpful. Our room was spacious, clean, and very modern. The "desk" is a bit funky, but usable. We had a view of the quiet street below. The bathroom is large and very nice. Downstairs is a coffee/snack shop with a focused selection of wines and other type of booze and snacks. Our cappuccino and latte were outstanding. This is our new go-to hotel for future trips to Austin. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Just stayed at the Loren for the 4th of July holiday and we had a great stay! The staff was incredibly hospitable and willing to make our stay as enjoyable as possible at every turn. Particularly, Chris was just the absolute best! From the time we arrived to the time we left, we gained so much positive assistance in making our stay all it could be, including restaurant recommendations, setting us up with in-room service, and greeting us with a smile all day long. We will be definitely returning on our next stay in Austin!

My company recently hosted a luncheon meeting here and it was an excellent experience with exceptional food and service with a convenient location in Downtown Austin and the quick and efficient valet parking was appreciated and really is essential unless your Uber there. The biggest takeaway I had outside of everything being perfect was the location and view and why I haven't yet taken my wife here for dinner and a night out. There are many nice places in Austin, but The Loren at Ladybird Lake stands out as being five stars in every category.

Gave The Loren a chance and... Thank God we booked the second half of our stay in Austin at The Thompson. IMO, you have many better options at this price point. Sounded great 'on paper' but failed to deliver when expectations weren't even that high. I hope my poor experience was anecdotal, but upon reading other poor reviews, I would guess this is currently the median experience.Was offered 'party favors' by the hotel staff (could potentially be seen as an upside and/or value added? ) and their supposedly top-tier restaurant insisted I leave the first $0.00 tip of my life. SMFH.*Additions and interesting photos coming soon.

Meant to add a review a while ago, but just remembered, because the stay bothered me so much!We live locally, just outside Austin. We had just moved here and had no plans for Christmas. Just my wife and I. So we decided to go stay downtown on Christmas night 2023. We checked in and were placed on the 2nd floor. overlooking a dumpster and an bit AC. I hate complaining, but we did. So I told them we weren't happy with our room, so they moved us to the opposite side of the building. Looking at new construction across the street. My complaint here is that we were told the hotel was at about 1/4 capacity. However THOSE were the best rooms they could give us? On Christmas? Come on. for the price we paid for our room, we should have gotten far better than that. ZERO reason they couldn't have put us in a much better room. THAT isn't good customer service.

Excellent staycation. We're Austinites who wanted to have a wonderful anniversary experience and chose this wonderful hotel to be out of the main drag but still have a central location to the trail and great views. We had a wonderful time. The hotel personell and restaurant ensured we had a great anniversary and was very attentive and accommodating. My husband put in a few special requests at the restaurant before we arrived and we felt welcomed and cared for. Kudos and thank you! The rooms we stayed in was large, with a beautiful bright modern bathroom and a large 2 person tub, modern interior design and was sparkly clean. Bed was great with nice hotel quality sheets. This hotel offers some of the best downtown views of Austin, especially the lake view rooms and the restaurant. We loved the en suite balcony where we enjoyed a wonderful sunset over ladybird lake. The restaurant offers some healthy delicious options for us health nuts, great fresh juices at brunch and excellent croissants (from a European - means a lot). We'll be back and happy to recommend this hotel to friends visiting or just looking for a getaway.

Booked with AmEx FHR. Dined at Nido. What a lovely experience. Turndown service. Chocolates on bed pillows. Bottle of red complimentary. Amazing customer service and pool facility.

We just stayed 5 nights at this hotel. The views that are promised are inaccurate and confusing. We called the front desk while booking to be sure that the "City" rooms have a view of the city across the water to the north. They assured that it did, even saying that we would be placed above the 4th floor so that trees did not obstruct our view. When we arrived, our room faced the west toward the park with no city in sight. To get the city view we had to pay $320 extra. If you were to book a room right now the difference between all views is only $30/night so I'm not sure why they charged us $64/night. The staff said they were sorry and promised a nice compensation, which ended up being a bottle of water brought to the room with 2 wine glasses.The hotel location is not very good. Riverside Dr and Lamar Blvd are very loud streets at night, which can be heard in the rooms. On our last night there were two loud explosions at 2am which woke everyone up. Lamar Blvd is too dark at night to safely walk. There is construction right across the street so there are concrete trucks and other delivery trucks during the day. Lee Barton Dr has no sidewalks and has an odd golf course next door, which seemed weird. There are limited decent restaurants within walking distance, especially to the south. We heard several fights happening outside along the water which seemed to be between homeless people and pedestrians.The hotel touts premium bedding but the pillows are terrible. They flatten out to about 2" tall and you will have to stack them up to stay comfortable. Request extra pillows early in your stay. The hotel touts designer toiletries but it's hard to get them. When we arrived there was shampoo, body wash, hand cream etc, nearly empty in their containers. We ran out of cream on day 1 and they refused to replenish it over the next 4 days. The front desk even said this was wrong but there is a disconnect between the front desk and housekeeping. We also complained about our dirty glasses not being replaced by housekeeping several times. They certainly took our tip every day though. Also, our light was not working in the shower and it was dark. There is not much space in the mini fridge for your personal food items. The hotel does a few things well though - someone will almost always open the door when you enter the hotel. And they grow real plants on the wall in the reception area. The gym is decent. Unfortunately the pool on the roof is very small. If you are booking in warm weather you will have to fight for one of the 15 chairs along the pool.