Thompson Austin Review

My wife and I visited Austin for the first time for our anniversary weekend, and we decided to check out The Thompson Austin for our first night. We picked The Thompson because I had a Category 1-7 Free Night Award to burn, and it checked off another Hyatt Brand Explorer hotel for me. In this Thompson Austin review, I'll break down the highlights of our one-night stay, and some of things that weren't so great.

Getting To Thompson Austin

It's a quick trip from Austin-Bergstrom airport to downtown Austin – about seven miles – so we originally planned to take an Uber or Lyft. That changed since we were also planning on visiting a friend nearby and ending our trip at the Miraval Austin. We ended up renting a car instead because of that. Overnight valet parking costs $59 per night, but parking is complimentary for Globalists staying on an award booking.

Typical Booking Cost

The Thompson Austin is a Category 6 Hyatt and has the following cost to book on points:

• 21,000 points off-peak
• 25,000 points standard
• 29,000 points peak

We used my Category 1-7 Free Night Award for our one-night stay here. It wasn't fully maximizing the free night certificate, but it was right up near the top. If it would have expired I would have only received 20,000 points for it.

Thompson Austin Review: Arrival And Lobby Area

Opening in 2022, The Thompson Austin (Tripadvisor reviews) looks and feels very new. It's a dual hotel, sharing a lobby with The Tommie, one of Hyatt's more budget-friendly lifestyle hotels under the JDV brand. The hotel has an industrial-chic vibe, and the front desk staff are very welcoming and professional. We arrived just before noon, and the desk staff informed us that they had upgraded our room to a corner view, but it would not be ready for another hour or so. They escorted us to the locker rooms near the gym to freshen up, and we stored our bags while we went out to lunch. They asked what brought us to Austin, and when I mentioned it was our anniversary, they gave us two complimentary drink tickets to use at the restaurant or pool – a nice touch!

King Corner Room

As promised, our room was ready when we returned from lunch. The King Corner overlooked Austin's famous 6th Street, as well as the historic Driskill Hotel. While the front desk did offer to get us into a pool-view room right away, we opted to wait for the corner room on their recommendation.

The room itself was nice, and the bed was very comfy. We had a nice big wardrobe, large bathroom, a desk, mini fridge, safe, and a Nespresso machine. I particularly liked the fresh eucalyptus hanging from the shower head.

The espresso cups in the room are for single shots only, so don't press the double shot button and overflow the cup like I did. The room also comes with a minibar stocked with liquor, snacks, and…love kits…for purchase. They know people like to get their freak on!

Thompson Austin Pool

It's clear from the pictures on the website that the pool is relatively small. On a hot Saturday, the pool was insanely packed. I'm not sure why they put such a small pool in a dual hotel with over 400 rooms, but there was clearly more demand than capacity. Since we got there mid-afternoon, we struggled to find anywhere to sit. After talking to an attendant, they offered us a cabana for $200. Yeah, no thanks. Eventually, they cleared off some towels from a previous guest, and we got a spot. The pool staff really should encourage guests to take their towels off their chairs when they leave so they don't run into this very limited seating issue. That minor problem aside, the pool was nicely maintained, water was refreshing, and we used our drink tokens for some poolside drinks.

Fitness Center

As far as hotel fitness centers go, The Thompson Austin gym is massive, with just about anything you could possibly want. Individual studios, dumbbells, barbells, squat racks, cable machines, treadmills, ellipticals, stair machines, and Peloton bikes. If you want to work out on your trip here, you have everything you need. The fitness center also has a golf simulator and shuffleboard table, which is pretty cool!

Dining

The Thompson Austin has a few dining options:

• Arriba Abajo Cantina
  • Located on the fourth floor near the pool. Serving fresh Mexican style lunch and dinner inside and on the pool deck.
• The Coffee Bar
  • Behind the front desk in the lobby, offering grab-and-go food and drinks, and some tables to dine-in. Globalists can charge their Coffee Bar charges to their room for complimentary breakfast.
• Fifth Street Diner
  • A retro-style diner offering breakfast and lunch. Globalists can dine in here or order room service for their complimentary breakfast. I got the Smoked Brisket Hash, and it was dynamite. My wife got the classic breakfast, which was good too. But seriously, I still crave that Smoked Brisket Hash. Worth noting that I charged coffees to my room earlier, and that got wiped off the bill too.
• The Royale Room
  • A chic martini bar adjacent to the lobby serving oysters, chicken tenders, burgers and sandwiches.

Thompson Austin Review: ToP Thoughts

Overall, we had a fantastic stay at the Thompson Austin. Staff were terrific, the room was perfectly fine, and we enjoyed breakfast. The prime location meant we could walk everywhere we wanted to go. The pool was a bit of a letdown for us, as we were looking for more of a relaxed vibe, and it was a hot mess. Next time I go to Austin, I'll probably save 10,000 points and stay at The Tommie, unless I have another category 1-7 certificate I need to burn.

Have you stayed at The Thompson or Tommie Austin? Let me know what you thought about them in the ToP Facebook group.