HABITAT SUITES, 500 E. Highland Mall Blvd., Austin, TX, 512-467-6000,
Rates: $137 for one-bedroom suites; $207 for two bedrooms. You can save 25 percent on weekends if you book online. Free parking.
Stay here if you’re: A green traveler on a budget.
It’s close to: While the hotel’s immediate environment is less than appealing — across the street from a deserted-looking shopping mall and next door to a strip club — it’s a fairly convenient five-minute drive to the University of Texas campus and 10 minutes to downtown Austin.
The rooms are: Apartment-sized. Each suite has a living room with a couch, chair and desk (with free Wi-Fi access), a full-size galley kitchen with a breakfast bar, and one or two good-sized bedrooms and a bathroom. Many suites have wood-burning fireplaces, and some have sleeper couches. But the decor is in need of a serious update. Although the rooms are clean, the carpet and furniture in my suite and the few others I peeked into were stained and worn, and the woodwork could use a few coats of paint.
They put all of the money into: Everything but the rooms. The center courtyard has a spa-like hot tub and swimming pool with waterfalls, surrounded by lush, pesticide-free greenery. There’s a solar-powered hot-water system, all of the paper products are biodegradable and recycled, and the housekeeping staff uses only natural cleaners. But the best part is the free breakfast and happy hour. The breakfast is a full buffet, and much of the food is organic or macrobiotic, but in a good way — even your kids won’t be able to tell that it’s good for them. The 5-to-7 p.m. daily happy hour features pour-your-own bottles of wine and a tasty taco bar.
The bottom line: If you can overlook the tacky furnishings and questionable location, this hotel is a great value, and it makes you feel all eco-friendly without having to do anything inconvenient. But be sure to get a room facing the courtyard — the environmental vibe is ruined if all you can see out your bedroom window is tarmac.
Vicky Uhland; photo by Jody Horton
