AG Reviews: Hotel Magdalena, Austin

For the final stop of a two-week US road trip from Chicago, fuelled by tacos, brunches and blues, we chose a city that seems to be rocketing to the top of savvy travellers’ bucket lists the world over: Austin.

Dropping the car at the rental and cramming our huge bags into a tiny taxi, we wound our way through Bat City’s backstreets as the driver told us about his previous life as the drummer in a well-known Mexican blues band and gave us a brief history of the city.

As we rounded the corner onto Music Lane, he concluded by telling us that Country Music legend Willie Nelson had once owned the properties on this 14-acre stretch off South Congress. One such property was the Austin Opry House, a former swanky-hotel-turned cowboy hippie club, where Willie hosted the likes of Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Muddy Waters and The Eagles. It’s on this sacred site that the beautifully-designed, 1970s-inspired Hotel Magdelena now sits.

Rooms at Hotel Magdalena

As you might expect, Hotel Magdalena embraces its musical heritage through its design and branding, the events it holds and the pop-ups it hosts. Architecturally though, the building pays tribute to the slopes of nearby Barton Springs, with its mass timber structure built at varying elevations around the dominant heritage oak trees.

Rooms are simple and stylish with bold coloured tiles in the bathrooms and a lake-inspired design. Some have terraces overlooking the pool, others have views of Downtown, all are designed to make you feel like you’re being welcomed into an airy treetop community rather than hidden away in dark, lonely quarters.

These rooms are connected by exposed timber walkways, while downstairs, a scenic central outdoor courtyard provides access to the hotel restaurant, the outdoor pool, pool bar and events space. While we were there, chef Andy Baraghani did a ticketed dinner to launch his new book, and a DJ played an ambient set to guests soaking up the afternoon heat by the long, narrow pool.

Location of Hotel Magdalena

As well as being home to Hotel Magdalena, the South Congress neighbourhood (or SoCo if you’re one of those people) is the place to explore if you’re into boutique shops, up-and-coming designers and producers, excellent bars and restaurants and world-class live music.

Thanks to indie stores such as Neighborhood Goods and Maya Star, seafood restaurants like Perla’s and iconic music spots like The Continental Club, South Congress is an exciting place to be day or night.

There’s a great mix of local hangouts like neighbourhood juke-joint C-Boys, and quirky mainstream attractions like Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream. It’s in South Congress too that you can hop on a Lone Star Riverboat Bat Cruise and catch a glimpse of the famous Austin bats – the largest urban bat colony in the world – as they emerge from beneath the Congress Avenue Bridge at sundown.

Dining in Austin

Summerhouse On Music Lane is Hotel Magdalena’s restaurant, a wonderfully relaxed affair reminiscent of long weekends at a charming Southern lakehouse. The menu changes throughout the day, but favourite dinner options are the Prince Edward Island mussels, the Ricotta Cavatelli and the Backyard Chicken.

Brunch, which is served Friday to Sunday, 10am to 3pm, is an excellent remedy for an over-indulgent night on the Austin tiles – especially the French toast and the steak and eggs.

Further afield you’ll find some of the best restaurants we encountered over the course of our trip. At Nixta Taqueria we had the most interesting and delicious tacos and tostadas I’ve ever had, while Terry Black’s BBQ gave us a proper taste of top Texas barbecue – and by proper taste I mean we ate until I could barely breathe.

Suerte in the heart of East Austin introduced us to frijoles en venenados and pollo al carbon, and Clark’s Oyster Bar provided, well, oysters. But an astounding variety of them, served up at the bar alongside a cold glass of Lucien Crochet Sancerre.

Relaxed and Understated

It’s little wonder this city has become such a firm favourite among travellers in the know. Like live music? Go to Austin. Love diverse, delicious food? Go to Austin. And when you do, be sure to make Hotel Magdalena your relaxed, understated, vibey HQ.