South Congress Hotel Makes List Of 'Best New Hotels On The Planet'

SOUTH AUSTIN, TX -- One of “the new best hotels on the planet” is located in Austin, at least according to a tabulation by Travel & Leisure magazine.

The recently opened South Congress Hotel joins rather exclusive company in making the list. The only other Texas site to land on the list is the Emma hotel, another recently opened facility in San Antonio.

It’s a rarified listing, especially considering the number of untold lodging facilities found out there. You know, on the entire planet.

Texas Monthly magazine notes the entry of the boutique South Congress Hotel is somewhat unsurprising, given its strategic location in near proximity to amenities luring throngs of natives and tourists alike in the trendy city.

“The South Congress Hotel is probably unsurprising—it’s a boutique hotel in one of America’s trendiest cities, smack-dab in the middle of one of Austin’s most tourist-friendly neighborhoods,” Texas Monthly notes, referencing the hotel’s namesake, fronting corridor.

“It’s a fine hotel, but it’s also exactly what you would think of when making such a list—a hotel exactly where you’d expect it, highlighting exactly what people know best about Austin,” the magazine continues, palpably underwhelmed to see the hotel make the list.

Yet at ground level, not everyone in Austin was happy to see construction of the 83-room hotel begin. Its construction displaced an area where food trucks would descend offering a wide variety of culinary fare -- a popular draw, especially on weekends.

Mobile food merchants who long called the site home were transferred to the Barton Springs area to make way for the new hotel. Some observers point to the hotel construction as further evidence of sweeping gentrification catering to visitors at the expense of local institutions popular among natives.

But putting visions of the shuttered culinary haven aside, the South Congress Hotel is a nice place, built in a manner that is not obtrusive and with design elements in line with the rest of the neighborhood.

During the hotel’s soft opening, passersby inquiring about the hotel would be helpfully offered tours of the place, including a check of room layouts. What one curious passerby en route to a popular thrift store a few steps away beheld were impressive interior elements.

An expansive rooftop pool offers views of downtown Austin in the distance. Three restaurants, a spacious bar, event space and retail shops are also featured within its environs.

Both the South Congress Hotel and Emma opened last fall.