Hotel ZaZa Austin ★★★★

A Warehouse District House That Refuses to Be Beige

Lavaca Street at Fourth is the old Warehouse District, the part of downtown that was brick and freight before it was bars, and ZaZa planted a deliberately theatrical hotel in the middle of it. Design Duncan Miller Ullman, out of Dallas, worked the interiors in velvet, leather, bold pattern and mod furniture, with art hung thickly enough that the corridors are worth walking slowly. There are 159 king and double king rooms, small by downtown standards, and then the suites, which are the reason people book here twice. Nothing about the place is understated, and it is not trying to be.

Why It Works

It works because it has a point of view and commits to it. Most luxury hotels downtown compete on the same greys and the same skyline; this one sells character, and it delivers on the promise from the lobby upward. The scale helps. At 159 rooms the staff learn your name, and the seventh-floor bar and the pool deck stay lively without turning into a convention crowd. Add a spa on site and a restaurant that Austin books without being guests, and a weekend needs very little planning.

Why This Location

Four blocks separate the front door from Congress Avenue in one direction and the Seaholm District in the other, which is the useful geometry here. Republic Square and the Austin Central Library are a short walk west, and past them the old Seaholm power plant turned into shops and restaurants, with Lady Bird Lake and the hike-and-bike trail below. ACL Live at the Moody Theater is minutes away for a show, the Paramount is up on Congress, and Sixth Street is north if the night is going that way. The Warehouse District has its own bars on the doorstep, which is convenient on a Friday and worth knowing when you choose a floor.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Theatrical, velvet, art-heavy, social

• Rooms: 159 king and double king rooms, plus the themed Concept Suites

• Best For: Couples, milestone weekends, travelers tired of grey hotel rooms

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The Magnificent Seven suites, each one built as a different world

• Dining: Group Therapy on the seventh floor, the Cabana Bar on the pool deck

• Amenities: Pool deck with cabanas, ZaSpa with massages, facials and an infrared sauna, fitness center, ballroom and private dining, dogs welcome

• Attractions: Republic Square, the Austin Central Library and the Seaholm District, ACL Live at the Moody Theater, the Paramount Theatre on Congress, Lady Bird Lake and the hike-and-bike trail

The Concept Suites, and Why They Are Not a Gimmick

The Magnificent Seven are the signature: seven suites, each built around a different idea, so that Orient Express is a lacquered sleeping-car fantasy and Seaside goes the other way entirely. Bungalow 6 borrows from retro Palm Springs, with color, pattern and mod furniture, and Back Stage Pass leans into animal print, leather and velvet for anyone whose weekend has a rock and roll shape. These are not novelty rooms with a themed cushion. They are properly designed and properly sized, and they are the reason to spend the afternoon in rather than out.

Seventh Floor, and the Pool Deck Below

Group Therapy sits on the seventh floor and is the room the hotel is judged on: a kitchen and cocktail bar that Austin books on its own merits, not because it happens to be in a hotel. Downstairs the pool deck runs wide, with cabanas and the Cabana Bar working through the afternoon, and it is the part of the building that feels most like the city outside. Between the two there is enough of an evening on site that a car is optional.

ZaSpa, and the Quiet Half of the House

ZaSpa is the counterweight to all that velvet and noise: massages, facials and body treatments, an infrared sauna, showers and lockers, and a booking sheet that fills at weekends. The fitness center covers what a stay of a few nights needs. Event space runs to a ballroom and private dining rooms, which is why the hotel turns up on wedding shortlists. Dogs are welcome, which in a house this fond of upholstery is generous.