Thompson Austin by Hyatt [In-Depth Hotel Review]

I stayed at Thompson Austin in Austin, Texas, for 2 nights in late April 2024 with my husband. We’d enjoyed our overnight at Thompson Houston about a month earlier, so this was a highly anticipated visit, and we weren’t disappointed. Thompson Austin delivered on our expectations with excellent amenities, including a surprisingly fun fitness center, excellent dining, and a perfect location for exploring Austin’s nightlife.

Read on to see what we liked about Thompson Austin.

Booking Thompson Austin

I originally booked 1 night at Thompson Austin using The Platinum Card^® from American Express. I made the booking late in 2023 to use up my card’s up to $200 annual prepaid hotel credit with Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts before it expired. That booking was $460.82 with tax but came out to $260.82 after my Amex Platinum card credit.

Booking with AmexTravel.com, I earned 5x Membership Rewards points on my Amex Platinum card and received elite benefits, including noon check-in, 4 p.m. checkout, free breakfast for 2, and a $100 hotel credit. After the room rate, taxes and fees, valet parking, room charges, and credits, I earned 1,752 points for this stay.

As we got closer to our stay, we realized we’d want to stay more than 1 night, especially because we had such a great time at Thompson Houston. We booked another night a few days before our stay.

However, I booked that night directly with Hyatt instead of adding to our original AmexTravel.com booking. We didn’t need breakfast or a late checkout that day and didn’t anticipate spending another $100, so we didn’t need the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits on the second night. I’d also just gotten The World of Hyatt Credit Card and wanted to start earning points on it.

After taxes and fees, including a $35 destination fee, the rate was almost identical at $460.49 for the second night booked with Hyatt.

With the World of Hyatt card, I earned up to 9x points per dollar spent on the second night (4 Bonus Points per $1 spent on qualified purchases at Hyatt hotels and up to 5 Base Points per $1 from Hyatt as a World of Hyatt member), for a total of 4,144 World of Hyatt points.

Thompson Austin wasn’t able to combine 2 separate bookings, but it was easy enough to manage. We just had to visit the front desk after breakfast, check out, and check back into the same room, switching the credit card on file.

Bottom Line:

After my $200 Amex Platinum card credit, I paid $720 for 2 nights at Thompson Austin, including free breakfast on the first morning and a $100 experience credit.

Thompson Austin Location

Thompson Austin is in downtown Austin on San Jacinto Boulevard between Fifth and Sixth streets. We left our car with the valet the entire time because it was very walkable, and there was so much to do at the hotel and in the area nearby.

A neighborhood highlight was Antone’s Nightclub, a longstanding blues club that was so close we could see it from our seats at Diner Bar within Thompson Austin. We happened to be there right before the Austin Blues Festival, so we saw a great blues show just steps away from the hotel.

We were also only a few minutes away on foot from the bars, clubs, and dining on and around Sixth Street, including Voodoo Doughnut and The Driskill Bar.

Getting There

We drove to Thompson Austin from our home in the Houston area, which only took about 2 hours. If you’re flying in, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) is just 7 miles away — about 13 minutes by car — from Thompson Austin.

Hot Tip:

The hotel’s destination fee offers neighborhood perks and discounts, so check the Thompson Austin website or contact the concierge if you’re looking for things to do.

Checking In

We checked in around 2 p.m., a little ahead of the hotel’s 4 p.m. check-in time but a little after the noon check-in available with my Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts booking.

The front desk set the style tone we saw throughout the hotel, with dramatic lighting and an interesting rustic wood desk.

We were checked in promptly, though the front desk agent took a few minutes to see if she could get us an upgraded room. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible, but we had a nice room anyway. I appreciated the effort! She also informed us of my benefits from booking the first night with Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts.

We were offered sparkling water or water as a welcome refreshment, and we gladly accepted a couple of glasses of bubbles to take up to the room.

Elite Benefits

With the first night booked under Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, we had a few benefits available to us, which included:

• Noon check-in, when available
• Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
• Daily breakfast for 2 at The Grey Market or with in-room dining (up to $60, including tax and service charge)
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout
• $100 experience credit

These benefits were detailed in a welcome letter in case we forgot. I got the sense that this hotel is a popular location for Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts stays, as we saw the front desk addressing a stack of these letters. The person checking in next to us was also on an Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts stay, as he got the same welcome information we did.

Destination Fee Benefits

Thompson Austin charged a $35 daily destination fee, which included the following benefits:

• Bubbles at check-in
• Priority access to rooftop pool, cabanas, and day beds
• Priority reservations at Diner Bar
• Use of cruiser bikes when available
• 2 bottles of water per night by request
• 24-hour fitness center access
• Local and 1-800 calls
• Daily local newspaper delivery by request
• Priority access to the T Box sports simulator room
• Neighborhood discounts and perks, including access to local museums

Lobby

The lobby was a lively corridor. Thompson Austin shares a building and amenities with its sister hotel, Tommie Austin, and residential apartments, Sienna at the Thompson.

As we walked in, there was seating to the left with a fireplace. An immediate right turn took us to The Coffee Bar at Tommie, and the front desk was to the right as we walked in further. Diner Bar and The Grey Market were off to the left past the seating, and the elevators were to the right past the front desk and concierge.

The Thompson Austin lobby was much more compact and felt busier than the Thompson Houston lobby, which had a large reading room, soaring ceilings, a skyline view, and huge open spaces.

The concierge desk was in between the dining entrance and the elevators.

The elevators featured lenticular art that changed as we moved in the elevator car.

Amenities

Thompson Austin’s main amenities were a stylish rooftop pool with an extensive patio and a massive fitness center.

Pool and Patio

The rooftop pool and patio were on the fourth floor, with a nice view within downtown Austin.

Connected to the Arriba Abajo cantina on the fourth floor, we followed a lush patio maze to reach the pool.

The pool was long but not very wide, with some steps and seating on the side and an open area for lap swimming. It was surrounded by cabanas and loungers. Unfortunately, it was windy and a little too chilly to enjoy the pool during our stay, though there were other swimmers braver than me enjoying the pool!

This pool was appealing despite the chilly water temperature, and I can imagine this fairly small space gets packed on warmer days. The pool is a shared amenity among the Thompson, Tommie, and Sienna.

A towel station was at the gated pool entrance.

Behind the pool, hidden by some patio plants, was a shower for rinsing off before or after a swim. There were also restrooms — some with showers — accessible from the pool deck.

The pool and patio were just as visually appealing at night, with lights in the pool and a view of downtown Austin’s nighttime lights.

Fitness Center

The fitness center was far more extensive than I’d expected. At 6,700 square feet, it took up most of the third floor and was shared among the Thompson, Tommie, and Sienna. It was busier than other hotel gyms I’ve visited, with multiple fitness studio rooms, enough equipment to fill a standalone gym, and a sports simulator.

Walking off the elevators, we immediately saw 3 fitness studio rooms. Each room had doors that closed for privacy, a mirrored wall, and some sort of specialized workout equipment unique to the room. The first studio had a smart mirror with training videos.

Additional studios were right next to it with additional equipment.

Outside of the studio rooms was a station with medicine balls, a trampoline, and a punching bag.

The larger fitness floor had more equipment than I’d ever seen in a hotel fitness center.

There were numerous weight machines in addition to the cardio equipment.

The fitness center also featured numerous weight racks.

There was an entire room room for Peloton bikes — I counted 6.

Another mirrored room featured fitness bands, rollers, kettlebells, balance balls, and more.

The most incredible feature of the fitness center was the T Box, a sports simulator suite, which was complimentary like the rest of the fitness center. The suite featured everything we needed to play golf and other games, including the screen and setup computer, sports equipment, tables, a bar, and a couch for lounging in between turns.

The simulator had numerous games available, ranging from golf to basketball and zombie dodgeball. It was a lot of fun, and we tried a few games. The zombies won, though.

This suite featured a large couch, comfy chair, bar, and shuffleboard table. It would be a great spot for groups. One of the tables had an in-room dining menu, so we could order food to the suite.

We had so much fun playing with the sports simulator, but it was less private than I’d hoped. I didn’t mind that it was within a glass room facing the fitness center, but we had numerous interruptions. We’d asked at the front desk about reserving a time and were told that the room is first come, first served. When we found it open after giving up on the too-chilly pool, we started playing.

It wasn’t long before someone else walked in, then walked back out after noticing we were in there — and then started doing laps around the fitness center, hovering to see when we’d leave. The hotel’s building has a residential area that shares amenities with the hotel, so multiple residential sales tours popped in while we played.

While it was nice to be able to use the room whenever it was open, I would have appreciated an uninterrupted reservation time, even if it required a deposit or a nominal fee. It would have been nice to have had a clearly defined period when the room was available to us and when it was time to leave. Still, we enjoyed the simulator and got a nice workout.

Just beyond the T Box was a lounge area with a long circular couch and TV.

Behind that was a huge studio room that would be good for group classes or a workout with friends.

Around the corner was a snack machine and emergency equipment: a fire extinguisher and defibrillator.

On the opposite side of the fitness center floor were the elevators, with an ATM nearby.

There was also a stack of water cups and towel station near the entrance — though we had to go near the restrooms to get water.

The fitness center restrooms featured a changing room and a shower with towels, shampoo, conditioner, and soap.

The shower stall was accessible with a fold-down seat and grab bars.

Event Space

The second floor featured meeting rooms and a ballroom.

Another event space was on the fourth floor. It had floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that looked out on the street below and the patio with a bar.

Pet Friendly

Thompson Austin is pet-friendly for up to 2 pets. There’s no pet fee, though you need to sign a pet agreement at check-in. Dog treats are available at The Coffee Bar at Tommie near the front door.

Parking

Valet parking was the only parking option, available for $59 per night at the hotel entrance. We just pulled up to the lane in front of the hotel for valet.

The Room

We had a 1 King Bed suite on the seventh floor. When we got off the elevators, we followed signs to the Thompson side — the opposite side had Tommie Austin rooms, which are a bit smaller and less well-appointed.

A dramatically lit white hallway led us to the room.

Our room was compact at 324 square feet but well-furnished, with deep grays and green tones throughout.

As we walked in, the bathroom was behind a sliding door on the left, and a closet and mirror were to the right. Beyond that was a luggage stool, dresser and desk, the bed, lounger, and a tall window with a view.

The king-sized bed featured luxury Italian SFERRA linens, which were cool and comfortable.

The bed had a rustic green leather headboard on a brass frame and was surrounded by gray curved walls, making this space feel cozy. The vertical lights next to the bed were dimmable and easily controlled by a round knob.

A reading light was embedded on either side of the headboard. They could be easily turned on or off by pulling the light out or pushing it flush with the headboard.

The left side of the bed featured a stone-and-metal nightstand with 2 drawers.

The drawers were deep, offering plenty of bedside storage.

The right side of the bed had a pair of tables, marble and glass, with a Tivoli Audio radio on top.

Both nightstands featured outlets with 2 regular power outlets and 2 USB outlets.

Across from the bed was the dresser, which doubled as a minibar, desk, and large leather luggage rack.

The dresser had angular drawers and cabinets.

Atop the dresser was part of the minibar, featuring snacks and drinks for purchase. Almost everything in the minibar was local to Austin, from the nuts to the vodka. The earplugs were complimentary. Notably, there was not an ice machine on the guest floors or an ice bucket in the room. Rather, a note on the minibar instructed us to call for ice delivery.

The minibar fridge, which had cold canned and bottled drinks, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic, was within the dresser. Storage was available to the left of it.

The dresser featured a large drawer under the minibar tray.

Under that drawer was the safe, which was large enough for a laptop.

Also on the dresser was the Nespresso machine with a few pods, sugars, and bottled water. I didn’t notice any creamer available.

Above that was the wall-mounted 55-inch TV, which offered live TV and Chromecast.

The desk featured a rustic brown leather desk chair, oval mirror, desk lamp, and outlet.

Like the other outlets in the room, this desk outlet featured 2 regular power outlets and a couple of USB outlets.

A note on the desk provided us with a QR code we could use to get information about the hotel and its amenities.

A lounger with a couple of small tables was in front of the window, where we could sit for a view of downtown.

The view looked out over rooftops nearby and offered a glimpse of Sixth Street. I spotted Voodoo Doughnut and a familiar sight: The Driskill, another Hyatt hotel I’d visited in Austin.

Back at the entrance, there was a closet and a mirror. I liked that the mirror had a small shelf attached where we could set items as we got ready.

Inside the closet was a hanging rack with hangers, a robe, a steamer, a boot puller, and a couple of shoe-sized drawers. I was a little disappointed to see only 1 robe in this room, as we’d enjoyed having 2 robes available at Thompson Houston.

The top drawer contained 2 pairs of Thompson slippers inside cover bags.

A unusual feature of the room was the concrete ceiling. We didn’t hear a peep from upstairs — though we did hear normal hotel noises on our floor. The concrete ceiling also meant there was no overhead lighting — just lamp lighting from the lamps next to the bed and on the desk.

The bathroom was dark and dramatic, with mostly black and white tile and furnishings with touches of gold. It was a little too dark for my taste, but it was functional nonetheless.

The concrete vanity featured a large sink and a mirror with lights on either side. The large mirror appeared to have a button in the middle, but it didn’t seem to do anything. There was an additional magnified makeup mirror that we could plug in.

Underneath were more bathroom supplies: towels, tissue paper, and a hair dryer.

Above the sink were gold-toned amenity containers and Bowmakers lotion.

The containers contained a vanity kit with cotton swabs, a shower cap, and 2 makeup remover towelettes.

The walk-in shower was large and had a rainfall showerhead, its own light, and a few shelves. The showerhead had what looked like eucalyptus leaves hanging from it, but I suspect these were fake or old because I didn’t get any eucalyptus scent from it.

There was no door to the shower, which I didn’t like. I prefer to be able to close a shower door to keep the heat and steam in the shower.

One of the shelves had Bowmakers amenities on it — shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel in reusable bottles. We had trouble getting a couple of these pumps to work, so we removed them to get to the product.

The toilet was behind a short enclosure. Like the shower, it didn’t have a door to separate it from the rest of the bathroom. It had separate flush buttons on the wall.

Food and Beverage

Thompson Austin had numerous dining options: in-room dining, Diner Bar, The Grey Market, Arriba Abajo, and The Coffee Bar at Tommie. Any time we visit Austin, we have a very busy eating schedule, as there are more places we want to eat than we have room in our bellies for. However, we gladly prioritized visits to a couple of the hotel’s restaurants led by James Beard award-winning chef Mashama Bailey and managing partner Johno Morisano.

Diner Bar

One of the lobby-adjacent dining options, Diner Bar, is open for dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. daily, with the bar opening slightly earlier at 4 p.m. each day. There’s a happy hour featuring oysters and martinis each day starting at 4 p.m., which goes until 6 p.m., except on Sundays and Mondays, when it goes to 10 p.m.

The Diner Bar menu of “port city Southern cuisine” features a raw bar, charcuterie, snacks including lobster sliders and turnip cakes, and mains including swordfish frites and curry chicken.

Eager to try out the oyster and martini happy hour, we headed straight to Diner Bar after we got settled into our room. It was better than I’d expected.

The house martinis were $10. We got a couple of dirty gin martinis served in delicately etched glasses with extra olives.

The oysters — $2 each during happy hour — were exceptional. Prepared at the raw bar right in front of us, we had our choice of 4 oyster varieties from Massachusetts and New Brunswick. The bartender suggested 2 of each to start so we could try all of them, which we did.

The oysters were served with horseradish, lemon, vinegar, and cocktail sauce. We enjoyed all of them, ordered more, and came back to do the exact same thing again the next day!

Each day, we ordered a snack on the side to give our martinis something more substantial than oysters to land on. The first day, we got fried ugali, a firm cornmeal cake on top of chipotle salsa.

On the second day, we had potato wedges, which were essentially huge fries with a generous portion of sour cream on top that hit the spot.

The Grey Market

The Grey Market is another dining option next to the lobby. It’s open daily from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and features a grab-and-go market and elevated diner breakfast and lunch options.

The grab-and-go market was at the entrance, featuring snack shelves and refrigerators with bottled and canned drinks and prepared foods, including sandwiches and fruit. There was a walk-up coffee bar, too.

On our first morning at the hotel, we dined in for breakfast since we had an up to $60 credit for breakfast.

Breakfast at The Grey Market featured diner classics, including pancakes, eggs, and bacon, a breakfast sandwich, grits, and an omelet. Additional selections included quiche chilaquiles, a granola bowl with yogurt, steel-cut oatmeal, and guac on toast.

The guac on toast was very tempting, but I couldn’t pass up the quiche chilaquiles. This crustless quiche was satisfying with a little heat. I liked it, though there was some extra liquid inside the large ramekin.

I also got a side of seasonal fruit, which came with orange slices, grapefruit, and pineapple. These were flavorful and refreshing.

My husband got the NYC breakfast sandwich featuring bacon, egg, and cheese on a roll.

Arriba Abajo

Arriba Abajo is the fourth-floor cantina adjacent to Thompson Austin’s rooftop pool. It offers seated dining and poolside drinks and food. This bar and restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

We ran out of time to visit this lively patio cantina, but had a chance to walk through as we visited the pool.

There was a DJ in the main dining area.

Inside the restaurant is a dark mezcaleria with a tasting bar. This room is available for private mezcal tastings.

Outside, Arriba Abajo has a patio bar under a cover near the pool.

We wanted to try some poolside dining by Arriba Abajo but decided against it after realizing the pool was too cold to stay. The poolside drink menu featured beer, wine, and cocktails, including margaritas and frozen fruit martinis, zero-proof cocktails, and shareable large-format drinks.

The poolside dining menu was equally tempting, with lobster quesadilla pizza, carne asada tortas, salads, and an assortment of tacos.

The Coffee Bar at Tommie

Right at the front entrance of the hotel, The Coffee Bar at Tommie is open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It features coffee, beer, wines, and bites for breakfast and lunch, including breakfast tacos, bagels, a salad, a sandwich, flatbread, and a wrap. There are gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan, and vegetarian options.

This bar has treats for dogs, too, with a treat jar and water bowl near the entrance.

In-Room Dining

An in-room dining menu was on the desk in our room. It featured breakfast and lunch from The Grey Market and dinner from Diner Bar. Breakfast was available from 7 to 11 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Dinner from Diner Bar was available from 4 to 10 p.m. — though I recommend heading downstairs for the martini and oyster happy hour in the bar.

Service

We had great service at Thompson Austin. From the front desk handling our unusual booking to the servers at Diner Bar and The Grey Market, we felt well taken care of. We were greeted kindly at the front desk and sent up to our room with complimentary sparkling wine. As we explored the hotel, the staff members were always happy to answer questions and offer assistance, like the bartenders in the mezcaleria who excitedly told us about the private mezcal tastings available, and the servers at Diner Bar who helped us pick out the perfect oysters.

Final Thoughts

Our stay at Thompson Austin was fantastic. We had a well-appointed room, an excellent location just off Austin’s Sixth Street, friendly staff, and tasty bites. Although the pool was too chilly to enjoy, I was thoroughly impressed by the dining and surprised by the extensive fitness center, including a golf simulator. I’m already dreaming of a return trip. Next time, we might opt for a less costly visit to the sister hotel in the same building, Tommie Austin, which shares Thompson Austin’s amenities.