Our city’s newest and largest hotel, the JW Marriott Austin, opened on Friday. This massive hotel takes up an entire city block between Second and Third Streets, except for a few small historic buildings that remain huddled together in one corner. With over 1000 rooms, this is the largest JW Marriott in the United States and the second largest in the world.

Bill and I walked over to the JW Marriott on opening day and looked around. The hotel lobby is sleek and sparkling, with plenty of space for convention check-in. Low-slung couches and intimate groups of comfortable chairs are scattered around. The appealing brown-and-neutral color scheme is reflected throughout the building.

For future reference, we checked out the restaurant menus. The Corner Restaurant features “Flavors of Texas.” The menu had a little bit of everything, like a hotel coffee shop, but much fancier and more expensive. Osterio Pronto seemed a little pricey for Italian cuisine, but not outrageous for downtown Austin. I’m sure we will try both restaurants eventually.

Bill and I wandered through the public spaces, but didn’t visit any of the hotel rooms. Large ballrooms and meeting rooms are located on the second and third floors (and maybe higher—it’s a big place!). Sessions for the upcoming South by Southwest are already booked here. There’s even a Starbucks on the second floor next to yet-another seating area.

The new Burger Bar on Congress (facing Congress Avenue) has counter service only.  Prices are reasonable for the downtown area. We predict that this place will be popular with office workers, hotel visitors, and Bill.

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