Fairfield Inn & Suites Austin Buda

Absolutely LOVED it!

I stayed four nights here with some business in Austin. This clean and affordable hotel was more than worth the drive north in morning traffic. Most importantly, the room was quiet and clean with a super comfortable bed. I read a review before coming about the somewhat louder ac and fan, but for me it worked since it seems to tune out any hallway noise. I love the little microwave and fridge in the room, enabling me to set up some good snacks from the local HEB. For a Fairfield Inn, the real prize goes to the complimentary breakfast. I have never seen a more generous oatmeal bar, and each morning there were offerings I rarely get at other hotels, like turkey sausage. The coffee was actually strong enough too (and available all day), far from the typical watered down versions I'm used to. I get that people have different expectations on breakfast, but for something complimentary at a lower budget hotel I just can't see asking for more. You can make your own waffles, spice up your eggs with different salsas, go for cereal or make more varieties of oatmeals than drinks at a Dutch Bros (which, by the way, is a short 5 min drive away). Admittedly, the gym was sparse, with just a few treadmills and some dumbbells. But like the little pool and hot tub, the upshot was it wasn't used that much, meaning I had it to myself. There is even a washing machine on each floor.

Hotel has good housekeeping, which is always a top priority, & the property is well maintained. Breakfast was below standards compared to other Fairfield properties we have visited & needs to remain open later. Good location near major big box stores & many chain-type restaurants. Quick & easy drive into old-town Buda which is always a pleasant visit. Easy to find & access off I-35 & several Hill Country wineries are nearby.

Stayed 3 nights. Friendly staff, clean room and comfortable bed. Good bang for the buck if you're willing to stay outside of downtown Austin and don't need other perks. Room HVAC was a bit loud but maybe just our room. We would definitely stay here again.

My stay here was fine until trying to use the shower. The water would come on for about 30 seconds then just dribble to a stop. Had to turn the lever to off then wait a minute of so before turning it back on. This did not always bring water back. Sometimes it took a few minutes for water to return, only to slowly go away again. Extremely difficult to take a shower with no water.

A suite is a "group of rooms occupied as a unit", according to both my experience with hotels, as well as just looking at the standard definition of the word itself in the dictionary. This was the expectation which I took into this booking for myself, my wife, and our toddler. Typically, we rent a suite, and have the toddler sleep in the "living area", where there can be a door between him and us - mostly because as adults we generally like staying up past his 7:30pm bedtime. Up until this experience, this has worked well in about half a dozen properties. Here, the "Suite" is a part of the overall room with no separation. The suite is what I would consider a standard hotel room with a divider of a minor frame between the spaces. No door, curtain, or anything else between the two. Hence, for the following I will use "room" as despite my booking and the hotel title, I did not stay in a "suite" We checked in at 11:00pm, which left ample time for the hotel to prepare our room. Despite this, the room was not that clean, including leftovers from a prior guest in the fridge and microwave. The bathroom had hairs in the sink, and the floor was a bit unclean as well. We were tired and didn't bother with it until the next day. The staff was very, very, nice and helpful. The room's condition was addressed the next morning. However nice the staff, they have been set up to fail by their hotel. The bed itself was very worn out and uncomfortable. Further, the fitted sheets were so worn that the elastic was not really stretchy anymore, and would pop off the bed several times each night. Couple the above with the fact that the smoke alarm for the room flashed bright green above the bed all night, and it quickly became apparent that a restful night was not going to happen. It was such a bad experience that on the second night, i used the hotel wifi to download the AirBNB app to find a last minute place to stay - but unfortunately, came up empty in my search. Aside from the room (which is, of course the most important thing), I will say the property itself was very clean, the breakfast was good, and we felt the location was great. However, the main expectation is a room which fits the bill, and this one failed to deliver.

I made a reservation for this hotel on February 20. At approximately 5:00 pm, after driving three hours to Austin, I received a phone call (on my home phone) from the hotel advising they don’t have any rooms. At the time of the call, I was pulling into the parking lot. When I entered the hotel, the front desk agent told me there were no rooms because a water line broke earlier in the day and they couldn’t use a whole floor. She knew about this before I left my house, but waited hours to call me. Marriott’s policies require the hotel to find another room for you or provide compensation. I asked her about another room and she said she tried to call other hotels in the area but there were no rooms. I asked about a Fairfield in New Braunfels and she said they don’t help with anything that far. At this point she was became quite rude and said I can’t help you anymore. I asked about compensation and she said “Well I am not charging you to cancel.” WHAT??? So I said I am not cancelling, I want to stay. Her response was I that she didn’t like my attitude and she wasn’t helping me any more. I left and called Marriott’s 800 number. The agent called the hotel and she advised she cancelled me with no penalty. He told her I wanted to stay, I did not cancel, and if I couldn’t stay they had to compensate me. This was very inconvenient because there were a ton of conferences, baseball, cheer and whatever else going on that weekend. All of the available rooms had gone up more that 100 a night from when I booked. The only room I could find near by was an hour out of my way and only had a king bed for five people. Marriott corporate filed a case against the hotel for not providing compensation for a denied stayed. And guess what? The hotel staff lied and said I cancelled the reservation. The woman at the front desk was rude, didn’t know her job and is dishonest. I understand the situation was unavoidable but she could have handled it 100 percent better.

A so-so hotel experience. There’s a strange smell in the elevators and hallways that makes it’s way into the rooms. Thin walls, so you’re able to hear your neighbors’ conversations. The beds were adequate, but the pillows could’ve been better. The room did seem clean though, which is the top priority, so this accounts for the three stars.