Tommie Austin Hotel Tour + Review
The Tommie Austin is a fresh, new property located in the middle of downtown Austin, Texas. As a native Austinite, I’ve been amazed at the transformation of downtown, especially when it comes to how many new hotels there are in the Live Music Capital of the World!
Location
The Tommie Austin is located at 5th and Brazos, right off of the famous 6th Street bar district. The tower the hotel is located in is shared with its big sister property, the Thompson Austin, as well as some luxury apartments. My room at the Tommie overlooked the pool, which is on the opposite side of 6th Street, so I didn’t notice any noise at all, which was great.
Booking
I’m a World of Hyatt Globalist, which I value a ton when it comes to outsized value and perks when I travel. The Tommie Austin JdV by Hyatt was an awesome use of World of Hyatt points for a number of reasons. First, it was an expensive September weekend in Austin, with cash rates at the hotel over $300 per night.
A free night on points was only 9,000 points per night, giving me redemption of 3.3 cents per point, well above what I try to redeem for (2 cents per point). In addition, since this was a points stay as a Globalist, I got free parking, which saved me $55 for the night I used the valet parking.
The Tommie shares all of its public spaces, like the pool, gym, and restaurants, with the Thompson, which was more expensive at 25,000 points a night or over $500. This is a spectacularly valued property, even with the recent Hyatt devaluation.
Check In
We arrived at the valet and were escorted to the front desk of the Thompson. I had read reports that the Tommie check in is actually at the coffee shop’s bar, but that wasn’t the case for me.
We had an awesome check-in agent who explained that we had received an upgrade to a Pool View Corner King room, their largest non-ADA room at the Tommie, at a whopping 260 square feet! I had read reports of a free drink or coffee at check in for Globalists, but we didn’t receive anything like that.
The Room
As you can see from my short walkthrough on my YouTube channel, this hotel's rooms are very small by comparison to other hotels. That is by design, leftover from before the Hyatt acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality.
They wanted to create a lifestyle brand on a budget while still focusing on all the awesome amenities the Thompson is known for. Tommie ultimately didn't become its own brand within the World of Hyatt and is now under the JdV (Joie de Vivre) brand. There’s another Tommie that’s opened in Hollywood, California, but no others have been announced.
That all being said, I knew what to expect when I booked, and I just needed a place to crash downtown while I was in town for a wedding. There were two of us sharing the room, and while it’s not as spacious as other rooms, when we’re saving so many points per night, while still having full access to the Thompson’s amenities, I’ll take the minor inconveniences.
The room featured a small bathroom, with the toilet actually in the same space as the shower. This was odd, but I got used to it. The sink was outside the shower in the bedroom, and the counter doubled as a small desk. A mirror above the sink could swivel to the position we wanted.
A massive TV was on an arm, so you could position it wherever you wanted. The king bed was very comfortable and normal-sized. Finally, the views from the room were great of downtown Austin and the Tommie’s pool below.
Restaurants
We got to try out a number of the restaurants on the property. The Tommie features “The Coffee Bar at Tommie,” which is more than just a morning spot. It doubles as a cocktail bar, and we tried a delicious espresso martini before our wedding.
A James Beard-nominated chef,, Mashama Bailey,, leads the Diner Bar, but we didn't get to try it on our trip. It’s a cool-looking Southern restaurant, which you have to walk through from the lobby to get to the Grey Market, also by Chef Bailey.
This is where the Globalist breakfast was held, which could be taken in the room or in the restaurant. We couldn’t get a hold of them on the first morning, so we went down to dine in. The service was very slow, but the food was great. The next day, we got the footo gogo to save time, and it was delicious.
Upstairs by the pool is Wax Myrtle’s, where we had dinner one evening. The food here was fantastic- I recommend the Ahi Tuna. You can view all the restaurants and the restaurants we dined at in the embedded video at the top of this post.
Overall
We loved our time at the Tommie Austin, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It’s definitely great value for one of the best locations in Austin. A great reason to stay here is if you’re solo, or for a couple that can sacrifice space for a great deal.
For another great Hyatt to check out, see our review of the Park Hyatt Cabo del Sol!
Want the gear I actually pack? I keep a running list of my favorite cruise essentials — packing cubes, magnetic hooks, motion-sickness remedies, and more — on my Amazon storefront. (Affiliate links; I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.)
Shop my Amazon storefront