visiting Austin, need a place to stay. Help!

My family and I are visiting Austin at the end of March and we plan on being there for about 12 days to explore the area. We need an affordable place that can accommodate 6or 7 people. This is our first time coming to Austin, so I just don%26#39;t know the area, but if we like the area we may move. I need a safe place, that has a good location, preferably close to downtown and reasonably priced. I%26#39;ve even tried to rent a house, but everything seems to be unavailable. Can someone make some suggestions for budget hotels and suites, or vacation rentals?Hawthorn Suites by the airport seems nice , but I don%26#39;t know if it will be too far from the attractions. I would really prefer a suite or house. Most hotels downtown are really expensive. I%26#39;d stay at a Red Roof Inn or some budget place like that if I knew that it was not a dump. Someone please help me find a place to stay by making some suggestions!

visiting Austin, need a place to stay. Help!

The Legislature is in session this year so you ar probably running into some competition for rentals there. Have you looked at VRBO.com? We have used them to rent in Florida but they have rentals everywhere, including Austin. You might also try Craigslist.org for Austin.

visiting Austin, need a place to stay. Help!

The airport is pretty out there and not a particularly nice area--no good restaurants, several miles from everything interesting, etc. There is a Homestead Studio Suites that is in a good location (just over the river from downtown) and has small kitchens in each room. That would be a good location for exploring.

Most of the hotels on the I35 corridor are going to be budget hotels and won%26#39;t be total dumps. Plenty of Red Roof Inns, Days Inns, that sort of thing, at a reasonable rate. Just don%26#39;t get stuck too far north in Pflugerville or Round Rock.

I am not really familiar with rental houses or apartments in Austin--sorry!

You might want to look into using Priceline - you can get a 3-star hotel on 35 by 290 (typically the Doubletree, Hilton, Embassy Suites or Red Lion) or you can even try a 4-star in downtown (Hyatt, Omni, Hilton, etc.). You can pull off a 4 star for $75 in downtown.

It%26#39;s worth trying, particularly since football season is out.

Check out my travel blog at travelfix.blogspot.com

Aren%26#39;t most rooms on Priceline set up for two people rather than a suite option?

You definitely don%26#39;t want to stay out by the airport. not pretty, far from everything, just plain boring. I am not familiar with hotel prices since I actually live here, but I know someone who has stayed at a nice La Quinta in southwest Austin on Loop 1 (mopac) that wouldn%26#39;t be far from downtown or west austin (west austin is very pretty). Here is the address of it, look it up on laquinta.com- 4424 South Mopac Expwy. Austin, TX 78735. There%26#39;s also a nice Holiday Inn Express in the same area-- 4892 US HIGHWAY 290 WEST

AUSTIN, TX 78735. Also, check out hotels in the Arboretum area. That is a nice area to stay as well, and not too far of a drive from downtown (maybe 20 min)

Hope that helps!

nykr,

Extended Stay America usually has cheaper prices if you are staying over a week. They have a downtown location. I am preparing to visit Austin in Feb. for the first time, so I am no expert on the area, but I have looked up quite a few of the prices there. Also, as others have said, there are other options along I-35 which are not far from downtown. The Extended Stay, however, is right there. My relatives have stayed there and loved the location and the price. They stayed 2-3 weeks, but there were only 2 of them, not 6 or 7. I don%26#39;t know what they offer for that.

Go to www.bedandbreakfast.com and look at the Star of Texas Inn. It says that rooms start at $85. We stayed at the sister location just down the street (Austin Folk Inn) just a few weeks ago and it was very comfortable and the free breakfast was great. The location is great: close to downtown and close to public buses (Some of the short hop buses are free.) You might get a great deal for a 12-day stay if they have the space.