We stayed at the Austin Residence Inn for a conference in early 2012. The downtown hotel is ideally situated for that: directly across the street from the downtown Convention Center. It's also just 2 blocks south of 6th Street, 4 blocks north of Lady Bird Lake and its beautiful trails (as well as the famous 'bat' or Congress street bridge, though no bats in Jan), and about 10 blocks south of the State Capitol.

The room was spacious and included a kitchen (with dishwasher, microwave and full fridge), small eating area, small living area, then the bed and bathroom. We'd requested a high floor; two large windows provided a nice view of the Austin cityscape, including the old Driskill hotel. Upon arrival, there was a cute little Sharpei-type dog made out of towels on the bed. Wifi in the room was free, fast, and reliable.

The common areas and room itself were spotlessly clean and well-maintained thoughout our stay. Though we didn't make use of it, they offer to go grocery shopping for you and deliver the supplies back to your room.

Everyone associated with the hotel was helpful and exceedingly friendly, from the reception area to the room cleaning staff and chefs greeting us when we went down the free breakfast buffet. The exercise room was large, with plenty of the usual equipment (bikes, treadmills, and weights). There was also a pool and small hot tub which we did not use.

We appreciated the thoughtful touches like the afore-mentioned towel 'dog', the curved shower curtain in the bathroom providing more elbow room, the free breakfast (especially the fresh pineapple and delicious yogurts), the fresh fruit & coffee in the lobby in the morning (cookies in the evening), and the sanitizing wipes and extra towels provided in the workout area. We would definitely stay here again, for work or pleasure, if we get back to Austin in the future.

By the way, the hotel does not have an airport shuttle but there is a bus called the 100 Airport Flyer that is perfect (thank you Tripadvisor forum writers!). The trip costs just 1 dollar each way; on the trip into Austin, there is a stop on 6th Street just 2 blocks from the hotel. To get back to the airport, the stop is on 5th street, just 1 block north of the hotel. The Austin Capitol Metro Transit website had the detailed schedule & stops. At the airport, you catch the bus by exiting out the airport doors and turning right, there's an Airport flyer sign in front of the taxis stands.