New hotels in Downtown Austin

Downtown Austin is a grid of about a mile across, and the grid is the first thing to understand. Congress Avenue is the spine: Edwin Waller laid it out in the 1839 plan as the widest street in the new capital, 120 feet across, running from the Colorado River north to the Capitol. The numbered streets cross it east to west, Sixth Street being the one everybody knows. Almost every hotel here can be located by two numbers, a cross street and a distance from the avenue.

Five hotels we follow sit inside that grid. Thompson Austin, Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue and citizenM Austin Downtown are open. 1 Hotel Austin opened in August 2026 at the lake end. Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection, is confirmed for late 2026 on East 5th Street. That makes four open and one coming, in an area where the next opening is rarely more than a few blocks from the last.

How the district is laid out

Start at the north end. The Texas State Capitol stands on its hill at the top of Congress Avenue, built of pink granite, and from its steps the avenue falls straight south for roughly a mile to the Congress Avenue Bridge and Lady Bird Lake. Nothing blocks that sightline, which is why people walk it end to end on a first visit.

The middle of the avenue was once called Show Row, for the movie houses and theatres that lined it. Two survive. The Paramount Theatre opened as the Majestic at 713 Congress Avenue in 1915 and took its present name in 1930; the State Theatre went up beside it in 1935. Both are now run by the nonprofit Austin Theatre Alliance, which was formed in 2000. Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue stands at 721 Congress, next door to the Paramount, so the theatre marquee is the first thing a guest sees on leaving the lobby.

East of the avenue the character changes. Sixth Street, with its bars and live-music rooms, runs across downtown, and the convention district and the Waller Creek corridor lie to its east and south. Thompson Austin is here, at 5th and San Jacinto, and Hotel Trinity will be a block or two further east at 311 East 5th. The western edge, toward the Colorado Street offices and the lake trail, is quieter at night. citizenM sits on that side at 617 Colorado Street.

At the south end, where Waller Creek meets Lady Bird Lake, downtown shades into the Rainey Street district. 1 Hotel Austin is there, at 96 Red River Street, and for planning purposes it belongs to both. The Rainey Street page covers the bungalow bars a few steps away.

What to do in Downtown Austin

For a weekend

Walk Congress Avenue from the Capitol to the lake and look at the Paramount and State Theatres on the way. The Capitol is open for visits, and its dome and rotunda are worth the climb up the lawn even if you skip the tour. At the bottom, the Congress Avenue Bridge is where Austin's Mexican free-tailed bats leave at dusk in the warm months, and people line the bridge to watch.

In the evening, move east to Sixth Street. The strip is loud and mixed, with tourists, students and conventioneers, and the live-music rooms start early. The blocks west of Congress are calmer and have more restaurants than bars; that is the Warehouse District, which one local shorthand calls Sixth Street for adults. A guest at Thompson Austin is at the junction of the two, five minutes' walk either way.

For a longer stay

Give a day to the lake. The Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail circles Lady Bird Lake for about 10 miles, from the pedestrian bridge under MoPac to Longhorn Dam, and downtown touches it at several points. From citizenM on Colorado Street the water is a short walk south. From 1 Hotel Austin the hotel itself has direct access to both the trail and the Waterloo Greenway along Waller Creek.

After that, the neighborhoods that have the other new hotels are close. South Congress is across the bridge and up the same avenue, East Austin is a short ride east of I-35, and Zilker lies along the lake to the west. The wider city is covered on the Austin page.

Where to stay in Downtown Austin

The lake end: Red River Street

1 Hotel Austin opened in August 2026 on the lower floors of the Waterline, a 74-story tower at 96 Red River Street. The hotel has 252 rooms, 60 of them suites. Lincoln Property Company and Kairoi Residential developed the building, with design by Kohn Pedersen Fox and HKS Architects. The tower is reported as the tallest in Texas, and the hotel belongs to the group's 1 Hotels brand, run by SH Hotels & Resorts. Rates start from about $380 a night.

The site is where Waller Creek reaches Lady Bird Lake, on the edge of the Rainey Street district, with the Waterloo Greenway and the Butler trail at the door. The office blocks and the convention district are a few blocks north, and Sixth Street is a short walk beyond them. Guests who want a quiet return from a night out will find this end calmer than the strip. It is the downtown address that is most about the water.

Congress Avenue

Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue opened in February 2023 at 721 Congress Avenue. It is a 31-story, 246-room tower, the second Centric property Hyatt has in Texas, and was developed by Colorado-based McWhinney. The design nods to Austin's music scene, and the ground-floor restaurant comes from a James Beard finalist chef. Rates start around $170.

Its position is the argument for it. The Paramount and State Theatres are beside it, the Capitol is straight up the avenue, and the lake trail and the University of Texas campus are both within walking distance. For a guest who wants to be on Congress Avenue itself rather than a block off it, this is the only new hotel on the strip.

5th Street and San Jacinto

Thompson Austin opened on January 12, 2022, a year later than the summer 2021 target. It is a 32-story tower with 212 rooms and suites plus 17 residences, with exteriors by bKL Architecture and interiors by KTGY Simeone Deary Design Group. On the fourth floor is Wax Myrtle's, a rooftop restaurant and pool run by Mashama Bailey and Johno Morisano, the chefs behind The Grey in Savannah. Rates start from about $330, second only to 1 Hotel Austin among the open hotels.

The address, 5th Street and San Jacinto Boulevard, is in the convention and entertainment district. The convention center and Sixth Street are both a short walk, and the Capitol is a bit longer on foot, up San Jacinto.

Colorado Street

citizenM Austin Downtown opened on January 31, 2024, at 617 Colorado Street. The tower has 17 floors and 344 rooms, a rooftop pool and bar on the 16th floor, and art commissioned from local and regional artists. It is the Dutch brand's first hotel in Texas and its 34th worldwide, and it arrived several months after the 2023 target first announced for the project. Some listings still carry the 2023 target as its opening year. Rates start from about $150, the lowest of the group.

The room formula is compact and tech-led, so the case for it is price and location rather than space. It sits on the western side of downtown, within walking distance of the Capitol, the lake trail and the Congress Avenue bars.

East 5th Street

Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection, is the next one. White Lodging is building a 14-story tower with 258 rooms and suites at 311 East 5th Street, set to open in late 2026, and it will be the only Autograph Collection hotel in the city centre. It is White Lodging's 13th hotel in the Austin market. Architecture is by PFVS and interiors by FlickMars Hospitality. Two venues are announced: The Yacht Club, a seafood restaurant, and Sundeck Social, a members-only rooftop pool club. Rates have not been published.

Which hotel in Downtown Austin for your trip

For Sixth Street and the convention center

Thompson Austin. At 5th and San Jacinto you can walk to a convention session or a music venue in minutes, and the rooftop pool gives the stay a reason to exist beyond the address. Hotel Trinity will compete for the same traveler a block or so east once it opens.

For the arts corridor and the Capitol

Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue. A trip built around the theatres, the galleries and the government district works from here without a car.

For the lake and the trails

1 Hotel Austin or citizenM. The first is on the water and costs more; the second is a short walk from it and costs less than half as much, from about $150 against $380.

On a tighter budget

citizenM again. It is the cheapest of the new openings in the district, and what you give up is room size, not position.

Frequently asked questions

What is the newest hotel to open in Downtown Austin?

1 Hotel Austin, which opened in August 2026 in the Waterline tower at 96 Red River Street. Before it, citizenM Austin Downtown opened on January 31, 2024. Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection, is confirmed for late 2026.

Which Downtown Austin hotel is closest to the Texas Capitol?

Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue, at 721 Congress Avenue. The avenue runs straight to the Capitol, so the building is visible from the hotel's door. citizenM at 617 Colorado Street is also within walking distance.

Is Downtown Austin walkable to Lady Bird Lake?

Yes. citizenM Austin Downtown and Hyatt Centric Congress Avenue are both within walking distance of the Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, and 1 Hotel Austin has direct access to it at the foot of the Waterline tower.

What hotel is planned next for Downtown Austin?

Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection, a 14-story, 258-room tower at 311 East 5th Street, targeting late 2026.

How far is Downtown Austin from Rainey Street?

A few minutes on foot from 1 Hotel Austin, which stands at the edge of the district. From the middle of downtown it is a 10 to 15 minute walk, or a short rideshare, to Rainey Street.