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Yet The Driskill remains more than a beautifully preserved relic. Step into its sweeping lobby and you’ll find what has long functioned as one of Austin’s grandest living rooms — a place where Texas history, contemporary hospitality and the city's famously convivial spirit continue to converge.
Our Inspector's Highlights
- The Driskill opened on December 20, 1886, as Austin’s new Texas State Capitol was still under construction, making the lavish hotel one of the capital city’s greatest landmarks. The hotel’s Richardsonian Romanesque architecture makes an appropriately imposing first impression with a brick-and-limestone façade, soaring columns and monumental archways. Inside, the lobby’s original hand-laid geometric marble floor remains beneath a dramatic stained-glass dome added over the former open light shaft.
- The hotel’s ballrooms and parlors have hosted generations of governors, politicians and dignitaries. Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson were longtime guests, and LBJ used the luxury hotel as a political gathering place. The Johnsons’ connection to The Driskill is preserved through spaces and memorabilia throughout the property. The grand Mezzanine Level anchors The Driskill’s more than 18,000 square feet of meeting and social space, with original Carrara marble floors, tiled balconies, crown molding, natural light and greenery inspired by Lady Bird Johnson. The latest addition is the 2,800-square-foot Citadel Ballroom, occupying a former private club with a secret entrance once used to sneak in liquor during Prohibition.
- A major 2026 restoration has polished the landmark without erasing its patina. Designers from SWOON the Studio and Lambert McGuire Design retained and reused historic elements wherever possible, from artwork pulled from the hotel’s existing collection to antique furnishings given new upholstery.
- MML Hospitality oversees the hotel’s reimagined culinary program, with acclaimed chef April Bloomfield providing creative direction for the storied Driskill Grill. Dry-aged steaks and icy martinis arrive in a lush dining room outfitted in walnut burl, burgundy leather and unlacquered brass. A piano hosts local musicians, while framed historic photographs and artwork depicting Texas wildlife connect to the landmark’s past.
- The Driskill Bar features a curated collection of Texas-centric artwork mounted on blood-red walls over buttery leather sofas, plus cattle-brand-patterned carpeting and bartenders outfitted in Pendleton vests and bolo ties. Beneath a stained-glass dome, the iconic brass Widow Maker equine sculpture remains a fixture of the space. The Victorian bar mixes the swagger of an Old West saloon with an English pub, complete with a mahogany bar inset with cowhide, velvet drapery and an upstairs area for pool and cards. Its walls have seen several previous lives; through the years, the space has housed a bank, barbershop and spa, television studio and nightclub.
The Rooms
- The hotel’s renovated Tower Rooms take a moodier approach, layering dusty blue-gray walls and deep navy and slate carpeting with rust-red velvet drapes, burnished brass, blackened bronze and substantial wood furnishings. Historic Rooms are lighter and more romantic, pairing creamy whites and bone-colored paneling with ornamental woodwork, fringed seating and vintage-inspired lighting.
- Many of the new rooms’ details were created especially for the Austin hotel. Local embroidery studio Fort Lonesome collaborated on striking headboards featuring motifs drawn from Central Texas flora and fauna and The Driskill’s architecture. SWOON designed the rooms’ custom furniture, including bar cabinets, while bespoke carpeting subtly works the hotel’s monogram into its pattern.
- Stearns & Foster Luxury Plush mattresses are dressed in Italian Casarovea sateen linens, and Oddbird Co. Turkish cotton robes await after a shower. Tower and Historic bathrooms pair Carrara marble, ceramic tile and brass fixtures with walk-in showers, while select suites offer deep soaking tubs. Grown Alchemist botanical bath amenities are stocked throughout.
- Room service offerings range from breakfast specialties to all-day classics such as deviled eggs, a smoked turkey club and steak frites. Minibars spotlight local snacks, including Siete tortilla chips, Beard Bros energy bars and Texas Treats Cowboy Snack Mix.
- For the deepest dive into the hotel’s past, book one of its historic suites. The spacious Cattle Baron Suite nods to the property’s cattleman origins with hardwood floors and a grand fireplace while The Driskill’s longstanding connection to Lyndon B. Johnson is particularly palpable around the Heritage Suite. This preferred stay of the former president is filled with archival photographs and memorabilia recalling his time spent at the hotel, a bathtub backed by stained glass and a private balcony overlooking Sixth Street.
Amenities
Bar
Gym
Meeting rooms
Pet friendly
Restaurants
Getting There
