Hotel Magdalena Austin

A quick escape to get down to some live music, enjoy some good food and pool time… I wanted to drop in to the authentic Austin vibes and Hotel Magdalena was the place. 

I stayed in a Porch Studio room, simple and cute boasting a little balconette. My room was accentuated with nice little touches including a super eclectic periscope lamp (you can swivel it around to read… or to make spotlights and puppet shadows on the wall), bright yellow Spanish tiles in the bathroom and iconic images from the regular Austin Opry House photographer, Scott Newton. The bathroom itself offers Sangre de Fruta amenities in custom Hotel Magdalena scents. 

All of the rooms boast natural light from the windows at both ends inviting in a lovely cross breeze, exposed aggregate concrete taking inspiration from the river rocks of Texas, custom walnut wood built-in beds, Sferra bed linens and kimono robes (a best seller from the gift shop). 

Bunkhouse Group does it again! This is their biggest hotel, but you wouldn’t know it thanks to the friendly staff, native trees and terraced layout. 

Evocative of Austin’s popular natural spring pool, Barton Springs, Hotel Magdalena was launched in October 2020 in collab with the renowned Lake Flato architecture firm. Stepping into the multilevel pool area, surrounded by four buildings connected by open air elevated walkways and courtyards, you get a real modern, treehouse vibe. The grounds are planted with native Texas Bigtooth maples, Redbuds, Oaks and Little Gem Magnolia.. it feels more like a sanctuary than a hotel. 

When I first arrived, I popped down to the onsite restaurant Summer House on Music Lane and rounded out the afternoon with a Texas Redbud cocktail and the Hamachi Crudo – which I highly recommend!  

The hotel is situated on Music Lane off of the iconic South Congress Avenue amidst Austin’s vivid culture and history. The five blocks of South Congress were owned by the legendary Willie Nelson in the 1970s, which he turned into a haven for travelling musicians giving them highly discounted rental rates. 

Today, the hotel overlooks Downtown and the Capitol, and is steps away from Bunkhouse Group sister properties Hotel Saint Cecilia, Hotel San José, Austin Motel, and Jo’s Coffee, not to mention an abundance of shopping (don’t miss the Allen’s Boots flagship store).

As my stay here was short and sweet, I didn’t have too much time at the hotel to meet other guests… But I had a great conversation with Daniel, an English teacher from Melbourne taking a pitstop in Austin to work at Summer House on Music Lane for a few months.