Derek was an excellent host! Very friendly and informative and spent a generous amount of time chatting to us on arrival about the area and accommodation. We were running a bit late on arrival which was no problem, as Derek was very flexible.
The accommodation is first class and everything we needed for a stay during SXSW music festival...the photos don't do it justice at all its such a nice place. The perfect luxurious hideaway from the madness! It's perfectly located for downtown (we walked to the conference center easily every day, took around 15 minutes nice walk) and it has a quickie pickie grocery/food place next to it which is so useful for any groceries you may need for breakfast or to grab a beer and fast but healthy food. There are lots of amazing food places really close by, its a very cool part of town, there is all different kinds of foods from super healthy vegan etc to very good American food trucks and BBQ. Sleeper / pullout couch was a slight worry pre stay but was actually SO comfortable, we were shocked how good it was as it has a special memory foam style mattress! We were very comfortable for a whole week sleeping on it, it was as comfortable if not more comfortable as a normal bed. Outdoor space is really cool and the view of the skyline from the apartment is fabulous...amazing view of the state capital Building and downtown. The interior design is really well executed with a top quality finish. Derek had even left us some milk, coffee, cokes and lone star beers in the fridge, we were so jet lagged so this was awesome as we didn't need to go straight out for grocery's! Apartment had all mod cons - kitchen gadgets, big tv, electric blinds. Great for business as well, as the office / desk set up is great and Derek let's you use the mac and printer if you need it. Would highly recommend a stay with Derek! It was brilliant! We would definitely choose to stay again if we are lucky enough to get back to this awesome city! Austin is by far the coolest city we have ever visited, we were so sad to leave this place!