We experienced numerous issues with this air bnb, and the host wasn't very friendly or helpful. We had to call her several times during our stay because of a few of the issues, and then we called her the day after we left to discuss all of the issues and seek resolution. She said she would get back to us, but never did. We sent her a follow up message but she did not respond.
- The neighborhood is sketchy (considered "East Side" which is a "bad area") and all our uber drivers seemed worried for us.
- It was hard to find the apartment at first and took us some time (there were no instructions listed). It's a first floor unit.
- AC was set to 85 when we arrived, so we had to wait for it to cool down.
- There were no trash bags in the kitchen trash container.
- There was no hand soap in the unit whatsoever. There was dish soap in the hand dispensers, which didn't function properly.
- There was no hand towel hanging in the bathroom, and no where to hang a hand towel.
- Gnats in the unit throughout our stay.
- There were dirty dishes in the dishwasher and it didn't work, the soap part is broken.
- There were 3 bath towels and 1 wash cloth for 2 people for 4 nights, and the wash cloth had a hole in it and the bath towels didn't appear to be clean or dry.
- The bed didn't have pillows for sleeping. We found pillows elsewhere and put pillow sheets on them. One of the pillow sheets had a stain on it. Pillows felt like they were from a dollar store.
- There was no ice or ice trays.
- The pool was confusing to find, & the pool code wasn't listed anywhere and we had to call for the code. The pool water was like bath water and not refreshing (it is walking distance from the air bnb- you would turn left from the front door).
- The wifi info in the guestbook didn't work.
- There was a glob of hair sitting in the shower.
- It was not a king size bed as listed.
- There was a broken wine glass in the kitchen.
- She asked us to do a load of laundry (not required), and we were charged a cleaning fee. (We did not do any laundry).
- Hard to see the code box on front door to enter the code, but a light does come on at night.
- No tissues in unit or full length mirror. There's a mirror in the bedroom which is dim lit but it's not full length.
We wished we hadn't booked this air bnb and do not recommend it.
Recommendations for things to do:
Barton Springs for swimming (there is section near the pool where you don't have to pay- the bottom is mostly rocky though- I recommend the rope swing!- this area is dog friendly)
Scooter- have to download an app first & link a credit card
Rainey Street (bars- not a chill place to eat, but everyone recommended Banger's Sausage House).
Plenty of rooftop hotel pools but pay in advance using Resort Pass.
The Domain area- Rose Room is an awesome dance club & Wonder Bar is fun next door.
Terry Black's BBQ was delish but make sure you're standing in the correct line (not the drink line).
Everyone said Salt Lick is the best BBQ spot.
Pavement is a groovy/trendy thrift store and a must-see, several other cute thrift shops walking distance.
We didn't see the bats but wanted to- we heard sunset is best time to see them (& apparently you can pay to do a bat tour?).
Whataburger- fast food.
Mount Bonnel was an okay view at the top (lots of steps to get to it- better at sunset).
Sammies Italian and Taquerio Mucho looked really cute but we weren't able to go- they both have an adorable patio.
Dirty 6/ 6th Street has a ton of bars and live music- we loved the Blind Pig rooftop & Buckshot. It's called Dirty 6 for a reason and there are homeless druggies pretty much everywhere downtown. Friday night on 6th street all the workers come out like carnies and tried to get us to come to their bar by offering free drinks, it was annoying.
If you like coffee there's Buzz Mill which also has an outdoor area.
We heard there's a waterfall in the area but we didn't go.
It was extremely hot when we went in mid-August.
There are also bikes you can rent.
A lot of people recommended Irene's for brunch which has outdoor seating too.
Guero's (tacos) has a nice outdoor section with live music and my friend said it was her fav taco she had in Austin. I remember mine was a bit spicy.
Austin reminded me of Nashville.