I stayed at Ben's for SXSW. Ben's place was very comfortable for me. The bed was the most comfortable bed I've ever slept in, anywhere. More comfortable than my bed at home. Ben was in Hawaii most of the time I was staying at his place, but even so was very quick to reply to my emails. Getting to downtown was easy. There's a bus stop right outside of the complex that takes you straight to downtown, so door to door (to the convention center) was about 30 min total by bus. It's 10 min by taxi. Taxis home were only about $10-12. His place is easily walkable to lots of great restaurants on South Congress, too. You don't need a car staying here. All in all it was a great experience staying at Ben's and I would recommend it to anyone traveling to Austin.