Staying at Gretchen's SOCO Guest House was simply fantastic. If you are deciding between places, or looking at hotels, stop—definitely stay here! For starters the decor is incredible, the place could be in a magazine. It's mid century modern meets Texas and the light is gorgeous, I had a hard time tearing myself away to leave for the day! The pictures on this site are good, but it's even better and feels bigger in person (very roomy for someone coming from NYC). Second, the location is really, really great. I had stayed on South Congress during a previous visit but Gretchen's location is better. I loved being able to walk to South Lamar, South First, AND South Congress. I felt like I saw much more of Austin than I had previously. In fact, I did the whole thing on foot without renting a car. When I wanted to go further afield the bus system was a snap and one of the major ones stops 30 seconds from her place. I am a serious walker, and I did also walk to the bars and coffee shops in East Austin as well as to the Broken Spoke. Lastly, Gretchen is a very warm and friendly host and it was great talking about Austin with a native. Bonus: her dogs are adorable and well-trained, and this is coming from a "cat person." My stay was ideal. I would highly recommend it.