Fairfield Inn & Suites Austin-University Area

I spend 200 nights a year in hotels and this was one of the worst. First of all I’m not sure what hotel the individual before was in, but there are not pull out sofas. The beds are nearly 10 years old and some of the least comfortable I have ever experienced. The rooms were small dark and old.
You can do far better at any of the other budget hotels close by.

Lori at Fairfield made me feel great when I walked into the hotel. I was using points for my stay, so my room was already free. She didn’t really need to do anything special, but greeted me with a nice, handwritten note and a Kind bar. Just a nice touch. I’ve always loved this hotel as the rooms are comfortable, staff is nice and the breakfast fresh. Highly recommend!

I would highly caution anyone staying at this particular hotel for customer service reasons alone. My husband traveled for business and stayed here. The reservation was booked via a company card. Upon arrival, he was required to provide a credit card for incidentals. He provided our personal card for incidentals only as the daily limit on the corporate card would not allow. The hotel held up $ 250 for 5 days. 2 days after the hold fell off, our personal account was charged for the entire hotel stay. We live on a limited budget so this caused additional issues with our account. I attempted to resolve by contacting the hotel and spoke with Philip who indicated he was a manager. Philip must lead a sad life because his tone initially was less than pleasurable. After relaying the situation Philip said he would refund the charges but would not accept responsibility for any of the other issues this caused and it «was not his problem». I fully admit I was angry, but had Philip relayed some sort of remorse, my personal feelings would have been quite different. He knew full well he had control over the situation and later added that he just won’t credit the charge at all now. I’ve been forced to dispute the charges with my bank at this point but if anyone plans to stay here, I hope you have an unlimited amount of funds available and extra time and sanity on your hands because you’re going to need it! I also hope someone addresses Phillips professionalism. Regardless of the fact that I was unhappy, it felt like I was dealing with an unsympathetic rude teenager. NOT the type of person that should have any sort of manager/​customer service leading role. Beware!!!
UPDATE: 12÷01÷15 After contacting my bank to dispute the charge, they indicated the fastest resolution (if possible) was to try to have the hotel refund me. I was dreading contacting Philip again. However, to my surprise Philip was not in and I was helped by Rebecca. Rebecca took it upon herself after I relayed what had happened to address the issue and refunded the charge back. Her customer service skills were top notch! She even took it a step further and notified the GM regarding the situation. Werner (the GM) actually took the time to contact me personally and apologized for everything that had transpired. We frequent Marriott properties when traveling and have never had an experience like this and due to Rebeca and Werner’s actions, it’s evident now that the manner in which things were handled by Philip is not standard of this hotel specifically. I’m happy to update my review and say the situation was resolved with the utmost professionalism and Rebecca and Werner have restored my support simply by having excellent customer service skills. Thank you!!!

Stayed here for 4 nights in September 2015, really enjoyed it!
As others have said, the hotel does have it’s shortcomings. Breakfast is not great… fitness «room» should be renamed to fitness closet, and our bed was uncomfortably soft.
However, the staff and service here was some of the best we’ve ever had. Rooms were always nice and clean, lobby was decorated nicely with updated artwork. Pricing was competitive as it was 30% cheaper than booking the Marriott hotels in downtown Austin.
In particular, Lonny at the front desk made the stay memorable. He checked us in and we subsequently saw him 3 out of the 4 days… each time we chatted for 10 – 15 minutes. He gave us tips on what to see and eat locally, as well as some tips on shopping and San Antonio. He really took the extra effort, made us feel welcome, and seemed like a genuinely great person. Hopefully if you’re reading this review and staying at the hotel, you’ll get to meet Lonny as well and have a chat!
Definitely would stay here again.

Stayed here over night for the 2015 BP MS 150. Interesting room. It has a business area with a pullout couch bed, desk, plus tv. A wall separates that area from the bed, which also has a tv in that area.
Clean room and beds were pretty comfy.

We booked a night at this hotel through Priceline Express, so we were didn’t know what were getting into. We saw that the hotel had terrible reviews on Unilocal and were very worried. We decided to check it out anyway since we already paid for it and we were pleasantly surprised! The hotel did undergo renovation late last year so maybe after that it vastly improved? The hotel was quiet and clean, staff was polite, and while thr location isn’t the best (off a highway like most other hotels near Austin), it seemed pretty safe and a pretty quick drive from South Congress/​Downtown.

This place was great! Friendly staff, clean updated rooms, fair free breakfast. The amenities are what you would expect for the moderate price.
I’m shocked to see the bad reviews here so I needed to add one! This place is truly a good deal after their remodel. Check it out!

Booked the place through Priceline express deals and were slightly concerned when we read the Unilocal reviews below. However, the hotel itself was surprisingly clean and cozy. Would definitely recommend for a cheap and comfy stay.

In general, Marriott is the worst of all the big name chains for rewards. Unlike Hilton, you can’t double dip with Marriott Rewards. You can’t earn both airline miles and hotel points simultaneously. SPG allows double dipping between their hotel and Delta once you become SPG gold. Marriott also takes a LONG time to reach gold — 50 nights! Hilton takes 20 stays to reach gold, and SPG takes 10 stays.
The only reason why I stayed here is because of the location. Everything else in the area seemed to cost at least $ 200/​night or was fully booked starting five days before I needed to check in (work sent me to Austin at last minute). This hotel was about $ 160/​night, which seems insane for the quality of hotel. You’re right across from motel and near a bus stop, so be careful at night!
The room was a suite with a small fridge and a microwave. There was a living room, desk, separate bedroom (separated by an open wall), and separate bathroom. The carpet looked like it had seen better days. I highly recommend wearing slippers while in the room.
There is only one elevator for the whole hotel. One night I was there it was broken. I should also forewarn this is not a handicapped-​friendly building. The front door had no button for the doors to automatically open.
Breakfast was decent. Aside from the scrambled eggs and bacon, my favorite part was the Texas shaped waffle maker. I also liked how the cereal was in bowls, not the usual small boxes.
Even though the front desk is friendly, there is nothing else I liked about the hotel. It’s dingy and feels dirty. If you can, stay elsewhere!

It’s conventiently located next to the highway is the only pro I can think of.
This place could use a makeover. the carpet is pretty gross.
Hardly a breakfast selection, they have a tiny, tiny «workout facility» that is 1 old treadmill. no shop so you can’t get snacks or sundries at late hours. Not in the nicest area of town either.
Typically what you get with a Fairfield.

Super sketchy area of town, but located right beside a shell station for all of your alcoholic/​tobacco/​snack food needs. The pool is decent, staff was nice, and the room was cool. The set up was a little strange, as soon as you walk in, there’s the bathroom with shower stall on the left. You walk down a short narrow hall, get into the main room with a big comfortable bed, decent size flat screen TV, desk, and… jacuzzi. Right next to the bed. With jets and a light dimmer above it. i can only imagine the number of adult films that have taken place here, the number of weird drug fueled orgies. If only the walls could talk. I’ll stay here any time!