Hotel San José

Top choice in Austin


This 1930s-vintage motel has been revamped by celebrated local hotelier Liz Lambert to create a chic SoCo retreat. Stucco bungalows hold minimalist, uncluttered rooms, and there’s a lovely (if tiny) bamboo-fringed pool plus a very Austin-esque courtyard bar, renowned for celebrity-spotting. South Congress is quite the scene these days, and this location puts you right in the thick of it.

In the early evening you may catch the faint sounds of bands in the Continental Club across the street – an utterly pleasing perk.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Austin attractions

1. I Love You So Much Mural

0.02 MILES

This simple expression of devotion draws legions of photo-taking lovebirds. Spray-painted on the side of Jo's Coffee on South Congress, it now joins the…

2. Dazed and Confused Mural

0.35 MILES

Alright, alright, alright. Fans of Matthew McConaughey and Dazed and Confused can pay their respects to Wooderson – the unrepentant admirer of high school…

3. Greetings from Austin Mural

0.43 MILES

Well of course you're going to pull over and take a photo in front of this wall-sized postcard. It's awesome. The eye-catching mural adorns the southside…

4. Bat Colony Under Congress Avenue Bridge

0.81 MILES

Austin is known as the capital of Texas quirk, so it shouldn't be surprising that it's a city tradition to sit on the grassy banks of Lady Bird Lake and…

5. SouthPop

0.93 MILES

Pop into this South Austin gallery for rotating exhibits that spotlight Austin's live music and entertainment scenes, from the 1960s to the present. One…

6. Mexic-Arte Museum

1.19 MILES

This wonderful, eclectic downtown museum features works from Mexican and Mexican American artists in exhibitions that change every two months. Many are…

7. UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum

1.31 MILES

If the weather's just too perfect to be inside a climate-controlled building, stroll the open-air UMLAUF Sculpture Garden & Museum, located in the south…

8. Museum of the Weird

1.31 MILES

Pay the entrance fee in the gift shop, then step inside Austin's version of a cabinet of curiosities. It's more of a hallway of curiosities, really, lined…