This month I was invited by the Fairmont Austin to explore Austin and attend Austin City Limits Festival. Austin is a place I have always wanted to go to so I, of course, jumped at the opportunity to see a new city and stay in a beautiful hotel! Whenever I heard people talk about it they would say something along the lines of, “The music is great, the food is delicious and it’s a fun place to hang out and explore”. I was just waiting for my moment to cross this place off my list!

Keep on reading to see how my stay was and what we did.

Fairmont Austin:

Upon arrival, I was so happy to see how beautiful the hotel property was and how plush my room was (all to myself… #dream). I even came home raving about this hotel to my hubs, it was such a good stay. The room was super spacious with floor to ceiling windows that showed off Austin’s pretty cityscape and the bed was so comfortable it was almost impossible to get out of it in the morning!

One detail I really loved was all the Le Labo products with my name personalized on the label (shown above). I wasn’t familiar with this brand until Fairmont introduced me to it. Let’s just say I stashed all the products in my travel tote so I could take them home with me. You know it’s a good hotel when they have the good stuff.

A few things I loved about this hotel:

• The drinks just downstairs at Fulton (right next to the lobby) were legit. This spot pays homage to the musically buzzed streets of Austin with live music and is even decorated with a big, old oak tree to represent Fulton, Austin. You don’t have to leave the hotel to get a good drink, which is always a plus. Make sure to try their Palomas if you’re a tequila lover like me.
• Within the property, there are plenty of options for dining including Revue, which is so yummy! We went here after the festival one night and it really hit the spot. At this place, you can have a taste of Asia, Italy and delicious food from the ocean as they have a perfectly mixed cuisine ideal for sharing. My favorite: I  highly recommend the Shrimp Gyozas.
• We had dinner one night at Garrison which (as with everything else in the Fairmont), had amazing service. Every single bite here had that perfect smokey flavor.  Make sure you try their Ile Flottante (it’s a meringue with honey and bourbon ice cream… d-lish!).
• On the 7th floor is Rules and Regs where you can either grab a bite or just have some drinks while checking out Austin’s pretty skyline. Such a pretty view day or night but in the daytime, you can also check out the pool next to it.
• The Fairmont Spa is INCREDIBLE! I have never had a more revitalizing massage in my life (and I’ve had a lot of massages). They have a very aesthetically pleasing room where you can hit the sauna, the hot jacuzzi or just relax and look at that Austin city view in your spa robe while you drink tea. Every detail here is made to help you relax and feel re-energized.
• Fairmont Gold. I feel so spoiled now that I have experienced Fairmont Gold. I can not stress enough how happy I was that the Fairmont treated our group to this. Fairmont already has amazing service, but if you are a gold member they really take it up a notch. You get access to exclusive rooms, an exclusive check-in area and a special lounge area (“the gold lounge”) where you get hosted snacks, food, coffee, tea, and drinks all day long. I loved stopping by here about three times a day for random necessities. If you’re like me (always hungry and always in need of coffee or tea) this is a dream and well worth the extra money (if your budget permits).

Exploring Austin:

The Fairmont team did an amazing job of organizing some fun activities so we could get to know the area. On the first day, we all jumped in a van and headed to a few local spots.

Our first stop was Desert Door Distillery where we got a walkthrough of the distillery and taught all about the spirit, Sotol. Coming from Mexico, I thought Mexico was the only place that makes Sotol, but it was fun to learn that Austin is also home to Sotol and let me tell you, it was delicious! If you’re a fan of Mezcal or Tequila, then sotol may be right up your alley and if you are in Austin, Desert Door is your place to go. They have a super-cute, intimate interior too.

The second stop was Vista Brewing where we got to do some beer tasting, a tour of the brewery and have a light lunch. This place was super quaint. It was a bit cold when we were there so we weren’t able to take full advantage of the outdoor seating, but I could tell it would be a beautiful and fun place to hang out in the sun. The place was surrounded by huge trees, outdoor seating and the pretty rolling hills of Austin. I could really feel that warm texas homey vibe. After a fun morning exploring, we headed back to the hotel to regroup then headed out to ACL for the night!

Austin City Limits

Austin City Limits has been a festival I have wanted to go to forever. It was amazing to finally experience this festival that I had heard such great things about in the past. I was impressed with how well organized this festival is in general. There were so many great acts that it was hard to choose who to see first. From the Fairmont, it was extremely easy to get to. We got dropped off a few blocks away then took a petty cab straight to the front gates. Some of the acts I saw were Tame Impala, Childish Gambino, Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Mumford and Sons to name a few. Childish was my absolute favorite!

If you have the funds to get a VIP ticket, it is very much worth it!  All the drinks and food are free so you don’t need to worry about spending more money and the clean bathrooms were especially worth it.

To see the whole weekend in action you can catch the whole experience via my IG highlight “Fairmont Austin”.  If you are new here on Frank vinyl, there’s a whole travel section where you can read about my travels, packing tips, city guides and more!

Thanks for reading and HUGE Thank you to the Fairmont team for hosting such an epic weekend full of fun and great memories. I cannot wait to head back to Austin and hopefully back to ACL.

xx Francesca