Name: Austin Folk House Bed and Breakfast
Address: 506 West 22nd Street Austin,West 22nd Street, Austin, Austin, Austin, TX 78705, United States of America
Rating: 8

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Scottish Rite Children's Theatre

Skyspace at University of Texas at Austin

All Saints' Episcopal Church

Pease Park

The Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports

Texas Natural Science Center

First United Methodist Church of Austin

Dell Seton Medical Center - University of Texas

Texas African American History Memorial

Moody Center

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport

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Austin Folk House Bed and Breakfast

Austin

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We stayed 2 nights. Frequently stay at B&B's because of the personal touch by owners who give you a feel for the city and great breakfasts. Obvious absentee ownership and management in the Austin Folk House.  No welcome from the attendant. Just given a sheet of paper with WIFI info and door operating instructions. We never saw her again. 

We stayed in Room 3 on main level -  room was small and stuffy, couldn't open windows. Large bathroom  with grab bars. Fluffy towels. Couldn't open the bathroom window either. 

You don't need an alarm clock to awaken you because of the loud noise from the kitchen before 7 a.m. The aroma of bacon seeps through the walls at not yet 7 also.   The kitchen is next door to Room 3. 

Breakfast - the true test of a good B&B, sorely lacking.  Bagels were individually wrapped in saran wrap, obviously because they were stale to begin with. The same uneaten bagels appeared the next morning having never been removed after breakfast.  Same with the fresh fruit and by the next day the apples, grapefruit and peaches were rotten. There was a tiny tray of cut up fresh fruit for all the guests -- I'm talking about perhaps 3 strawberries sliced thin, same with watermelon and something else that I forgot. The 2 hot offerings for breakfast - some sort of egg concoction where whatever was around seemed to be thrown in and a super-sweet calories laden casserole were unappealing.  It seemed that no care with taken with anything.  The coffe cups were chipped so you had to take care with what side you drank from.

We were scheduled to remain 4 nights and only stayed there for 2. 

We chose this B&B partly based on price and partly based on a decent location near cultural/tourist sites.

Must be living off an old reputation

Good walking distance from campus. Rode Megabus from Dallas to new San Jacinto station. Carried luggage to hotel. Pack light! Get your exercise. Cute, comfortable, clean, great breakfast! Coffee on the porch was wonderful.

Will stay again!

I'm a former Austinite, and if you've read all of the reviews for the Austin Folk House, you should have a pretty good idea of the common reason why most people stay here: location and price. It's certainly why I selected it. Downtown Austin lodging is expensive, as one might expect. If you're in town for a concert, a night out on the town, or business at the university, the location of this b&b is very good. At the corner of 22nd and Nueces, you're right on the edge of UT -- 3 blocks west of the Drag, about a 7 minute walk to the Main Building (the "Clock Tower"), and about a 20 minute walk to 6th Street via Nueces. All in all, a pretty central location for downtown activities. The price is overall good, comparatively speaking. With free parking and within walking range to many downtown attractions, it's a relatively good deal economically. It's also a relatively safe area to walk around at night.
So, why the average, 3-star rating? Several reasons...
I knew before I arrived that this is a hands-off b&b. It wasn't just the reviews that let me know that. They tell you in your confirmation email that "there is no need to stop by the office first." When you arrive, you'll see a note with your name on it pinned to the rear mailbox of the house. The note will give you the exterior door's access code and once in the house, your room key will be in the door of your reserved room. I am totally fine with this kind of approach. It happens not infrequently if I have to arrive at a specialty lodging outside of normal staffing hours and I am completely fine with it. In fact, it's often preferred if it's been a long travel day and my first wish is to just get in the room without having a long conversation. What was unfortunate for this b&b is that not only did I never see the proprietor(s) during my 3 night stay, but the one and only employee I ever saw never said a single word to me, despite my "good mornings" or "hellos." I was left to feel unwelcome, I'm sorry to say. In fact, the only words during my stay that were ever delivered to me occurred in the iemail I received after I departed, which had a link to an itemized receipt and the words "Hello and thank you." That's all it said.
My breakfast experience was, overall, not very good. Depending on which review you believe, their breakfast selections are either incredible or awful. The cold food options are standard fare -- cereal, a house granola, the usual Yoplait yogurt cups you see at chain motels, bread, juice, etc.. I found the coffee to be overall lousy but drinkable. The hot food options, which their website details on its own page, were neither "hot" nor "delicious" for me, unfortunately. The selections consisted of an egg and meat dish cooked in a casserole dish in addition to the aforementioned stuffed french toast. They were put out in the dining room before 7am (I know this because I stayed in the room directly opposite the kitchen) and by 8:30am they were dreadfully cold (despite the tin foil placed atop the dishes). Regrettably, it certainly appeared that these same, mostly uneaten dishes, were recycled for the next day's breakfast. This is not a cooked-to-order b&b breakfast, just to be clear. Based upon my experience, breakfast would not be a criterion for choosing this lodging.
Be wary of the room descriptions that are posted to their website. I stayed in room 2, which is described as having a four poster bed and is listed as "one of the preferred rooms downstairs." The bed in this room during my stay was not a four poster (I don't happen to care about that, but some people might be upset). You could see where the posts had been removed from the bed, though. In addition, I've no idea why this would be considered a "preferred" room. Yes, it is directly across from the kitchen, so access in and out of the house is relatively easy, you won't have to drag your luggage through the house and up the stairs, and for a person with mobility issues, it might be a good option. But, it's right next to the laundry room (immediately adjacent to the room door), which means that the washer and dryer will likely be going all day during your stay (as it was mine). This room is also right on the western edge of the house so you will definitely get street noise at all times of the day. To be fair, the b&b is pretty up front about noise and you'll have lots of ear plugs to choose from. The only time the noise was ever a problem for me came not from passersby but from whoever was employed to install some landscape pavers directly below my window. I was greeted by loud music and talking when the project began around 8am, which continued well into the morning.
Though the house smelled musty, my room was in large part clean. There was a television if you need that, but it was very small. The temperature inside the house was just fine and mostly cool during my stay (outside temperature averages during my stay were in the 80s and low 90s).
All in all, this is just an average b&b. I'll choose a different location next time I'm in town, but it's certainly not the worst option for a night or two downtown. Just don't go expecting a warm, Texas friendly welcome. Maybe you'll get that in their main building, the Star of Texas Inn (I'm guessing that's where the proprietors spend most of their time), but you most likely won't get it here.

Know before you go

Every time I visit Austin I stay at the Folk House. This place has everything you could ask for: Great location next to UT, charming old world atmosphere, breakfast to die for, clean comfortable rooms, a porch that you can hang out at and watch the world go by. In short, why would you even consider any other lodging in Austin? Whenever I am here I like to run down to the Colorado river which is just a few miles away. The music scene down town is just 15 blocks south, and UT Austin is immediately to the east across Guadalupe. Trust me, make Austin Folk House part of your next visit and you'll never consider anything else for accommodations either! 

I Won't Stay Anywhere Else!

I enjoyed my experience at the Austin Folk House. I stayed here for a conference at nearby UT and really loved this little place. 
The room I had was #9, and it was small but enough for me as a single person. There was a huge wooden wardrobe in the room that seemed far too large for the room, but it was nice to have a place to hang my clothes. It blocked a window, but upon investigation, that window looked right into a parking garage so I was happy it was blocked. There was another window with a much more pleasant view into a beautiful tree and out over the neighborhood.
The bed was comfortable. There is a small TV that had plenty of channels to keep me company after the conference (even was able to watch some Penguins hockey in Austin, how about that?). The bathroom was the perfect size with a nice shower and fun toiletries included. 
Breakfast - what can I say? It was amazing. There was something different everyday, all of it tasty. There is a variety of hot dishes like frittatas and bacon, plus fruit and yogurt and cereal aplenty. Good coffee and orange juice too. It was very nice to eat breakfast on the small but comfortable porch. 
One thing I really appreciated was the lemonade, soda, and cookies available in the evening when I came back. It was really nice to settle down after a long day of conferencing with a tasty cookie and some lemonade. 
One small warning: if you take the Supershuttle to or from the airport, they often get this place confused with the Star of Texas Inn. My Supershuttle drivers tried to drop me off and pick me up there. Make sure there is no confusion. 
Overall, I could not more highly recommend a B&B. I loved this place and wish there were more like it.

Austin Folk House Bed and Breakfast

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