Review: Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown hotel – a great base for exploring Austin

This is our review of the Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown hotel.

After a couple of nights at the Fairmont Austin (review here) I needed somewhere to stay over the weekend, which proved far more challenging than I expected.

As a growing city, it seems that Austin doesn’t have the hotel inventory you find in places such as Boston, San Francisco, Miami etc. It turns out that an (admittedly large) crypto conference wiped the city clean of virtually all hotel rooms whilst I was there. I imagine it must be similar when the F1 or South by Southwest festival is on too.

After a fraught few days I did manage to get a last minute booking at the Canopy Austin in what I believe was the very last room available – and got charged through the nose for it. C’est la vie!

The Canopy wasn’t on my radar initially but having stayed and reviewed the new Canopy London City hotel I knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed. It is almost new, having opened in 2020.

The hotel website is here.

Where is the Canopy by Hilton Austin Downtown?

The Canopy Austin is located in a very lively neighbourhood: West 6th Market District. Apart from the Canopy this is mostly low-rise one or two storey bars and restaurants and one of the bigger streets for nightlife in Austin:

It is an excellent location that comes to life in the evenings – you can literally walk out of the hotel and choose from any number of places to drink and eat.

Austin Bergstrom International Airport is only 20 minutes or so away by car.

The Canopy offers free bike rental to guests but Austin is so small that you can also walk quite easily. We ended up walking to Barton Springs, a lovely walk which culminates in a long stretch along the shaded banks of Barton Creek.

Inside the Canopy Austin hotel

The Canopy Austin is a new build but they’ve gone for an industrial chic aesthetic which fits in with the neighbourhood.

The entrance is fairly low key, with valet parking. The main lobby is behind a lovely courtyard:

Check in was quick and easy.

Rooms at the Canopy Austin

I booked a Premium Room with Urban View, but a lot of the rooms also seem to have balconies and terraces. I was on the top floor, which isn’t high – the hotel is only 6 storeys.

The Texas sunshine flooded the room with natural light, which I loved. Canopy is more of a boutique lifestyle brand targetting the design-conscious mid-market demographic. With that in mind you get spacious corridor/open wardrobe:

There’s plenty of luggage rack space:

On the right are your tea and coffee facilities (Nespresso in this case), plus the safe and a drawer-fridge which was empty.

One of Canopy’s trademarks is providing a refillable glass bottle instead of plastic bottles. The tap water in Austin is perfectly safe to drink.

There’s no ironing board but you do get one of those steamer things.

Opposite the open wardrobe is the bathroom with open plan sink:

The toilet and shower are separate:

Again, the shower only features a normal shower head and the typical American shower controls. In my review of the Fairmont someone commented that this may be down to water regulations in the state.

Toiletries are are very lemony ‘thankyou’ branded.

Beyond the bathroom is the bedroom, which also features another sliding door so you can separate it from the entry hall/bathroom:

The room was spacious, although not quite as big as at the Fairmont. I wasn’t complaining, though. You have the large king bed to the right:

Connectivity is fab with mains and USB sockets on both sides, as well as master light switches. You also get a white noise machine (the little puck to the left of the phone!)

Opposite the bed is a large desk and wall mounted TV:

Whilst, along the window, is a large chaise longue:

The windows are actually full width, although the curtain was pulled halfway. The view isn’t spectacular – just over 6th Street for me and overlooking an outdoor club:

I didn’t find the club an issue despite there being a party on during my stay. You could hear the thump-thump of the bass in the room but I didn’t find this particularly disturbing, and on a Saturday the music stops at 2am. This could obviously be a deal breaker for someone else.

I have to say I really liked the room, although I didn’t spend much time in it! It was nice and light, spacious, well designed with an industrial aesthetic and an excellent location for exploring the city.

Pool and gym

The Canopy by Hilton Austin also features a small rooftop pool and gym. The pool is on the second floor, overlooking 6th Street:

It is more of a plunge pool to be honest, and certainly not as big as the pool at the Fairmont, but I can imagine it being a good spot to cool off and relax.

There is also a gym on the ground floor by reception, again on the smaller side.

Breakfast and restaurant

There are plenty of places to eat around on 6th Street but the Canopy also features its own restaurant called Verbena. This is also where breakfast is served – you get a $15 breakfast credit per person if you are Hilton Honors Gold or above, which just about gets you something from the a la carte menu.

Whilst Verbena features a nice indoor space you can also dine alfresco in the beautiful courtyard:

I went for the breakfast hash, which was fantastic:

Conclusion

The Canopy Austin offers a very different atmosphere to the Fairmont, but it’s one I really enjoyed. It’s less traditional luxury and more modern industrial, and I thought the rooms were great, with a simple but warm design and good size.

The location is great too and we ended up walking almost anywhere, despite Austin experiencing a heat wave. The only drawback is the comparatively small pool.

If you’re heading to Austin I can definitely recommend the Canopy.

You can find out more, and book, on the Hilton website here.

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How to earn Hilton Honors points and status from UK credit cards (April 2025)

There are various ways of earning Hilton Honors points from UK credit and debit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

There are two dedicated Hilton Honors debit cards. These are especially attractive when spending abroad due to the 0% or 0.5% FX fee, depending on card.

You also receive FREE Hilton Honors status for as long as you hold the debit cards – Gold status with the Plus card and Silver status with the basic card. This is a great reason to apply even if you rarely use it.

We reviewed the Hilton Honors Plus Debit Card here and the Hilton Honors Debit Card here.

You can apply for either card here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 30th April 2025, the annual fee on the basic Hilton Honors debit card is halved from £60 to £30. The sign-up bonus is also easier to earn – you need to spend £1,000 either in the UK or abroad within three months. The usual bonus rule requires you to spend the full £1,000 outside the UK.

There is another way of getting Hilton Honors status, and earning Hilton Honors points, from a payment card.

Holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Hilton Honors Gold status for as long as they hold the card.  It also comes with Marriott Bonvoy Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.

We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

You can also earn Hilton Honors points indirectly with:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (50,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Hilton Honors points is 1:2.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Hilton Honors points.