The Hielscher Hotels, Austin

"My wife and I didn’t mind the smaller room overall, it only got cramped when packing. The lobby bathrooms were actually great: clean, private, and clearly designed to offset the tiny in‑room setup. Where the stay really fell apart was the tech. The TV settings are completely locked down. Motion smoothing is permanently on, so anything filmed at 24fps looks like a soap opera. In a city that hosts SXSW, that’s a wild choice. You also can’t adjust brightness, sound EQ, or even turn on closed captions. That’s a serious accessibility issue. I ended up standing on the bed trying to reach the physical buttons because the iPad controller doesn’t allow basic functions. Speaking of the iPad: it controls everything, but doesn’t improve anything. The thermostat is just a vague color slider instead of numbers. The single RGB shower light feels like the only reason the iPad exists. And with no window to crack open, one warm shower turns the whole (small) room into a sauna. Breakfast was also overpriced for what it was. It was cheaper (and better) to eat across the street. citizenM has a cool vibe and great lobby spaces, but the room tech gets in the way of comfort. Give guests normal controls and this place would be a much easier recommendation."

"Filthy and smelly is the only way to describe it. In need of a full overhaul."

"First off, all of the employees were great and tried their best; they are just in a sucky situation. Check that your room is properly clean as soon as you get there. The condition of the room and the building was terrible. The bathroom light was out, and the toilet was clogged when we arrived. Maintenance came and fixed these issues, but there were more. The bathtub leaked, and the shower had poor, inconsistent water pressure. There was no hairdryer in our room, and when I asked, I was told I was simply out of luck. No minifridge either. Blankets were very thin, and we couldn't get more. The room was literally falling apart as well; the closet door was hanging off, and the front of the bedside cabinet fell off at the lightest touch. We ended up checking out early and moving to another hotel. Only stay here if your only other option is your car, and then consider just sleeping in your car."

"Attentive staff, clean rooms, hot breakfast. We were not too fond of the LOW toilet. "

"Clean room, helpful and friendly staff! Pool was freezing"

"Everything was great in my experience, would recommend and return."

"Beautiful hotel great location and staff"

"It was perfect "

"Yes very clean"