In Brief: 1 Hotels has opened 1 Hotel Austin within the newly completed Waterline Tower, marking the brand’s entry into the Texas capital and expanding luxury sustainable lodging options in downtown Austin.
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Lake King Balcony Room at 1 Hotel Austin Credit: Mikkel Vang
1 Hotel Austin has opened as a 252-room hotel in the 74-story Waterline tower in Austin.
Developed by Lincoln and Kairoi Residential, the hotel is part of the mixed-use Waterline development at the edge of the Rainey Street District. Kohn Pedersen Fox designed the architecture, HKS Architects served as architect of record, Studio MAI and the Starwood Hotels design team designed the interiors, and TBG Partners provided landscape design.
The property includes 60 suites, with accommodations overlooking Lady Bird Lake, Waller Creek or the downtown skyline. It is near the Waterloo Greenway, the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and the 10-mile trail around Lady Bird Lake. Guest rooms include filtered water taps, reusable glassware made from recycled wine bottles, cotton robes and slippers, yoga mats, and Bamford bath amenities. Minibars include products from Desnudo, Austin Pretzel Company, Wildflower Caramels and Tamalitoz.
The hotel has more than 4,000 plants representing more than 30 species, including a living plant wall. Materials used throughout the property include locally quarried limestone, oak and reclaimed wood salvaged from historic American structures.
The hotel features three food and beverage venues. Alteño is Chef Johnny Curiel’s first Austin restaurant and serves dishes including fire-cooked meats and seafood. Its bar offers more than 40 mezcals, as well as additive-free tequilas, raicilla, sotol and ancient corn whiskey.
Neighbors Café and Wine Bar serves breakfast, cocktails and small plates. Its beverage menu includes Mediterranean wines, spritzes, mini martinis, gin and tonics, and cocktails including a Nitro Espresso Martini. The venue hosts recurring events including game nights and Matcha Mondays with Mori Matcha.
watr, located 16 stories above the city, serves Japanese-inspired cuisine and cocktails. Its menu includes hand-roll tasting flights, a raw bar and a tableside Binchotan experience with chutoro. The venue’s cocktail program uses spent sparkling wine for syrups, grounds for treacle, and citrus for oleo saccharum and dehydrated garnishes.
The wellness floor includes a fitness center, outdoor terrace, yoga studio and Bamford Wellness Spa. The spa has six treatment rooms, a couples suite with a steam shower, locker rooms and relaxation areas. Services include massages, facials, infrared sauna sessions, soundwave therapy, red-light treatments and recovery experiences. The hotel also offers a three-mile Sunday run club around Lady Bird Lake. First-time guests receive a complimentary three-day pass to Monroe.
The property is pursuing LEED Gold certification. It uses FSC-certified wooden key cards, recycled-paper hangers, seed-paper amenity cards and in-room chalkboards. Fully electric Audi Q6 e-tron house cars are available for guest excursions around Austin. The hotel works with Foodprint Group on food and beverage waste reduction and Texas Disposal Systems on recycling, composting and waste diversion.
More than 10,000 square feet of event space includes a 4,500-square-foot divisible ballroom, 6,000 square feet of prefunction space and three boardrooms.
