The LINE Austin

The hotel origionally opened in 1965 as The Crest Inn, a modernist mid-century building in the midst of an evolving downtown landscape. It was home to Club Seville, a dinner and dance club that broadcast live jazz weekly on then-radio station KAZZ-FM. A part of the cultural legacy of Austin and a distinct mid-century modernist fixture in the skyline, the hotel has undergone a comprehensive renovation with no detail overlooked and highlights the unique neighborhood around it.

With 428 guest rooms, including 108 suites ideal for entertaining with a tailored amenities program for guests, the property features expansive lake and city views through giant windows. Interiors by Los Angeles-based Sean Knibb focus on drawing the surrounding nature in by opening the lobby to lake views and adding landscaping that blurs the lines between indoors and outdoors.

The guest rooms balance old and new elements with a minimalist design that focuses on the room’s essentials: the bed, desk, and chair. A range of textures are seamlessly incorporated throughout the space from exposed concrete columns and a finely patterned wall covering to a large sandblasted plywood headboard that suggests an abstract topography of the ancient surrounding ecosystem. Light fixtures reflected through the hotel’s many windows conjure the magic of the area’s seasonal appearance of fireflies. A lounge chair with chrome piping and saddle leather straps marries ranching culture references with a contemporary sensibility.

Supporting the work of emerging artists in the cities where its hotels live is one of the fundamental tenets for Sydell’s design ethos, and the LINE Austin is a reflection of the city’s creative talent. Bastrop-based artist Michael Wilson created a wooden interior and central bar overlooking the lake and the Congress Avenue Bridge, home to the world’s largest urban bat colony which provides a spectacular nightly show from March to October. The hotel also features original artwork in rooms by a diverse group of Central Texas artists selected in partnership with local arts non-profit Big Medium, including works by Xochi Solis, Alyson Fox, Manik Raj Nakra, Alexandra Valenti, Elizabeth Chiles, Matthew Shlian, Jules Buck Jones and Jeffrey Dell. The hotel also has a dedicated artist’s studio and is developing a residency program that is aimed to create an ongoing legacy of support and a platform for showcasing the work of local artists.