I have stayed at this hotel approximately 30 days in multiple trips over the past 10 months. This hotel pretends to be a slightly more upscale hotel such as a full hilton or marriott. However, the only thing that can make this hotel "upscale" is if you compare it to a Holiday Inn. The service here is average. Some people are helpful and nice, while other people are not helpful and are actually rude to customers (more on that in a second). The amenities at this hotel are either low-grade or lacking all together. The televisions and the channel lineups are an absolute embarrassment: old, small CRT TV's; small channel lineup (no premium movie channels at all), bad reception on some channels sometimes, and old half-broken remote controls. The quality of a shower varies depending on the time of day. The hot water heater in this hotel is not large enough to accommodate all of the occupants taking showers in the morning. If you take a shower at 7am on a weekday, it will be lukewarm at best, cold at worst. The morning breakfast is visually appealing, however the appeal quickly fades. They offer a fairly wide selection of breakfast foods. The showcase breakfast food is the omelet line where a chef makes a custom omelet for you. If you visit this hotel on a weekday (not the weekend) you will probably be "greeted" by the chef we have all started referring to as the "omelet nazi" (apologies to Seinfeld). This chef is very curt, demands your food order quickly, and may arbitrarily decide that you can't have some of the things you ordered for you omelet. If you press the chef to have a food item that has been denied, you may be told that you've got enough already and to move on down the line. I have personally observed this same exact behavior to people I knew and to total strangers who happened to be in line near me. On a few occasions I have tried the room service dinner selection. The menu has the standard range of selections for hotel room service. The food for dinner is average quality - some things are somewhat good and some things taste bad. I only eat the room service if I'm just too tired to go anywhere else. The final amenity that I must mention is the Internet connection. I am a silver level hilton member so I have been receiving my Internet connection for free from the hotel. However, I usually give up using this connection and instead opt to use my Verizon Wireless Internet card instead. On average, I can download files at about 15Kb/sec. This is slower than the slowest DSL connection you can buy. If I want to watch a video on youtube, I must let the entire video clip fully download first because the hotel's internet connection is too slow to stream it. The entire Internet browsing experience is always sluggish and painfully slow. The only reason I stay at this hotel is because it is close to my job site. I am generally charged around $200/night, and I always feel like I'm not really getting what I paid for. However, if there were an alternative option nearby that at least matched the experience of this hotel, I would take it. If you are looking for a place to stay in Austin, if possible, avoid this hotel. However, if you must stay here, make note of where the amenities are lacking and make plans to deal with them.

My sister stayed two nights at this lovely place, thinking that it was more for business travelers. We couldn't have been more pleased. Lots of couples, families, girlfriends. The atrium is beautiful with a large pond and two swans and big goldfish. The breakfast buffet was way above average with all the continental items plus all of the hot entrees and an omlette station, where eggs are cooked to order as well. In the evening we enjoyed the reception with snacky foods and free well drinks, margaritas, beer and wine. Front desk very helpful with directions. The room itself was very nice sized with a living area, wetbar area with fridge and microwave, nice bath with grantie vanity. The bedroom area had another tv, plenty of storage and the beds were just wonderful!!! We had a pretty view of trees and wooded area, not just a parking lot. Across the road, nearby is a new area called The Domain. Exclusive shops and wonderful restaurants. Different world. Got an internet deal for $120 a night for 2 doubles. We will definitely be returning.

I have stayed at this hotel frequently over the last five years. As part of the Hilton chain, it is one of the best in the Arboretum area. Last time I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn off 183 Research Drive and I would NOT recommend the Garden Inn. In fact, I checked out after the first night because the AC was noisy, the bed horribly soft , it was noisy etc. Now, back to the Embassy Suites Arboretum. Rooms are large enough as a suite, beds are very good, the free breakfasts are also very good. The staff was friendly and efficient. I am a Hilton Gold level, and stay in a lot of Hilton hotels across North America. A couple of visits ago I stayed at the Austin Marriott Reniassance but they did not include the breakfast in the stay. So, this was one of the reasons I selected the Embassy Suites. This hotel is my favorite in the area. Hope this helps you, again, I am a business traveller and I recommend this hotel.

My family of 5 just returned from a few days in Austin at this hotel. The swans in the lobby were a big hit with my little ones. Mary at the front desk was very nice and gave us food to feed the two swans. The rooms were small, but I love the Embassy Suite layout of two rooms and 2 TV's. My kids also enjoyed the indoor pool and hot tub. It was small but very clean and well maintained. The free cooked-to-order breakfast had good variety and was very kid friendly. I thought the first day they were a little harsh about closing and LOCKING the doors precisely at 9:00 when the free buffet ended, but that didn't happen on our second day. The location is fantastic if you are doing anything in Northwest Austin. Near 360, 183 and loop 1 you can get anywhere fast. Great shopping and restaurants all within a short drive. We loved North X Northwest, a brewpub with good food and homemade root beer and beer. There is a movie theater right across the street.

We just spent three days at the Embassy Suites Austin Arboretum and it was terrific. Friendly staff, great service, good value and close proximity to restaurants, shopping and activities. Everything was clean, comfortable and quiet. No complaints. As indicated by some other reviewers, the hot water can take a substantial amount of time to get to your room depending where you are on the floor. But I got up at a different time each morning and always had hot water. Great place. The Royal Swans really are a nice touch.