If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD527.00), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Bingalow, the name has a nice ring to it. Cute and dinky sounding, yes – short on space, absolutely not. The family who transformed this Fifties bungalow into the stand-alone hotel spa suite that it is today really poured their heart and soul into the renovation. Look out for their little handwritten notes which share the must-seek-out spots around East Austin, and personal touches like healing crystals, prayer candles, and eucalyptus hanging in the walk-in (and dance-around-in) steam shower. The ‘phone jail’ encourages guests to lock their tech away and really switch off, a slow-down sentiment which flows through to the tranquil dining terrace and outdoor spa area. Stays this rejuvenating are a rarity in the buzzing state capital, so this soothing one-suite stay is well worth turning the ‘out of office’ on for.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £495.74 ($617), including tax at 17 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional resort fee of $263.25 per booking on check-out.
More details
Rates exclude breakfast, but you can help yourself to the free snacks in the kitchen. There’s also a juicer if you like a freshly squeezed start to your day.
Also
Please note that this property is not wheelchair-accessible.
Hotel closed
Bingalow is open all year round.
At the hotel
Alfresco dining terrace, outdoor shower, sauna, bikes to borrow, fully-stocked kitchen, self-serve washer and dryer, free WiFi. In room: Vinyl collection and record player, smart TV, Turkish robes and slippers, tea-making kit, coffee machine, gourmet minibar, organic Sangre de Fruta bath and body products.
Our favourite rooms
The one – and only – Bingalow suite has been affectionately nicknamed ‘the womb room’ by a family friend for its dark, cocooning interiors. Incense will be burning and your favourite tunes playing on arrival (don’t ask us how they know…they just do), which sets a moodily-lit, sensual scene. The owners are regulars at Texas’s Original Round Top Antiques Fair, so most of the furniture you’ll be sleeping and sitting on is one-of-a-kind.
Spa
Designed as the ultimate stand-alone spa suite, Bingalow’s outdoor wellness area combines hot and cold in a wonderfully imaginative way for such a compact space. Pad about in plush spa slides between the dry barrel-sauna, day-bed, and twin hand-built Japanese cedar soaking tubs (one is cold plunge, the other a hot tub). Yoga mats and meditation cushions are also on hand for your sun salutations. If you're in need of some kneading, ask the owner for the number of magical masseur Celeste Egedy.
Packing tips
Almost every little detail has been thought of for you here, so you can focus the mind on doing absolutely nothing. Hot-and-sticky summers call for plenty of SPF and a wide-brimmed hat (plus you’ll find some bug spray out on the terrace).
Also
Scan the QR code in your room to be added into a WhatsApp group with the owners, who will act as your digital concierge throughout your stay. In need of a chef, massage therapist, florist? You name it, they’ll have someone on speed-dial.
Children
This property is for grown-up getaways – and over-18s – only.
Pull up a chair at the breakfast bar to chat while your other half cooks, or head outside to the terrace if you’ve got friends over.
Dress Code
Wet hair, barefoot, dressing-gown clad – there’s no such thing as too casual here.
Hotel restaurant
Home cooks, it’s your time to shine. There’s no restaurant on property, so you’ll need to rustle up your own grub in the kitchen if you’re hungry. If you need a hand, the owners have a few private chefs on their books (plus a cheese-board delivery service). But you’re in Austin after all, so who eats in anyway?
Hotel bar
Your well-stocked minibar should suffice for in-room refreshments, and there are plenty of watering-holes nearby which you will struggle to drink dry (challenge accepted).
Last orders
You’re welcome to drink and dine whenever you fancy, you’re in charge of the kitchen.
Room service
Your bed is just a few steps away from the kitchen, need we say more?
You’ll only find Bingalow if you really know where to look, but that adds to its tucked-away charm in the eclectic, energetic neighborhood of East Austin.
Planes
Austin-Bergstrom International is the closest airport, about a 15-minute drive away. Direct flights land here from London Heathrow and most major US cities.
Trains
Similarly, you’re just 15-minutes by car from Austin Station, which is served by Amtrak’s Texas Eagle.
Automobiles
East Austin itself is wonderfully walkable, but Texas’s capital – like the wider, Lone Star state – is vast. Horsepower here might have once come on four legs, but you’ll likely need some wheels to properly explore Austin and beyond. The hotel has an off-street parking spot, but street parking is also free.
Worth getting out of bed for
Bingalow’s neighborhood is part residential, part urban gallery, where contemporary condos rub shoulders with street art so vibrant you’ll be stopping every few yards to take some snaps. There’s plenty to draw the eye in East Austin, and just as much to fill your boots with, as you hop from kitschy coffee houses, to Southern-style eateries, and countrified honky-tonk bars (ride up to the White Horse for whiskey on-tap and a taco truck on standby for dancefloor fuel). This side of town is home to a huge variety of independents, so you can shop for artisan-made pieces while supporting small businesses. No. 4 St James exclusively stocks Texas-made lifestyle products, including lucky Bandera horseshoes and copper Mule mugs, and HELM Boots handcrafts premium leather footwear with a ‘walk in, stand out’ motto. Break your boots in at one of Austin’s many live-music venues (just don’t wear suede, the sawdust kicked up by the crowds will stick). Local and touring musicians can be found two-stepping and downing margaritas in between sets in the Red River Cultural District, or head over to South Congress (SoCo to those in-the-know) for an electric evening at the legendary Continental Club, which regularly hosts rock icons and country hall-of-famers on its tiny, red-curtain-backed stage.
Local restaurants
You’d need to plan several trips to eat your way around East Austin, before you even think about tucking into the rest of the Texas capital’s vast and varied dining scene. Justine’s Brasserie draws a late-night crowd to its light-strung patio with a French bistro feel, where diners come for the people-watching as much as the je ne sais quoi menu. Then there’s Birdie’s, a family-run, neighborhood favorite which serves American-Italian classics in a no-frills, counter-service setting (walk-ins only). The thoughtfully curated (and rather extensive) wine list focuses on mindful farming and minimal intervention in the cellar. For an explosive taste of the Caribbean, try Canje (named after the national bird of Guyana) – the Guyanese chef not only draws inspiration from his home, but almost every island in between, from Jamaica to Puerto Rico. Dip plantain chips in mango calypso hot sauce and coconut-lime aioli, devour jerk chicken topped with wild-garlic chutney, and save room for something sweet – the rum-punch sorbet is drenched in 12-year-old El Dorado.
Local cafés
Tex-Mex for breakfast? Ciscosays you can, and who are we to argue with the man who allegedly made huevos rancheros famous. Come hungry to this beloved brunch spot for generous breakfast plates piled high with tortillas, migas, pancakes, and Cisco’s homemade biscuits. We dare you to read Paperboy’sbreakfast menu without drooling – the home-baked chocolate and cinnamon babka, pecan-pie pop-tart, and avocado tost-ada are just some of the highlights.
Local bars
Steel yourself for the boot-stomping, spur-clinking nightlife in Austin, the state capital sure knows how to show visitors a good time. Sink local beers at the Broken Spoke, where you’ll likely get roped (sometimes quite literally, lassoed) into the dancehall’s two-step lessons with real-life rhinestone cowboys. Fiestas are usually in full swing at Mexican bar and restaurant Suertein East Austin, but it’s best to time your pit-stop for lucky hour (which runs from 5pm until 6pm, Sunday to Thursday). Tequila and mezcal feature heavily on the craft-cocktail menu – you’ve been warned.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this one-suite-wonder hotel in Austin’s hip eastside and unpacked their natural healing crystals and Eastwood-approved cowboy hat, a full account of their rootin’ tootin’ city break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Bingalow in Texas…
When the family behind Bingalow revamped their Fifties bungalow, they knew it was just too special to keep to themselves. Lots of boutique hotels claim to have an ‘at home’ atmosphere, but Bingalow really hits the nail on the head on the lived-in, laidback luxury front. The entrance is lined with luscious plants and succulents, and you’re greeted by the sweet scent of burning incense (which also helps keep mosquitoes at bay). You’ll step straight into the living room, which is dominated by a custom-made, curved banquette, which just makes you want to kick your hand-tooled cowboy boots off and never move again. The owners regularly swap books and vinyl records in and out from their personal collection, so you’ll never be short on reading or listening materials. But it’s the wellness area which comes as a most welcome surprise, with its hand-built cedar soaking tubs and dry barrel-sauna in what is essentially the bungalow’s backyard. If you’re feeling sociable, you can invite up to four friends to join you for the day in this hip hangout – whether you’re planning a spa session or dinner party, just be sure to share your guest list with the property in advance.
