Central Texas- Austin, San Antonio, New Braunfels

This was not at the heart of the Riverwalk, but that was okay for us, because it is easier to park on this side, and it is less congested overall.

Also, the price we got via Priceline was fantastic--under $50 a night!

From the hotel you can walk to the Riverwalk area or you cna buy water taxi tickets at teh gift shop. They taxi comes on a fairly regular basis but unfortuately last one is around 9 pm which seems early for a tourist city.

Accommodations were good rooms, a bit smaller than I thought but ample, and the pool on the roof was decent too.

Parking was gratis nearby, as long as you were a guest there.

If you are looking for one of the best places to see the sunset in Austin, this is the place to be! Food is decent--sandwiches, salads, etc.

But the bottom line is that people come here for the sunset!

This was on a more recent visit. We went here on 3/26/05, and thus this used to be the Bahama Breeze restaurant, which I liked, but unfortunately, it closed down, and this Mexican establishment took over the space.

Saturrday night, it was busy; we had about a 5-minute wait, so it wasn't bad. This is in the northwestern area of Austin and more family-oriented than the college atmosphere you might get towards downtown, which was fine, as we had a 1-month-old neice with us!

Service was good, and food was very good. They made no mistkaes on our order. I got a chicken enchilada, spinach enchilada, and a beef taco. I was satisfied with it, and chips and salsa were good also.

Our total ticket was about $84 for 6 people, which included tax and tip.

I've been here several times and more recently on 3/25/05. I really like this place--the location is nice, as it has a nice view from the top of a foothill of Northwest Austin. The best way to describe it is Southwestern. They have interesting twists to Mexican and Southern dishes. I had a good shrimp dish known as porcupine shrimp--it was a shrimp that was wrapped with tortilla strips and an Asian mustard, along with rice and veggies.

Everybody else liked their dishes--my wife got artichoke chicken steak, and my sister and someone else got tuna. The atmosphere is nice and seems really busy on weekends. You must eat plenty of their corn bread with bits of corn in it!

It could be a family place during the day, but at night lots of professionals are there.

I definitely give this place A on location and atmosphere, as you feel as if you are in Guadalajara, so it feels very authentic, and I would say the food is fairly authentic.

The salsa was okay, and I am a big salsa fan, so that didn’t wow me. Other than that, my enchiladas were great, and my wife's fajitas were above average. In general, that whole "market place" is a neat area and worth going to. We took a street car to get there. You will spot it quickly, or probably hear mariachis doing their thing!

This park is fun for the whole family. The famous New Braunfels area hosts this waterpark, and it seems that it keeps expanding. There are a lot of rides for young and old and lots of food to choose from, or you can bring your own food if you like.

There is also a super hot tub for one to relax in, and it is scenic; it isn't just about concrete here, since they feed off the river and there is a plush area of trees in the background. Very nice.

Mount Banal is a mountain/hill with a really nice view of the city of Austin; from the peak of the hill, you can see the UT campus, as well as the government buildings. It is a really nice view.

Also, on another angle, you can see all the beautiful homes sprinkled along the banks of the Colorado River.

You can drive, hike, or bike up there. This is on the northern side of Austin, where it is very hilly.