We've Got Spirit
Anticipated boutique hotel with 24-hour taco window opens near UT Austin
The Drag's newest hotel is officially open for biz. Moxy Austin-University checked in its first guests earlier this month.
Owned by White Lodging and part of Marriott International, Moxy is a millennial-focused "experiential" brand, offering that live-like-a-local vibe many major hoteliers are pivoting towards. Guests are offered things like a free cocktail upon check in, and the hotel even offers catered programming and perks to locals, which in this case is UT students and faculty.
Boasting an "industrial chic style," Moxy's 162 guest rooms come with features like plush platform beds, peg walls instead of closets. A lobby-area library and in-room work surfaces help facilitate the work-from-anywhere trend accelerated ever further along by the pandemic.
On the ground floor, the 150-seat Bar Moxy offers both indoor and outdoor seating. While lounging near fire pits, guests can sip cocktails and peruse an interactive "guest book" featuring Instagram posts from other Moxy guests around the world.
Also on the ground floor is Taco Zombie, a concept offering counter service and a walk-up taco window 24 hours a day. Tacos, burritos, taquitos, chips and queso, and chips and salsa are all available via walk-up ordering or online.
Its location at 2552 Guadalupe St., next to Hole in the Wall, means the hotel is also hoping to cater to a very special part of the population: students. With West Campus's sorority and fraternity houses just steps away, Zombie Taco's 24-hour service is sure to garner some local love. But the hotel is also offering students, ages 21 and up, discounts and specials, such as Fraternity Fridays and Sorority Saturdays. On Mondays, UT faculty and staff can take advantage specials to "help start the week with a bang."
“The space at Moxy is unlike any other near campus and we’re assembling the best team to bring the #PlayOn mantra to life in safe and unexpected ways,” said Moxy opening captain Lynn Snyder in a release.
“I’ll just say this: if you thought Austin was weird before, buckle up," she added, somewhat ominously.
What isn't weird are the opening room rates. Now through May 18, Moxy is offering a discount of 22 percent off hotel stays and a free swag bag. Pandemic safety measures currently in place include guest and associate face mask requirements; social distancing policies; reduced seating capacity; frequent cleaning of high-touch areas; hand sanitizing stations throughout the hotel; and the use of technology where possible (contactless ordering, for example).
