A scorcher
New downtown Austin hotel claims proper spot on Conde Nast Traveler 2020 Hot List
A downtown hotel has claimed Texas' only spot on Conde Nast Traveler's Hot List, the second year in a row an Austin property has taken the honor.
Austin Proper Hotel & Residences, a luxury hotel and condo tower on West Second Street, opened just a few months ago, but with splashy interiors by celebrity designer Kelly Wearstler and a restaurant program from McGuire Moorman Hospitality, it was enough to score a spot on the coveted list.
To curate the Hot List, Conde Nast editors tested 400 new hotels across the globe, eventually narrowing it down to 76 hotels — only 19 of which are in the U.S. As for what merits The Proper's place, Conde Nast Traveler writes: "The country’s indie-cool capital gets a stylish hotel that everybody wants to hangout in."
The Hot List has been around for nearly 25 years, but editors concede that releasing this year's roundup amid a global pandemic presented its own unique challenges. It also, however, provided an opportunity for the stalwart magazine to "champion an industry that has been abruptly brought to a standstill, and provide hope and inspiration to readers for future trips."
“We still believe in travel — truly, madly, deeply — and hope to inspire readers to dream about that next big trip, because when the time comes, travel will be what helps us to start moving forward again,” said Jesse Ashlock, the magazine's U.S. editor.
As for the rest of the U.S. Hot List, California had the most hotels with five. New York City and Washington, D.C. followed with three spots each. As previously noted, Austin Proper was Texas' only spot on the list.