Musical Paradise: The New W Hotel, Austin

Waiting for the W Austin (200 Lavaca St.; 512/542-3600) to open has been like being the last girl asked to the prom.

But, at last, the fete has begun, and tourists and ecstatic Austinites are flocking to the 251-room hotel in the city’s 2nd Street District. Ensconced in the heart and hubbub of Austin-style revelry and mayhem (think irresistible boutiques and galleries, venerable music venues and watering holes with bartenders who double as alchemists), the hotel sits conveniently between party districts. It’s baby steps from 6th Street, giant steps from the Warehouse District and across the river (not through the woods) to nearby SoCo.

The property also shares walls with the new home of the Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater—a bigger, better version of the original venue, which, as music buffs know, gave birth to the bigger and badder (and I mean that in a good way) Austin City Limits Music Festival.

It’s not surprising that the W fits nicely into the hipster fusion that is Austin. Still, this W surpasses itself. It mines the glamour of the Austin vibe and emerges looking like a local. Understanding that the city’s official slogan is “Keep Austin Weird,” the hotel skates brake-free into the celebration of artistic élan that characterizes the Lone Star State’s capital city.

Mind you, “weird” doesn’t mean odd, but rather refers to the city’s affection for and support of local artists, its tolerance for lifestyle differences, its passion for partying and its commitment to natural food and farmers, sets this W apart—perhaps making it a new showpiece for the brand.

Valerie Broussard, the hotel’s official forager, works in conjunction with chef Paul Hargrove to find the most local food in the region for the hotel’s restaurant, Trace. Based on Broussard’s artisanal, organic and sustainable finds, Hargrove creates an ever-changing menu that includes handcrafted charcuterie plates, a club sandwich piled with pâté and crispy bacon and slathered with smears of apple-curry mayo, or pumpkin ravioli plated with figs and mustard greens.

Trace’s décor features white leather-covered chairs, discovered in an old barn near Austin. Part of the barn was recycled to create platters for the restaurant and to display Hargrove’s menu.

The forager concept is just the beginning of an all-encompassing nod to Austin lifestyle. Channeling the city’s commitment to local artists, musicians and creative types, the W Austin fueled its tanks with Austin talent. Works by Austin artists hang throughout the hotel, and Austin City Limits photographer Scott Newton’s prints decorate the rooms. Local art mavens and icons such as Anne Elizabeth Wynn curate collections.

The hotel’s architects take inspiration from Austin’s geographical anomalies. Exposed designer beams show the structure’s bones; dappled glass mimics the light cast through Austin’s oak trees; clubby, cavern-esque common rooms mimic the area’s myriad caves. From the exterior, the structure is all mod mini-rise, stretching just high enough in the sky to allow ample space for the hotel’s offerings.

Inside, you’ll find visions of playful chic composed by emerging design whiz kid Heather Plimmer of Stratus Properties. Fearless, she juxtaposes male and female energy, light and dark, splashing walls with lipstick-pink hues and taming them with pressed dark-granite tables, ebonized wood and shiny metals.

One public area, “the porch,” is a mosaic of color, which Plimmer calls “Hamptons meets Morocco.” Splotches of red sing in the guestrooms, vanity mirrors boast a guitar-strap motif, and high ceilings yield intriguing chandeliers and light fixtures.

If you adore the city’s renowned music scene, you’ll find a home in The Living Room, a succession of social spaces that grow darker, much like the area’s caves, the deeper they are explored. In the Library, 8,000 vinyl records line the walls. Choose a disk, move to the next space, and ask the barman to play it for you on the vintage McIntosh stereo. Swoon to Howlin’ Wolf or Stevie Ray Vaughn and sip a peppercorn martini in sheer melodic bliss.

To stay at the W Austin is to enjoy its signature sleep-like-a-fairytale-princess beds, swim in the rooftop pool and work out in the mega-gym, SWEAT. The spa, AWAY, looks more like a trendy bar (work by Austinite Jennifer Prichard adorns the walls). But the real reason to go is to check into a place that offers a rhythmic backbeat to Austin’s original music. Grab your suitcase and air guitar—the party’s on.