Hotel Ella
A historic mansion, a pool tucked under live oaks, a staff that remembers your name before you have finished saying it, and the stay that reminded me what I am doing is really special.
Our Texas tour started at Hotel Ella, and the whole stay felt glamorous from the second we walked in. Mary Ryan, her husband Andrew, and I stayed in the newer wing overlooking the pool. We took business meetings poolside between laps, fielded calls from the cabanas, and were catered to by a staff that treated us like main characters for a long weekend. Hotel Ella lives inside the 1900 Goodall Wooten Mansion, a Greek Revival landmark designed by Dallas architect Charles O'Connell for Dr. Goodall H. Wooten and his wife Ella. The house went on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, passed through several lives — student residence hall, chemical dependency treatment center, a luxury hotel called The Mansion at Judges' Hill — and reopened in 2013 as Hotel Ella. If you are looking for the kind of place that makes a trip feel like an occasion, this is it.
Watch the Stay
The Property
A Texas Landmark
Hotel Ella is a 47-room boutique with one of the most distinctive entrances in Texas. Two-story paired columns with Ionic capitals hold up the wraparound gallery. Balustrades run the length of the upper porch. The front lawn has old live oaks draped over it, and in the early morning the light through those trees on the white facade is the kind of thing you stop and look at. Before Ella was a hotel, it was a private residence. You can still feel the house inside of it.
The lobby holds a rotating collection of Texas contemporary art. The hallways are lit like a home, not a hotel. Nothing about the service feels performative. Goodall's Kitchen and Bar, the restaurant on the ground floor, pours into the veranda in the mornings and the pool courtyard in the evenings. In the afternoon, you will catch locals stopping by for cocktails on the porch like neighbors, because in many ways they are.
What makes it feel different
Most hotels this polished feel like they are performing. Hotel Ella does not. The staff here know the property, know Austin, and know how to make you feel like a guest of the house instead of a transaction. That is rare.
A moment from that trip
We spent the morning by the pool working on the show. Content planning, jokes, set lists, a little bit of sun. At some point between a bite of bacon and a joke we were punching up, I looked around and I realized that what I am doing is actually really special. I get to be in places like this doing the work I love. Hotel Ella made me slow down enough to see it. That is the part I keep thinking about.
The Newer Wing, Overlooking the Pool
You have two choices at Ella and they are both good. The rooms inside the original 1900 mansion are what history nerds book for: antique furniture, high ceilings, creaking original wood floors in some, and in a few rooms a fireplace that has been there longer than any of us. The newer wing sits behind and above the original house, built into the property with care. The rooms are clean, modern, and quiet. We stayed in the new wing and the view of the cabana-lined pool from the window every morning was the kind of thing that made you want to cancel the rest of the day. King suites are worth asking for if you are traveling with a partner or want the extra room for work meetings the way we did. All 47 rooms have Frette linens, C.O. Bigelow amenities, and that unmistakable Ella attention to detail.
Eat & Drink Without Leaving
Goodall's Kitchen and Bar
Refined Texas cooking with a seasonal menu. Weekend brunch is worth staying in for. The bar pours well into the evening and the vibe is more "neighborhood favorite" than "hotel restaurant."
Shaded by the oaks, quiet, and it turns out a pool is a very good office. Ask the staff to set you up for lunch or cocktails poolside. Trust me.
What to Do, Eat, and See
Hotel Ella sits in the middle of the map. You can be in South Congress, East Austin, or downtown in under fifteen minutes. These are the spots I've actually been to and the ones I'd send a friend to without thinking twice.
Breakfast & Coffee
Order a turbo (coffee with a shot of espresso). Take the photo outside at the red-painted wall. It is touristy in the best way.
The migas taco here was named one of Food Network's five best tacos in America. It deserves every bit of that. Go hungry.
Lunch & Dinner
Yes, the line is real. Yes, it's worth it. Brisket, sausage, the works. You could also order online a day ahead if you want to skip the line but it's gotta be planned out.
Austin institution since 1952. Order the Bob Armstrong Dip. It's queso with taco meat, guac, and sour cream. It's not health food. That's the point.
Beloved sushi and Japanese farmhouse. If you can get a spot at the bar, take it. The omakase is the move.
In an old pharmacy building with the original tin ceiling. Brunch is excellent. Oysters, cocktails, a patio. It's the kind of place you stay at two hours longer than you meant to.
New York style, perfect slice. The By the Slice window next door is faster if the main line is long.
From the Uchi and Franklin teams. Smoked meats with Southeast Asian flavors. The boar belly banh mi changed my life a little.
Cocktails & Music
Named one of the Top Four American Cocktail Bars. The menu reads like a book and every drink I've had here has been thoughtful without being precious.
Live country music, a dance floor, and a tiny taco truck in the back. If you want to two-step, this is where you do it. No cover most nights.
A Rainey Street mainstay. House-made sausages, a massive patio, and a beer list that's more reading than drinking.
Walk, Swim, and Wander
A three-acre natural spring-fed pool in the middle of the city. Bracing on the first step in, heaven after that.
Not staying there? Doesn't matter. The courtyard pool area is one of the best places to post up with an iced coffee or a cocktail in Austin.
Largest state capitol in the country by square footage. Worth a walkthrough even if you've never cared about a government building in your life.
A few blocks from Hotel Ella. Shaded trails, a creek, and enough room to walk off brunch. Easy morning move.
Shopping
The real-deal boot shop. Wall-to-wall cowboy boots, belts, hats. Even if you aren't buying, walking through is worth it.
For the actual UT gear. Flagship location right off campus.
An antique-meets-oddities store that moved off South Congress years ago. Still worth the short drive. Dolls, maps, taxidermy, old photos. You'll find something that shouldn't exist.
The original ByGeorge. High-end, editorial, the kind of store you go into "just to look" and leave with one very deliberate piece.
An old-school candy store that takes itself seriously. Chocolates, hard-to-find sodas, homemade ice cream. It's a SoCo stop.
A Perfect 24 Hours From Ella
Built around the hotel, the neighborhood, and the best parts of Austin. Room service is available at Ella, so you can start the day without leaving the sheets if you want.
Morning
My order here was my favorite hotel breakfast of the whole tour. A latte, a fruit cup, and two strips of bacon. Simple, perfect, brought up to the room by a staff member who greeted me by name. Open the French doors to your balcony and set the tray on the little outdoor table. The pool below is the chicest pool I have ever stayed above. Quiet, private, sun coming through the live oaks. It felt glamorous and relaxing at the same time, which is a harder combination to pull off than it sounds.
The newly renovated park sits a few blocks from the hotel. Shaded trails, a creek, and an easy loop that clears the head before the day starts. Pop out on Lamar on the way back.
Midday
The migas taco here was named one of Food Network's five best tacos in America. It is not a reach. Order two.
Three-acre natural spring-fed pool in the middle of the city. Grab a lounger, stay an hour, come out completely reset. Bring a towel. Pay the small entry fee and commit to jumping in even if it is chilly.
Walk the South Congress strip. Allens Boots for cowboy boots and the best boot wall in Texas. Big Top Candy Shop for hard-to-find sodas and homemade ice cream. Drive up Lamar afterward to ByGeorge at 524 N Lamar for the flagship. End at the "I love you so much" wall at Jo's.
Evening
Shower, change, and have a pre-dinner drink on the veranda or at Goodall's bar. The porch at golden hour is the single most Austin thing this hotel does.
Uchiko is 15 minutes up the road and worth planning a night around. Ask for the bar if you can get it, order the tasting menu if you trust the kitchen. You will.
Two-step the rest of the night out at the White Horse. No cover most nights. Live country on a real floor. A tiny taco truck in the back if you are still hungry at midnight.
Close the day the way you opened it. A drink on the veranda, the porch lights low, and the sound of live oaks overhead. This is the night you planned this trip for.
Plan Your Stay
Hotel Ella is at 1900 Rio Grande St, a few blocks north of downtown and an easy walk to the University of Texas. Valet parking, pool access, and Goodall's on the ground floor mean you don't have to leave if you don't want to. But Austin is waiting right outside the front door.