I may be late to casual personal events but when it comes to air travel, call me Early Bird. I…read moreleave nothing to chance when it comes to dealing with airport security & logistics snafus that can add uncertainty to getting on the plane on time. The hidden benefit is that I often have lots of extra time to stroll the concourse, get some steps in & blood flow going, and check out the interesting innovations, public art installations, and local flavor of the airports on my itinerary. Imagine my delight to find this little pocket of whimsy at the east end of the Barbara Jordan Terminal near Gate 14 (as if you're headed toward Delta and the Public Patio). The first indication of mystery is the infinity symbol on an overhead sign that would otherwise name a vendor or amenity. I simply had to stop & check it out. Procedure: Look at all the creative decor and signage. Smile. Step up to the kiosk, answer the questions, and generate your boarding pass (only virtual now, after originally being printable). Imagine yourself phasing through the physical barriers of reality into a different dimension of space & time! Verdict: Fun for all ages of folks with a good imagination, sense of humor, and decent reading habit in the sci-fi and fantasy genre. Cost: Zero dollars and just a few moments of time. Worth it!

This was cool for a minute, but is this really the best use of space at the airport? We're going to…read morewaste a row of chairs at that gate for half chairs because.... art? I'm over it, sorry.

MetroRail helps me save in gas and staff is friendly, I just wish they would be more assertive and…read moretell passengers that like to put their stinking feet up on the seats to please put them down. I mean, you're not in your house, you're using a public transportation! Who likes to sit down on a seat where dirty shoes have been?! Imagine if he has doggo crap on them and he doesn't know! Disgusting! Please be conscious of the space you're using and other people using it!

Experienced the Metro Rail for the first time, and it was a fantastic journey! Having been in the…read moreTexas Austin area for seven years, my family and I decided to take the train from Leander station to downtown Austin for the first time. The day pass for adults at $7 each was a great deal, especially since kids ride for free. The interior of the train was impressively clean--seriously, spotless--and well-ventilated, making the ride comfortable from start to finish. The conductors were friendly and accommodating, adding to the overall positive experience. The children particularly enjoyed the ride, making it a memorable family outing. Highly recommend the Metro Rail for a convenient, clean, and enjoyable transportation option in the Austin area!

The Highland MetroRail Station (aka Transit Center, Stop #5537) is one of 9 stops on our city's…read moresingle commuter light-rail offering, the 32-mile #550 Red Line from Leander to downtown Austin. Schedule information is available at https://www.capmetro.org/stopdetail/index.php?stop=5537 (Highland Station only); https://www.capmetro.org/schedmap/?svc=0&f1=550&s=0&d=N (full Red Line schedule); https://www.capmetro.org/planner/ (CapMetro Trip Planner); https://www.capmetro.org/uploadedFiles/New2016/Plan_Your_Trip/Destinations_Schedule_Book/Schedulebook_web.pdf (full schedule book as available in print); and the Go Line at 512-474-1200 (with a live agent to help from 7a-8p weekdays, 8a-5p weekends). Follow @CapMetroATX on Twitter for up-to-the-minute alerts about any service interruptions. From the Highland station, you can connect to the following city bus routes via adjacent stop IDs 5602 & 5603 (southbound is on the same side of the street; northbound is across at the Highland intersection): 7 (Duval/Dove Springs - High Frequency) 324 (Georgian/Ohlen - Local) 337 (Koenig/Colony Park - Local) 350 (Airport Blvd - Local) ACC students and others who bike to school/work near Highland may be interested to know that for $30 a year, they can get key card access to the adjacent covered MetroBike locker seven days a week, with 24-hour surveillance and work stand with tools to repair & maintain their rides. https://www.capmetro.org/metrobike/ If you're going to ride the train (and you're not a kid under 5 or active military/emergency workers in uniform), you have to purchase and activate one of the Commuter pass options. At launch back in 2010, there were specified zones with varying fares, but now there's just a single ride ($3.50, no transfers, no roundtrip) or all day Commuter ($7, unlimited trips & transfers) option. The single ride can only be purchased in cash from the kiosk at the station AND you need exact fare or you will get your change in the form of a use-it-or-lose-it CapMetro voucher that expires in 15 days - boo! Most folks will prefer the ticketing experience using the CapMetro smartphone app (unless they have exact change and really only need a one-way trip for $3.50). I highly recommend installing the app and getting payment methods set-up in advance so that boarding, activating your ticket, and displaying it when asked will be a breeze. Paying at the kiosk can be a hassle and if the queue is long, you might miss your train and wait 30 minutes or more until the next one arrives. Students with a photo school ID or a CapMetro "Reduced Fare ID" can get half-priced tickets, but to access this benefit through the CapMetro app, you have to first visit their Transit Store in downtown Austin to set it up in person (call 512-389-7454 for instructions). Be sure to bring a birth certificate, passport, or other proof of age/eligibility for the rider. This also applies to seniors, people with disabilities, and active military out-of-uniform. Other ways to purchase passes at retail outlets are detailed at https://capmetro.org/purchase/. If you are used to traveling via public transit in other major cities, you may find using CapMetro services to be, well, somewhat frustrating. The truth is that we haven't made the investments that we should have to keep up with the rapid growth of our city and you can see the evidence when you ride our trains & buses. For MetroRail passengers, this means that trains don't come very often, they don't stop at many places that you likely would want to go, and parking is often not available anywhere near the station where you are starting your trip. However, if you aren't in a hurry, are aware of the limited schedule, and are actually headed to Crestview, ACC Highland, Plaza Saltillo (Eastside entertainment district), or Downtown (business and entertainment galore), the MetroRail is a comfortable ride that relieves your need to sit in traffic or find elusive parking at your destination. For more useful information, especially if you are unfamiliar with using CapMetro or public transit in general, check out these handy resources: How to Ride https://www.capmetro.org/how-to-videos/ Rider's Code of Conduct https://www.capmetro.org/rules/

Public transit hub in South Austin! This place is…read moretechnically off of S. Congress, just south of 290. When looking at the transit maps, you might wonder why the buses take a detour off of the main road- this is where they're going! This place is a nice hub with lots of shade, some public art and soda machines. There's a secure bike parking area, and there are signs everywhere alerting you to the fact that you're being watched by security cameras. However, I didn't see any uniformed guards or officers. Seeing that this is a transit hub, you'd expect a whole lot more parking here, but alas, there is scant parking for such a major hub. Fortunately, you can park along the street if the lot is full. Be sure to bring a book, as the buses are often tardy, and Cap Metro hasn't teamed up with Google Transit to put GPS units on the bus so you know if they're running late, or you've already missed the bus.

This is an excellent place to park and take the all day bus pass through and across Austin. We…read moremust have traveled 20 miles around for $5 for 2 people. Those who recommend ride share services are okay if you are short on time, but if you have all day park here and walk around wherever the bus takes you. Well done Austin Texas excellent public bus transportation system

My brother in law (BIL) will be visiting us in Texas from Chicago for the summer starting in June…read more I was supposed to return to work after vacation on Tuesday, but I am too jetlagged for intensive work. Thus, I will not be starting back to work until next Monday. I have some time this week to recover and do a little scouting for things to do for my BIL. We have taken my BIL to most popular spots in Austin, however, we were looking for some new things to do. Thus, I headed to the Austin Visitors Center located on 5th Street near Congress. Let me be the first to say that the Austin Visitor Center has completed changed since I was there last. The last time I visited they were giving out maps, bluebonnet seeds and other trinkets. It is a full-on operation now...y'all! The Austin Visitor center has transformed into a one-stop shop for travel info, local recommendations, and shopping (yes...shopping!). Shopping includes clothing, hats, magnets, stuffed animals, to name just a few. Wow...I was not ready for this paparazzi of items. Other services include free maps and guides, tour booking services, free Wi Fi, restrooms, charging stations and luggage storage for a small fee. In addition, their coffee shop, 5th and Brew, is a nice respite for tourists. The space is large and spacious. The ladies in the Austin Visitor Center were super sweet and helpful! Such a pleasant experience.... Great space...excellent services.

When friends and family come to visit, I send them here (or I sometimes accompany them)…read more You can get anything here, from gifts and souvenirs to maps and coffee (they have a cafe). Tours are booked in and out of the center as well. A good idea if you only have limited time in Austin and want to see as much as possible. It's truly a welcoming place and a great representation of our city. I also like that there is a large room with comfy seating to rest your weary feet after a day of sightseeing, or to prep for your day of exploration. I can't say enough nice things about this place. It's clean and modern. The staff are so incredibly knowledgeable about everything related to Austin. Super friendly too.

These guys are great! Such an awesome concept. Definitely easier, more convenient, and more fun…read morethan using a cab or rideshare. I also recommend them to my friends that come visit me.

I recently booked a tour of several Austin breweries through Urban Loop and was thoroughly…read moreimpressed with their services. Justin and his team helped plan a perfect tour of Austin's craft beer scene. Urban Loop made all of the arrangements and the day went off without a hitch. The driver was professional and got us everywhere safely and comfortably. Our tour guide, Chris, was knowledgeable, friendly, and made sure we had an awesome time. When our pick up location changed last minute, UrbanLoop was able to seamlessly make the necessary adjustments.

Very poor customer service. My husband and I stayed for 2 weeks over the holidays at a property we…read morehad spent a lot of time at prior to Logewell taking ownership. When we arrived, we were concerned about the overwhelming smell of dog pee (we do not have pets). We called and were told yes, they had found 4x spots of urine that they were unable to clean properly before we arrived - including the couch. At first, Lodgewell were accommodating and moved us to another property while they brought in a professional cleaner. When we came back, the urine smell persisted and we still had another week at the property. Lodgewell would return our calls just to say no one was available to respond to our request. We asked for a very small reimbursement given that we literally had to sit in dog pee to watch tv, they stopped responding to us. Oh, and it was Christmas. If I wanted to sleep in dog pee I would have stayed in NYC. A cockroach also jetted out from under the couch, so literally just like home.

Avoid at all costs! I am a retreat experience leader and have been for a decade. Our experience…read moreworking with Lodgewell was by far the worst experience we have ever had. They are downright rude, nasty, and actually threatened us. We were visiting a venue we know and love that Lodgewell had recently taken on as a management company. We will not visit the venue again until Lodgewell is no longer managing. What had previously been a peaceful, wonderful experience at this venue, became incredibly stressful and it worsened each day. This is a terrible company. Stay away.

When Steve and I were planning our trip to Austin, Texas we realized fairly quickly that we didn't…read moreknow the city very well at all. In previous vacations we took bus tours to get a little bit more familiar with the city and that is what we did with Austin. Only this time we rode a Double Decker bus! I have seen this kind of bus tour here and there and have seen it when I am in Seattle. Officially I think after this particular bus tour it was my first time riding a Double Decker bus. The weather was typical spring weather on our entire visit but the day we chose to take this tour it was nice and warm and a perfect time to go ride this bus followed by rain for a few days (This took place in April). The ride was so much fun and the tour guide was great! Austin is definitely a different cut than the rest of Texas and that was reflected in many of the people we met. Open mindedness being one and we really felt that with the tour guide. He was so knowledgeable of the city and the neighborhoods and all that made this bus tour all the more amazing. But of course they would probably have staff with personalities that would be compatible in this way. Riding on the top of the bus was so much fun. A few times we had to duck from tree branches and I lowered my head a few times from the traffic lights but that was just me getting nervous with being that high to a light. You see all the sights, famous buildings, museums, local culture, restaurant recommendations and so much more while on this tour. So this was a great experience! I was in Austin proper once a very long time ago and saw just how much it's grown. So it was cool getting acquainted with the city one more time thanks to this bus tour!

I was so looking forward to finally taking a tour of the city. I've been coming here visiting my…read moreson for the last dozen or so years and I've never done it. At first, I sat on the upper level. It was wonderful to be out in the fresh air. However, the sun was a little too much for me so I had to move down to the inside area. I was the only one down there which was fine, but it was really quite filthy. There was thick gray dust on the top rail of all the seats and the fabric on the seats themselves was all thick with black grease. The tour guide was really wonderful. Entertaining and knowledgeable with one exception that was actually kind of disturbing to me personally. When we got to South Congress he talked about the "I love you so much" wall. His story of a husband painting it for his wife could not have been more wrong. It was in fact done by an artist named Amy for her then girlfriend Liz an infamous Austin hotelier and restauranteur. It is an incredibly iconic part of Austin history and if it's told it should be not fiction. I hope for sure this can be corrected for future tours.