We just came on a trip to formerly featured Austin for not one but two weddings, and we thought we'd give you a few notes on our mini-vacation while on the road. Not only are we eating our way through this amazing Texan city, but we're checking out various hotels along the way. And we felt it necessary to update you a hotel we featured as our "splurge pick" in the Austin issue: the Hotel Saint Cecilia.

We've just checked out of this luxurious hotel and into the San Jose, and to be completely frank, we wish we would have booked our entire Austin stay at the Hotel San Jose. Don't get us wrong: the Hotel Saint Cecilia is an absolutely lovely hotel. It's just that for its extremely high price (rooms start at $420 weekends), we're not sure it's the right jauntsetter choice, even for a "splurge." 

Why's that? Simply put, we expected a higher level of service and amenity for a hotel this pricey. Not that the staff isn't absolutely friendly and helpful - they are, when they're around; quite often, however, they're a bit difficult to find. And while those who are looking for absolute privacy will love this perk, we found it a bit frustrating. Walk into the bar or the office, and you'll find nary a person nor service bell. Sit by the small pool, and it will take ages for someone to come by and see if you need a towel or a drink. 

On another service note, "turndown" at this hotel consists of a carafe of tap water left on your bed - and nothing else. Not to sound utterly spoiled but at Hotel Saint Cecilia's price point, we expected that in addition to this "perk," our dirty glasses and dishes from earlier in the day to be taken away by the staff that came into our room to drop off the water. But they left the dishes there, apparently content to wait until the next day's cleaning to take it away. Minor, we know, but for over $500 a night? Pretty surprising.

While we have other pieces of feedback - like being told the lounge's complimentary morning coffee was out and that we could come back for more, only to return less than 30 minutes later to find the entire service put away for the day - we'll spare our gripes. That's because we sound rather spoiled, don't we? And here's the thing: we think the Saint Cecilia has a good deal going for it, including its spacious rooms, fantastic design, and extremely quiet locale. 

In fact, if someone else was paying for us to stay at the Hotel Saint Cecilia, or if we were on a subsidized honeymoon or all-expenses tour of Austin, we'd book a room without hesitation. But since we spent our own money, it feels more like we frittered it away on the idea of luxury, rather than on a well-executed splurge. And that's never a good feeling. Which is why we're currently loving our stay at the much-more-affordable, and very friendly, Hotel San Jose. More on this hotel, and our other Austin updates, later!