I stay at the Star of Texas once a year. It is quite convenient to UT. Good breakfast, beverages in the refrigerator, and cookies by the door. Parking next to the house. I've never seen the owners; the staff are quite friendly and helpful. WiFi available, and an old fashioned computer with printer, too.
We stayed here for a couple nights at the tail end of our vacation. It is very close to the UT campus. Lots of students walking by all day long. Right now there is construction of a new residence hall literally right behind the B&B which makes it a bit noisy during the day but they finish working by 5 so it doesn't impact your sleep.
We had room 13 which was great. Big, comfortable bed. Big bathroom. Access to the upper balcony which was great to sit out on and read and/or people watch.
Breakfast was fine. The food was good and plenty of it. Everyday there was an egg dish and a sweet pancake or oatmeal dish, plus bacon, fruit, cereal, toast, coffee, and juice. As others have said there is usually only one person around in the morning and clearing away used dishes from the tables is not at the top of their list of things to do. One morning when we came down every table had at least some used place settings. Luckily we were able to find a spot to sit with clean dishes. However a family of 4 came in shortly after us and didn't end up eating because there weren't enough clean place settings left for them, at least not at a table together.
If you are okay with a more hands off approach to your B&B experience then this place is for you. We enjoyed our time spent here and would stay here again when in the Austin area.
The Star of Texas is an outstanding B&B. We went to Austin for 3 days in February 2012 for a little get away. It was easily located, within walking distance of some good restaurants. Not far from the downtown area and the breakfast is WOW - great. Service was excellent and I have recommended it to several friends as it is in the top 5 of the B&Bs we have stayed at.
This B&B was one highlight to our honeymoon. We chose it because we had plans at a venue near the UT campus that evening and there did not seem to be a lot of reasonably priced options in the area with availability -- and we were trying to avoid another corporate hotel experience. We called the owner, having gotten the number off the internet. He ran our credit card over the phone and gave us a keycode to get in; we stayed in room 19 on the main floor (key was in the door when we arrived).
We were tired from our earlier day trip to Gruene. At 5pm, we were happy to just unpack the car, rest and get out of the heat. Imagine how excited we were to be staying in an enormous, well-appointed room with quality bedding, robes, fluffy towels -- all the comforts of home -- as well as cookies in the entryway and a sitting parlor with an array of refreshments (lemonade, soda, OJ, wine, etc.) that we were encouraged to help ourselves to.
The breakfast the next morning was above average; the 12:00 checkout time was helpful -- along with the study area -- which had some guidebooks and a computer to help plot out the last leg of our trip (read them on the porch swing outside after breakfast) and a place to go to church. When compared to other enjoyable places we stayed in the area on this trip, which were in the same ball-park price-wise (Faust Hotel in New Braunfels, Spring Hill Suites in Round Rock), this property really surpassed our expectations in terms of value, quality details & hospitality.
This is a comfortable B&B located close to the University. We stayed in room 14 and found it quite comfortable. Their were 2 other guests the night we stayed and we didn't even know they were there until the next morning. Nice and quiet. Room is comfortable. The bathroom is pretty tiny with the sink in the main room. Not too uncommon for a B&B. The towels were nice and thick.
Only a couple of issues kept it from being 5 stars. The vent in the bathroom was full of dust balls and dirt. The tub/shower is pretty tiny with shower curtains surrounding the tub. Standing in the shower, my arms and shoulders touched both sides with the curtains sticking to me and I'm not a huge person. Curtains are also dark which made the shower space dark. It would be nice to see the newer rounded shower rods used which would make the shower/tub space less claustrophobic and easier to take a shower.
Breakfast was delicious with a baked apple oatmeal and a quiche. The quiche was wonderful. There was also fresh fruit, bacon, cereals, orange juice and more. The young man from the kitchen was very nice and helpful to the needs of the guests.
I would recommend this B&B to friends with a warning about the small shower space.
Great place, great owners. A wonderful mix of thoughtfulness and quality. We LOVED the sheets. There is a wonderful balcony off room 12 (and other rooms as well). Oh, and the cookies were perfect.
