staying groovy

Located at the edge of downtown Austin, Texas, next to the Colorado River, the LINE Austin, a hotel which opened its doors in June, 2018, takes in not one, but two spectacular views: an expansive vista of the gleaming towers of the city centre and a panorama of the lush landscape of Lady Bird Lake.

Opened in 1965 as The Crest Inn, the hotel soon became a hotspot for the city’s jazz scene while its groovy facades instantly turned the building into an urban icon. Great care was taken by Los Angeles-based interior designer Sean Knibb and local architect Michael Hsu during the comprehensive renovation in order to preserve the hotel’s original character of classic modernism while also imbuing a fresh breath of modernity in tune with its surroundings.

The communal areas on the ground floor have been completely opened up to the views of the surrounding urban and natural landscapes outside both of which are channelled in the interior design through exposed concrete elements, timber structures and rough plaster textures. In addition, exterior features such as the lakefront infinity pool and the suspended gardens that frame the floor-to-ceiling glazing blur the lines between indoors and outdoors. The interior décor is based on a primary colour palette of subdued greys, pale pink and pastel blue, the only exception being the black wooden interiors of the bar area,

The 428 guest accommodations, 108 of which are suites, offer, as expected, city or water views, complemented by a minimalist decor designed around a few key features such as the sandblasted plywood headboards that reference the organic morphology of the river, the lounge chairs with chrome piping and saddle leather straps inspired by Texas’ ranching culture, and the multi-bulb chandeliers whose window reflections conjure the magic of the area’s seasonal appearance of fireflies.