Filed under: Design, etc, House Tours, Architecture, News & Trends
No, that's not the entrance to a boutique hotel in Los Angeles. It's Austin's San Jose Hotel. Photo: Allison V. Smith
I've never been to Austin, but as soon as I set foot in the Texas capital, I'm ready to bunk at the Hotel San Jose. When the now famous hotelier, Liz Lambert, purchased the Hotel San Jose in 1995, most people thought she was nuts to invest in a run-down motel inhabited by junkies and hookers. As Lambert told T: The New York Times Style Magazine, "The place looked empty, but it wasn't. It's just that everyone who stayed there didn't have cars or luggage or come out much during the day." But Lambert saw past the grit and the grime, perhaps imagining the San Jose motel in its original glory as a modern motor court of the 1930s.
Whatever her vision was, Lambert opted for an unconventional decision to renovate rooms one-by-one, with the rest of the hotel filled with guests. During these years, Lambert manned the front desk -- making friends with the various characters who inhabited the San Jose. Lambert and a team of collaborators slowly transformed the San Jose from a seedy, rundown motel to a chic, modern retreat. By 2008, Lambert was ready to begin an additional wing to the hotel's original 40 rooms. All the while, the South Congress neighborhood surrounding the Hotel San Jose was undergoing its own renaissance.
At the Hotel San Jose, the mid-century vibe continues outdoors. Photos: Allison V. Smith
Common areas of the Hotel San Jose. Photos: Allison V. Smith
As minimal as a chic SoHo hotel, but with personality. Photo: Allison V. Smith
A green door gives this room a punch of color. Photo: Allison V. Smith
Rock posters allude to the hotel's popularity with musicians. Photos: Allison V. Smith