The Hotel St. Cecilia – Austin, TX

Poor St Cecilia. As if it wasn’t bad enough that she was the Patron Saint of Musicians( a group of people that I love dearly but would hate to be a patron anything to) when it came time for her to be executed, they not only tried to boil here alive (unsuccessfully I should note) but  she also endured three failed  beheadings before she actually succumbed.

While things for me are not as bad as poor St. Cecilia, in more ways than one, this has been without a doubt the most hectic, stressful and tiring week of the year. I believe I am on the road to recovery though. I returned yesterday from Austin, Texas, where I was attending the SXSW Music Festival ( and scoping for new hotels on the side), and since that time, I have been fairly horizontal. I went to bed at 10pm last night for the first time in many, many years. It felt amazing. I have woken feeling 90% better and I am hoping it is only going up from here.

As anyone who attends SXSW knows, there is really not much time to do anything else except hustle from club to club, chugging shiner bock’s and shoveling down tacos from the local taco truck but somehow, in between all this, I managed to learn about a new hotel that has just opened in Austin called The Hotel St. Cecilia. By “somehow” I mean I ran into my friend Anne, an Austin resident and local purveyor of cool tips and she gave me the heads up. The Hotel St. Cecilia is worth mentioning because it is one of the coolest new places I have come across in recent travels. Let me give you the rundown. 

Fourteen Rooms in total occupy a enormous Victorian Compound down a secluded street in Austin’s  South Congress District. As they say in their description, ” Privacy is God” and right a way this pleases me. This is an inn masquerading as a hotel – my favorite kind. All the privacy and luxury of a boutique hotel wrapped up with the quirkiness and funky touches generally reserved for an Inn. For instance, each room features its own turntable and record collection. As Austin is known for being a music town, this is hardly surprising as an amenity but it is the first place I have ever come across that actually had anything beyond an IPOD Dock. As St. Cecilia was the patron Saint of Musicians (poor gal) and I myself am a music lover.. I can really get behind that sort of distinguishing touch.

As I looked into the Hotel St. Cecilia, I discovered a couple of things. One, it is owned by the same people who brought us the Hotel San Jose, which I have spoken about in an earlier post. Two, if The Hotel San Jose is a hotel more in the thick of it all than the St Cecilia is the exact opposite- a stylish, private compound where one can escape the madness and retreat into the art full bliss that exists behind these walls.

The Hotel features Suites, Studios and Poolside Bungalows, all of which feature Flats Screens, DVD players, Hastens Hand Crafted Beds, Rivolta Carmingani linens, twice daily maid service and of course, those beloved Turntables. The Hotel itself has 24 Hour Concierge Service, breakfast made to order and a 50 foot lap pool on the grounds. Phew. Did I also mention it is pet friendly? 

I was thoroughly impressed with the Hotel St Cecilia. while I was unable to actually stay this time I will definitely be making plans to return as soon as possible. For now, I will leave you with some beautiful photos of the property I found on this great blog called Desire To Inspire. They were photographed by a woman named Jackie Caradonio and you can find her website here.