AUSTIN | Fairmont Hotel | 595 FEET SPIRE/456 FT ROOF | 37 FLRS | Complete

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Speaking of lighting....the entire Dallas skyline is lit up rainbow for pride month. I wish Austin would do this too! The Fairmont would be perfect for this.

So would the Capitol Building, One American Center, Erwin Center, UT Tower, Colorado Tower.

[We vs us]

We’ve been hearing rumors that the Fairmont is up for sale. This isn’t out of the ordinary, necessarily; as an asset, a hotel can change hands without interfering with operations really at all. We’ve also heard, though, that the flag might be on the block as well; there’re suggestions that the folks that matter at the current brand aren’t happy with the finished product.

To me that’s not all that surprising, for reasons that we’ve all mostly discussed. But it’s worth watching this space .... this is one of the rumors that feels like it has legs.

IMHO, it’s a Grand Hyatt in waiting. Runner up is a Curio by Hilton. Virtually no chance it will be a member of the Marriott family.

[masonh2479]

Originally Posted by We vs us

We’ve been hearing rumors that the Fairmont is up for sale. This isn’t out of the ordinary, necessarily; as an asset, a hotel can change hands without interfering with operations really at all. We’ve also heard, though, that the flag might be on the block as well; there’re suggestions that the folks that matter at the current brand aren’t happy with the finished product.

To me that’s not all that surprising, for reasons that we’ve all mostly discussed. But it’s worth watching this space .... this is one of the rumors that feels like it has legs.

IMHO, it’s a Grand Hyatt in waiting. Runner up is a Curio by Hilton. Virtually no chance it will be a member of the Marriott family.

If the Fairmont execs aren’t happy, I wonder if they would be willing to just cut their losses and try again in Austin. This rumor makes sense, fingers crossed it is a Marriot property and it’s a Ritz Carlton. A St Regis would be nice too

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Speaking of lighting....the entire Dallas skyline is lit up rainbow for pride month. I wish Austin would do this too! The Fairmont would be perfect for this.

Would be awesome. That and if we can finally get some rainbow crosswalks. You know Austin was the first city in Texas to propose and start the process of getting rainbow crosswalks, yet all of the other major cities have their rainbow crosswalks now and we have yet to see one. For all the Progressivism that we may stand for, we can't even get a simple thing like a crosswalk painted. Go figure...

[smith_atx]

Originally Posted by We vs us

We’ve been hearing rumors that the Fairmont is up for sale. This isn’t out of the ordinary, necessarily; as an asset, a hotel can change hands without interfering with operations really at all. We’ve also heard, though, that the flag might be on the block as well; there’re suggestions that the folks that matter at the current brand aren’t happy with the finished product.

To me that’s not all that surprising, for reasons that we’ve all mostly discussed. But it’s worth watching this space .... this is one of the rumors that feels like it has legs.

IMHO, it’s a Grand Hyatt in waiting. Runner up is a Curio by Hilton. Virtually no chance it will be a member of the Marriott family.

As someone with no knowledge of these types of dealings....why would Fairmont abandon it to another brand? Wouldn't they just replace management/tweak things?

If they're unhappy with the building/layout, wouldn't they have known those issues a long time ago?

[corvairkeith]

Hopefully whoever the new owners turn out to be do a complete remodel of the interior.

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by corvairkeith

Hopefully whoever the new owners turn out to be do a complete remodel of the interior.

As well as utilize the lighting system which supposedly boast some 15 million colors and a miriad of pattern combinations. So far we have not seen any sort of light show aside from a couple of test runs. Have not seen the strobes on the spire at all.

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Would be awesome. That and if we can finally get some rainbow crosswalks. You know Austin was the first city in Texas to propose and start the process of getting rainbow crosswalks, yet all of the other major cities have their rainbow crosswalks now and we have yet to see one. For all the Progressivism that we may stand for, we can't even get a simple thing like a crosswalk painted. Go figure...

I suppose one argument is that if crosswalks are painted rainbow, then other minority groups will want crosswalks painted a certain color. Or the fact that austin has no "need" for them, since we're pretty much the most LGBTQ-friendly city in the US besides maybe San Fran.

These aren't necessarily my opinions, just the arguments I've heard against them.

[chinchaaa]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

I suppose one argument is that if crosswalks are painted rainbow, then other minority groups will want crosswalks painted a certain color. Or the fact that austin has no "need" for them, since we're pretty much the most LGBTQ-friendly city in the US besides maybe San Fran.

These aren't necessarily my opinions, just the arguments I've heard against them.

I’m not sure either of those statements are true, but if the first one is, so what?

[Geckos_Rule]

Originally Posted by chinchaaa

I’m not sure either of those statements are true, but if the first one is, so what?

Who knows. I think the last time, the push was to put the crosswalk around 4th and colorado, but that Hanger and Market St. didn't want it there because they didn't want to give the impression that they were gay bars when they arent.

That being said, back to the Fairmont, they could totally light this up in a rainbow if they wanted. I definitely remember seeing them do multi-colored lights one of the nights before it opened. Wish I'd gotten a picture...

[Jdawgboy]

Originally Posted by Geckos_Rule

Who knows. I think the last time, the push was to put the crosswalk around 4th and colorado, but that Hanger and Market St. didn't want it there because they didn't want to give the impression that they were gay bars when they arent.

That being said, back to the Fairmont, they could totally light this up in a rainbow if they wanted. I definitely remember seeing them do multi-colored lights one of the nights before it opened. Wish I'd gotten a picture...

Which is an odd argument to make considering both Hangar and Market St. hang out rainbow flags during the Pride parade. It doesn't make sense that people would think they were gay clubs anyways so what are they really trying to say? They don't want gay people in their businesses? Besides it had more to do with Trullocks and Fado suprisingly from what I remember. No the arguments against it are not valid and if other cities in Texas can do it, then surely the most Progressive city in Texas can. By the way San Francisco has rainbow crosswalks. 4th is also named Bettie Naylor St. A well known LGBTQ advocate so of all the streets to be chosen, it makes the most sense there. If people have an issue about crossing a rainbow crosswalk, then they have some serious deeper issues. It's just some color on the pavement and it means diversity regardless of who you are or who you love and that includes everyone.


Anyways sorry I sidetracked the topic but I had to get that off my chest especially since Dallas's rainbow lit skyline was brought up. This will be my last post on the crosswalks. Also feel free to move this to another thread..

[the Genral]

Originally Posted by corvairkeith

Hopefully whoever the new owners turn out to be do a complete remodel of the interior.

I think most people could excuse the interior design as a matter of taste. But what seems to be a bigger problem, (from reading customer reviews from different sites) is the staff, the food, and the pool. Nuisances like luke warm shower water, towel racks not reachable from the shower, sloped floor leading from the bar area which causes tripping, are some things I could over look if the customer service was excellent. But from the poor reviews, and there were many, customer service is inconsistent or nonexistent. This is the easiest 'fix' and comes in the form of training and management accountability. The quality of their hotel begins with the quality of their staff. They can't afford to be labeled the largest and the worst Fairmont, not when there are other excellent and cheaper alternatives in Austin. The two that came up the most is the JW and Four Seasons, although those 2 may not be cheaper. The bosses need to go under cover and see for themselves if the negative reviews are legit, then fix the problem. Oh and probably find a new job recruiter / interviewer.
One last point, the rush to open after so many delays may be considered a legit excuse for most of their problems except that it should have given them more time to train and prepare the staff at least. I would expect that everyone who works there to be able to tell me what elevator bank I need to take to get to my room, as was not the case in one review.

[Sigaven]

Originally Posted by Jdawgboy

Would be awesome. That and if we can finally get some rainbow crosswalks. You know Austin was the first city in Texas to propose and start the process of getting rainbow crosswalks, yet all of the other major cities have their rainbow crosswalks now and we have yet to see one. For all the Progressivism that we may stand for, we can't even get a simple thing like a crosswalk painted. Go figure...

Meh. As a gay guy myself I couldn't care less for a rainbow crosswalk. Have you seen the painted crosswalk the West Mall on the Drag? They painted it less than a year ago and it's already barely visible anymore thanks to dirt and such.

[ahealy]

Originally Posted by Sigaven

Meh. As a gay guy myself I couldn't care less for a rainbow crosswalk. Have you seen the painted crosswalk the West Mall on the Drag? They painted it less than a year ago and it's already barely visible anymore thanks to dirt and such.

Yeah, on the one end I don't give a rat's ass about rainbow crosswalks (being a gay dude) however, I know we can all agree a whole lot changes in Austin and things can get quickly get lost/muddled. We can rely on neighborhoods keeping their flare and Austin being a gay city all over, but I do think having some sort of "gayborhood" look is a helpful representation of 4th street's history.

So, I'm FOR the stupid fking crosswalks.

[the Genral]

And somehow my totally awesome on topic feedback post regarding the Fairmont and its problems got lost in a flurry of crosswalk color and gayborhood discussion. Ok, well...to join the fray despite not being gay, I'd like to see those stupid blue banners under the Lamar bridge changed to rainbow banners, do the rainbow crosswalks around Fourth Street, and celebrate all peoples' ethnicity and choices year round. But getting along with and respecting ALL our brothers and sisters without distinctions or prejudice is more important than what color is painted on a crosswalk imo. I wish Austin's downtown was big enough to have a Chinatown, Italian, Mexican, African American, Gay, and anyone else I missed 'Town' like they do in NYC.
But the main reason for using white stripes for crosswalks is that they are easier to see especially at night and when the road surface is wet, even more so when reflective compounds are added to the paint.

[Urbannizer]

Check out this Reddit post regarding The Fairmont

https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comm...new_luxurious/

[masonh2479]

Originally Posted by Urbannizer

Check out this Reddit post regarding The Fairmont

https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comm...new_luxurious/

Can someone please take a wrecking ball to the Fairmont. It is trash inside and out, the cheapness of the developers has turned a once great design into a hodge podge pos.

I know because I have been to it in person, it looks dated and that food court thing is an aweful idea. I don’t know how the high ups at Fairmont allowed this to happen, I stayed at the Pacific Rim and it was miles above this hotel, shameful.

I have been trying to give the Fairmont a chance but nothing at this hotel has ever been smooth sailing. I wonder what we would have if the first design was built and detail was put into the building. Rather than building a glass L and saying fuck it.

Fairmont, sell your Austin hotel, cut your losses and try again here, bring over your whole design team that designed the Pacific Rim and give them a good budget to make an incredible design. Stick to the incredible design this time and take your time building it, built it well, you are a luxury hotel chain, use some expensive material. Have the execs personally monitor this hotel to avoid another screw up. Austin deserves a real Fairmont, please make it happen. Since I have been mentioning the Fairmont Pacific Rim a lot, check it out, best hotel stay ever for me.

Don’t forget to fire all those that screwed up the Austin project...

Excuse my language, rant over.

[MichaelB]

it's oddly heartwarming to see how many people recognize all the design problems with the Fairmont!

[KevinFromTexas]

I'm not sure why people are surprised really. Most convention type hotels are pretty meh usually. I will say, the JW Marriott is one of the few that isn't just a wall.

Still, I don't hate the Fairmont. There are worse convention hotels out there.

[austin242]

Isn't the UT mall on the drags crosswalk rainbow now?https://www.statesman.com/news/local...Y63kH4SAMolmK/