Daily
Camera - Contrast Article
Date: Oct. 29, 2001
By: Don James
Austin Texas
Recently, James TravelPoints and the CU Alumni association took
a group of CU alumni to Austin, Texas to attend the Colorado/
Texas football game. Although the outcome of the game was disappointing,
our visit to Austin certainly was not!
Our headquarters in Austin was
the historic Driskill hotel. For those who do not know the Driskill
Hotel, it is to Austin what the Brown Palace Hotel is to Denver.
The hotel was built in 1886 by a cattle baron who wanted a show
place for visitors from back east.
The hotel has recently gone through
extensive renovation to restore its original elegance and grandeur.
The lobby with it's marble floors, chandeliers, stained glass,
and floor to ceiling columns is a show piece in itself. Upon entering
the Driskill Bar, you feel as though you have stepped back in
time 75 years. If you could visualize a Texas bar for cattle barons,
this is it. The expansive bar is warm and inviting, is filled
with overstuffed leather chairs, a fireplace, western art (including
bronze castings), an intricate carved wood ceiling, and an impressive
longhorn steer head prominently displayed.
The Driskill is located on 6th
Street in the heart of the entertainment district of Austin. Within
easy walking distance of the hotel are hundreds of bars and restaurants,
the University Texas, The Capitol Building, The Governor's Mansion,
Convention Center, and last but not least, Town Lake and "the
bat bridge" (people come from all over to witness the clouds
of bats which fly out from under the bridge at dusk).
If you get a chance to visit Austin,
be sure to arrange a night or two at the Driskill Hotel. For information
on other classic American hotels, give James TravelPoints a call.
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