An announcement this week broke the news that The Standard, the boutique hotel brand, is planning to make its debut in Austin. It’s opening in the former home of the South Congress Hotel.
“As The Standard brand’s first U.S. opening in more than a decade, the project places Austin within the brand’s growing constellation of global destinations, from London and Ibiza to Bangkok and Brussels, with locations in Lisbon and Mexico City expected to open later this year,” said a press release. “The Standard, Austin will be a conversion and renovation of the existing South Congress Hotel located at 1603 South Congress Ave, Austin, Texas 78704.”
Brought to Austin through a collaboration between Hyatt and Timberline Real Estate Partners, The Standard Austin project is headed up by partners Amar Lalvani, James Moody, Stan Nix, and Michael Hsu. The interior design will be done in collaboration between Goodrich Design and the Standard’s in-house design team, which is led by Verena Haller.
The Standard Austin is intended as “more than a hotel,” something that will “function as a lively campus of ideas and experiences that evolves throughout the day and night. Guests can move seamlessly between cafés, dining spaces, guest quarters, and outdoor gathering spaces animated by music, conversation, and a considered cocktail program, culminating in a rooftop pool perched above South Congress.”
What Now now reached out to representatives of the Standard Austin to ask about plans for the hotels restaurant portfolio. For now, details look to be remaining under wraps.
“I have always loved the South Congress Hotel and have long envisioned its potential to be The Standard, Austin,” said Amar Lalvani in the press release. “We’ve assembled an incredible team of Austin-based friends and collaborators who will both honor the property’s legacy and breathe new life into it. Austin deserves a hotel that reflects the cultural capital it has always been and the world-class city it has become.”
The South Congress Hotel is expected to close and begin renovations this summer, then to be reborn next spring.
“We’re trying to build a unique and creative place that feels good any time you walk into it—morning, night, weekday, weekend,” said James Moody in the press release. “Something that lets you take care of yourself or let go a little, depending on the day. Austin doesn’t quite have that yet.”
You can keep up with The Standard brand by following @thestandard on Instagram.
