The Driskill

Austin’s status as the festival capital of the world has sprung up an array of boutique lodgings, but the Driskill was around long before the boom of badgeholders. Built in 1886, the influence of the developer (a cattle baron, naturally) still exists in the form of hide-upholstered couches and longhorn busts hanging in the bar. The rooms exude old-school Texas elegance: think vintage crown molding, calming desert gold and tan linens, and pearly white accents. The Pampered Pet program makes this one of the most dog-friendly hotels in town, unless your canine is particularly in touch with the spirit world—legend has it that the halls are haunted by two ghostly brides who took their lives on their wedding nights 20 years apart, but in the same room.