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Luxury Hotels in Austin: 12 Picks Ranked by MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Stars

The best luxury hotels in Austin, ranked by MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Travel Guide 2026 stars, with room counts, areas and the airports for private jets.

By Wijet Editors

best luxury hotels in Austin: a restored white-columned mansion hotel with a long oval pool at golden hour

At a glance

Austin luxury hotels: the recognition on record

Two MICHELIN Keys
1 hotel
Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Collection, the only Austin hotel above One Key, per the MICHELIN Guide's Texas Keys article, November 2024
Forbes Five-Star
0 hotels
Forbes Travel Guide's Austin page, which carries the 2026 Star Awards banner, shows no Five-Star hotel
Forbes Four-Star
5 hotels
Commodore Perry Estate, Austin Proper, Fairmont Austin, Four Seasons Austin and Archer Hotel Austin, per Forbes Travel Guide, 2026
Cheapest MICHELIN Key hotel
From $190
ARRIVE Austin, which MICHELIN says rarely rises above the mid-$200s a night, per the MICHELIN Guide, October 2025

The best luxury hotels in Austin by outside recognition are Commodore Perry Estate, Austin Proper, Fairmont Austin and Four Seasons Austin. Commodore Perry holds Two MICHELIN Keys, the only Austin hotel above One Key per the MICHELIN Guide’s November 2024 Texas article, and the other three are Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotels for 2026.

Austin has no Forbes Five-Star hotel on its destination page, so this ranking leans on the Keys, the Forbes Four-Stars and what each house actually offers. Hotels rarely publish nightly rates, so the cost section uses only figures from a dated page.

How We Picked

We combined three things: the MICHELIN Guide’s Texas Keys article (November 12, 2024) and its Austin hotels guide (October 26, 2025), the Forbes Travel Guide Austin destination and hotel pages carrying the 2026 Star Awards banner, and a spread across the areas where visitors stay. We also checked The World’s 50 Best Hotels list on the50.com in November 2026, and no Austin hotel appears in its top 50.

Forbes sends anonymous inspectors who score up to 900 objective criteria, per its own site, and its stars emphasize service as well as facilities. MICHELIN’s Keys reward the whole stay. Room counts come from Forbes pages, and where a page gives none we leave it out. We take no paid placement.

Keys vs Stars: Two Different Judges

MICHELIN’s Texas announcement in November 2024 named 20 hotels in the state: three at Two Keys and 17 at One Key, with none at Three. Austin supplied eight of those 20: Commodore Perry Estate at Two Keys, then ARRIVE Austin, Austin Proper, Fairmont Austin Gold Experience, Hotel Saint Cecilia, Hotel ZaZa Austin, Soho House Austin and The Heywood Hotel at One. Soho House Austin is a members’ club property, so we do not profile it here.

Forbes works differently. Its inspectors stay at least two nights, per its own site, and its ratings reward service as well as the building. That is why Austin Proper and Four Seasons show Four Stars while the small houses with Keys, such as The Heywood, do not appear on the Forbes Austin page at all. Use the Keys for character and the Stars for service polish.

The Best Luxury Hotels in Austin

Commodore Perry Estate, Auberge Collection

Two MICHELIN Keys and Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It sits at 4100 Red River Street in Hyde Park, on 10 acres, and Forbes calls it the first urban hotel for Auberge and the brand’s entry into Texas. The 10,800 square foot mansion was built in 1928 and is on the National Register of Historic Places, per Forbes Travel Guide. Ken Fulk led the renovation, the oval pool is 50 feet long, and the hotel debuted in June 2020. MICHELIN’s October 2025 guide calls it the highest-rated hotel in Austin.

Austin Proper Hotel & Residences

One MICHELIN Key (November 2024) and Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It has 244 guest rooms at 600 West Second Street in the Second Street District, in a 32-story building that also holds 99 residences, per Forbes. Kelly Wearstler designed the interiors, and the fifth-floor outdoor pool overlooks Shoal Creek, with three cabanas. Forbes says the hotel is LEED Gold-certified.

Four Seasons Hotel Austin

Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It has 294 rooms, 33 of them suites, at 98 San Jacinto Boulevard on Lady Bird Lake, per Forbes Travel Guide, and it opened in 1986. The suites look over the lake or the skyline. Forbes lists a recently renovated 4,000 square foot spa with a eucalyptus steam room and a pink Himalayan salt wall, plus Ciclo, a Texas and Latin restaurant from Richard Sandoval.

Fairmont Austin

Forbes Four-Star for 2026, with a Gold Experience hotel-within-a-hotel that holds One MICHELIN Key (November 2024). It has 1,048 rooms and suites at 101 Red River Street, including 131 Fairmont Gold rooms on four private floors, per Forbes. It opened in March 2018 and is Fairmont’s largest property in the U.S. The seventh-floor terrace has a seasonally heated pool and 13 private cabanas, and Forbes calls the spa the only full-service spa in downtown Austin.

Archer Hotel Austin

Forbes Four-Star for 2026. It has 171 rooms in an eight-story building at 3121 Palm Way in The Domain, per Forbes Travel Guide, which puts the airport 24 to 35 minutes away. It suits visitors working in the north of the city. Forbes lists no spa among its amenities, but there is a pool patio with cabanas and 24-hour room service.

Hotel Saint Cecilia

One MICHELIN Key (November 2024). MICHELIN’s October 2025 guide places it in the South Congress area and describes an estate built around an 1888 Victorian mansion, with an indoor-outdoor lodge. It is the small-house choice here, and it does not appear on Forbes Travel Guide’s Austin page.

Hotel ZaZa Austin

One MICHELIN Key (November 2024). MICHELIN’s October 2025 guide places it downtown and mentions two restaurants, a spa, balcony King rooms with marble soaking tubs and “Backstage Pass” suites.

The Heywood Hotel

One MICHELIN Key (November 2024). It is a seven-room house in East Austin, per the October 2025 MICHELIN guide, with skylit baths, an outdoor terrace and no on-site food and beverage. It is the most private option on the list.

ARRIVE Austin

One MICHELIN Key (November 2024). MICHELIN’s October 2025 guide calls it the city’s most consistently affordable MICHELIN Key hotel, with rates from $190 a night and rarely above the mid-$200s. It sits on the East Side and is the price floor for a Key stay in Austin.

Hotel Ella

MICHELIN’s October 2025 Austin guide selects this downtown Greek Revival building, which has 37 guest rooms, a pool, a bar and Goodall’s Kitchen. It holds no Key.

The Driskill

Forbes lists it as “Soon to Be Rated” in 2026, so it has no star rating yet. It opened on December 20, 1886, at 604 Brazos Street, and Forbes calls it Texas’ first luxury hotel, built by cattle baron Colonel Jesse Driskill. A major restoration was completed in 2026, with April Bloomfield giving creative direction to the Driskill Grill, per Forbes. Treat it as the history pick, not a rated one.

HotelAreaMICHELIN KeysForbes 2026RoomsSource
Commodore Perry EstateHyde Park2Four-Star5 mansion suites plus innMICHELIN; Forbes
Austin ProperSecond Street District1Four-Star244MICHELIN; Forbes
Four Seasons AustinLady Bird LakeNoneFour-Star294Forbes
Fairmont AustinDowntown1 (Gold Experience)Four-Star1,048MICHELIN; Forbes
Archer Hotel AustinThe DomainNoneFour-Star171Forbes
Hotel Saint CeciliaSouth Congress1Not on Austin pagen/aMICHELIN
Hotel ZaZa AustinDowntown1Not on Austin pagen/aMICHELIN
The Heywood HotelEast Austin1Not on Austin page7MICHELIN
ARRIVE AustinEast Side1Not on Austin pagen/aMICHELIN
Hotel EllaDowntownNoneNot on Austin page37MICHELIN
The DriskillDowntownNoneSoon to Be Ratedn/aForbes

Verdict: for the strongest case on the lists, choose Commodore Perry Estate. For a big downtown base with a Key-rated club level, Fairmont is the pick, and for a lake view with a full-size spa, Four Seasons.

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What a Night Costs

The Forbes Travel Guide pages for these hotels carry no nightly amounts, and the hotels do not publish fixed rates, so there is no honest entry-level figure for the top houses. The one dated number comes from MICHELIN: ARRIVE Austin starts at $190 a night and rarely goes above the mid-$200s, per its October 2025 guide.

Rates at larger hotels shift with the calendar, and festival weeks and big events move them most, so check the hotel’s own booking page for your dates. For suites around the world, see our guide to the most expensive hotels in the world.

Where to Stay: Areas

Downtown and the Second Street District

Fairmont Austin, Austin Proper, Hotel ZaZa, Hotel Ella and The Driskill are all downtown, per their Forbes and MICHELIN entries. Four Seasons sits on Lady Bird Lake near the Congress Avenue Bridge. For a first visit, this is where most of the best hotels in Austin are: close to restaurants and to the convention center, which the Fairmont reaches by footbridge, per Forbes.

South Congress

Hotel Saint Cecilia is in the South Congress area, per MICHELIN’s October 2025 guide, which also files Hotel San Jose and South Congress Hotel here. It suits guests who want shops and restaurants over a tower lobby.

East Austin and Hyde Park

The Heywood and ARRIVE are in East Austin, and Commodore Perry Estate is in Hyde Park, north of the university, per the same guide and Forbes. These are the quieter, more residential choices.

The Domain

Archer Hotel Austin is in The Domain, a shopping district in the north, per Forbes. The MICHELIN guide places Lone Star Court there too, about 30 minutes from downtown.

Best for History and Design

The Driskill dates from 1886, and Commodore Perry’s mansion from 1928, both per Forbes Travel Guide. Austin Proper is the design pick, with Kelly Wearstler interiors, and Saint Cecilia’s 1888 Victorian mansion adds an older note in South Congress.

Best for Quiet and Small Houses

If you want fewer people in the lobby, the list changes. The Heywood has seven rooms and no on-site food and beverage, per MICHELIN, so it works as a base for guests who plan to eat out. Hotel Ella has 37 rooms, and Commodore Perry Estate has five suites in the mansion plus a newer inn, per Forbes. Archer, with 171 rooms, is the mid-size choice. The big towers, Fairmont at 1,048 rooms and Four Seasons at 294, trade intimacy for facilities such as larger spas and pools.

Best for Wellness: The Hill Country

If a spa stay matters more than a city address, Miraval Austin sits at 13500 FM2769, west of the city, per its own site. Miraval lists its Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice 2026 results as No. 5 among Destination Spa Resorts in the U.S. and No. 13 among best spa resorts in the U.S. and around the world. It also lists Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best Destination Spas in 2022. It does not appear on Forbes Travel Guide’s Austin page for 2026, and it does not publish a fixed rate. For other retreats, see our luxury wellness retreats guide.

Arriving by Private Jet: Austin-Bergstrom and Beyond

Austin-Bergstrom (AUS) is about 5 miles southeast of the city, per AirNav, with a 12,250 foot main runway and a second at 9,000 feet. AirNav lists three FBOs: Atlantic Aviation, Signature Aviation and Million Air Austin. It lists AUS as a customs landing rights airport, and shows the customs badge for Atlantic and Million Air.

AirNav also notes that Henriksen Jet Center is at Austin Executive Airport (KEDC), not at AUS. Check that you give your handler the right field. Forbes puts Archer in The Domain 24 to 35 minutes from AUS. For charters and fees, see our private jet charter guide.

See the luxury hotels hub, our Forbes Five-Star hotels page, and the sister guides to Nashville and Scottsdale.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best luxury hotels in Austin?
Commodore Perry Estate is the top recognized hotel, with Two MICHELIN Keys. Austin Proper, Fairmont Austin Gold Experience, Hotel ZaZa, The Heywood, Hotel Saint Cecilia and ARRIVE hold One Key. Forbes rates Commodore Perry, Austin Proper, Fairmont, Four Seasons and Archer Four-Star for 2026.
What are the best luxury hotels in Austin downtown?
Fairmont Austin has 1,048 rooms and a Key-rated Gold Experience. Austin Proper has 244 rooms and One Key. Four Seasons has 294 rooms on Lady Bird Lake. Hotel ZaZa and The Driskill are the other downtown options, per Forbes and MICHELIN.
Does Austin have a Forbes Five-Star hotel?
No. Forbes Travel Guide's Austin page, with its 2026 Star Awards banner, shows no Five-Star hotel. The top rating on it is Four-Star, held by Austin Proper, Fairmont, Four Seasons, Archer and Commodore Perry, while The Driskill is still to be rated.
What are the best hotels in Austin for families?
Fairmont Austin offers a seventh-floor pool terrace with 13 private cabanas, per Forbes. Four Seasons lists an outdoor pool on Lady Bird Lake, and both are Forbes Four-Star for 2026. The small Key-rated houses, such as the seven-room Heywood, suit adults better than children.
Which airport is best for a private jet to Austin?
Austin-Bergstrom has three FBOs: Atlantic Aviation, Signature Aviation and Million Air, per AirNav. Its main runway is 12,250 feet. Austin Executive Airport is a separate field, so confirm the airport with your handler.

Sources

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