Our Austin staycation

When we lived back in Indiana, Ricky and I used to make it a priority to take a "stay-cation" at least once a year - usually around our anniversary. Since moving to Texas, those stay-cations have not been as easy to arrange because we don't have the extended family nearby who can watch the boys for an evening or two. 

However, the stars recently aligned. Perhaps the big man upstairs knew that with all the craziness of the past few months (or year if you count the stress of the infertility and miscarriages), we were due for a night "off-duty".

Kind of out of the blue, I was contacted by the Omni Hotel Downtown Austin about attending a preview party for the grand opening of their newly renovated suites. Although I was unable to make it for the soiree, they followed up afterwards asking if I'd be interested in staying in one of the suites to check it out...free of charge! They said they were reaching out to "Influential Austin bloggers" for this promotion. I felt so very important ;)

I told Ricky and we were trying to figure out how we could make this work - in other words, who would watch the boys. Asking someone to take both boys overnight is a pretty big favor and paying a babysitter to come to us just wasn't in the budget.

The next afternoon as I sat checking email on my computer, I got a message from a dear friend of ours who we've gotten to know through her son who is in Aiden's class at school. As if she knew we were contemplating a much needed night out, she out of the blue offered to watch the boys so that Ricky and I could have some time to ourselves. We had been going non-stop since Aiden's surgery and she just knew it would help us out to have the boys come play with their kids to give us a bit of a break.

Can you say coincidence?

Now I knew she probably didn't mean an overnight offer but when I explained the timing of the Omni deal, she actually said she was thinking of asking to have them overnight but wasn't sure if we'd be okay with it. Perfect!

So we scheduled our stay-cation for the following weekend.

The hotel was gorgeous. It is in a great location downtown - within walking distance to 6th street - although because I was already technically on bed rest, we opted to stay in and relax in our beautifully appointed room. We were welcomed with a Texas-shaped treat and chocolate covered strawberries.

Our suite was on the top floor and there were 2 balconies providing amazing views. At just over 1000 sq. ft., it felt more like a swanky condo than a hotel room. We learned later that the suites did in fact used to be privately owned living spaces until Omni purchased them in 1999 transforming them into hotel suites. 

The kitchenette - which featured granite counter tops, a small sink, refrigerator, plenty of counter space and bar stools - opened up to the main living area with a sectional sofa, flatscreen tv, and a separate 4 person dining table.

The half bath in the entryway foyer with very unique decor and barn style pocket doors between the living area and master bedroom for privacy definitely added a bit of chic Texas flair. And the master bathroom was beautifully decorated as well.

My only complaint? Being so close to 6th Street did have its drawbacks. As the bars got more crowded, the noise grew louder. Add in the fact that Austin is the live music capital of the world and the many bands reverberated through the thick summer heat.

We were both able to fall asleep despite it all, however the sounds escalated when the bars closed and people were heading home in droves. There were police sirens, rowdy bar-goers starting fights, ambulances, etc.