$8,000 starting price
300+ guest capacity
This venue can host 300+ guests
About this vendor
The Stephen F Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel is a historic hotel wedding venue located in downtown Austin, TX. An AAA Four-Diamond hotel, this beautiful venue was built in 1924, and makes an elegant and luxurious setting for celebrations of all kinds. It's also conveniently situated just a short walk from three entertainment districts, theatres, and shopping areas, allowing you to make the most of your stay.
The Stephen F Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel offers multiple state-of-the-art function spaces for weddings and other special events. The largest event setting is the 3,600-square-foot Capital Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 400 guests for receptions, making it ideal for lavish occasions. This beautifully-appointed room features French doors that open out onto an outdoor terrace with stunning views of the city. It's the perfect location for an unforgettable evening of dining and dancing. If you're planning a more intimate affair, multiple smaller spaces are available, too. In addition, the venue also boasts a restaurant, an indoor pool, a health club, and 190 luxurious guest rooms.
The dedicated staff at The Stephen F Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel will work tirelessly to ensure every aspect of your special day is perfect. The talented in-house catering team will prepare an incredible culinary experience for you, from signature drinks and pre-wedding buffets to your delicious reception dinner. You'll be able to choose between a variety of carefully-curated wedding packages, ensuring your experience is tailored to your preferences. The venue strives to make everything as smooth and seamless as possible for you, so you can simply relax and enjoy your celebration without stress. To find out more about hosting your special occasion at The Stephen F Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel, contact their friendly team today.
Amenities + details
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
On-Site Accommodations
Reception Area
Wireless Internet
Liability Insurance
Outdoor Event Space
Ceremony Types
- Civil Union
- Commitment Ceremony
- Elopement
- Interfaith Ceremony
- Non-Religious Ceremony
- Religious Ceremony
Guest Capacity
- 300+
Settings
- Ballroom
- Historic Venue
- Hotel
Venue Service Offerings
- Bar & Drinks
- Cakes & Desserts
- Destination Weddings
- Food & Catering
- Planning
- Rentals & Equipment
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
4.9
out of 5.036 reviews
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This was our first venue that we toured and we ended up touring about 4 to 5 after this and immediately knew this was our venue after each subsequent tour. The historic charm, boutique feel in the middle of downtown, the location off of Congress with view of the capital, and the staff- especially Ghina - made this the best wedding venue for our cocktail hour and reception.
We used this venue for our cocktail hour and reception. Our cocktail hour was in the upstairs foyer. This is a space with access to an outdoor terrace. The venue provided cocktail tables, linens, bars, and Access to a piano to provide elegant cocktail hour music.
Our reception was held in the one ballroom on the second floor. It was nice having only one ballroom because we felt like we had the entire hotel for our event. There is a grand stairwell leading to the upstairs level, which provides a beautiful space for pictures. There’s also a terrace located off the ballroom that overlooks the Paramount theater and the capital which is a great place for guests to go outside and take pictures. The venue provided tables, linens, bars, cake stand, stage, and dance floor, which was rare compared to many other venues where you needed to rent these items. They also have chairs available, although we brought in our own Chiavari chairs. They have plated or buffet option available. We chose plated for the number of guests that we had and received many compliments on our food options. I think mass production of food at a hotel is tough, and while it wasn’t as good as the food we had at our tasting, it wasnt far from it. There is also a well known bar upstairs that did not interfere with our wedding, but provided a great place for an after party following our wedding and a fun place for our guests staying at the hotel to meet and mingle days before the wedding. This was a huge selling point for us! There is no self parking, but this is typical of downtown. Garages are close, but valet available.
The best part about this venue was the staff- particularly Ghina. She is the wedding/event coordinator at the hotel. She was incredible and so great to work with. She is kind, hospitable, calm, detail oriented, attentive, accommodating, and should be a wedding planner on the side. I wish I could work with her even after the wedding. She would respond to our questions in minutes, always had an answer, and created a seamless event for us. She helped me with vendors, decisions, and any problem solving- although I can’t think of any. She knew every detail about our wedding and kept us on schedule during the planning process. She provided us great advice and knew what worked well at this venue based on previous weddings. The rest of the staff was 10/10. Bridgette was very accommodating for our guests and room block, and valet and hotel staff were all very kind and welcoming. The day of staff were great. They were always willing to help and serve.
There is a beautiful bridal suite that I toured but it was already booked. Ghina was extremely accommodating and booked the governors suite for my bridal party to get ready. I was VERY happy with this suite and it worked perfectly for having 10-15 guests in my room at a time. Ghina and Bridgette made sure we had enough glassware, steamers, and staff available for our needs.
We were very happy with our choice, and loved this unique historic Austin venue! Thank you again to Ghina and the hotel staff for creating such a wonderful event.
We had the best experience hosting our NYE wedding at the Stephen F. Austin hotel! Everyone was a dream to work with and our guests loved their experience.
We hosted our wedding ceremony, wedding reception (for 90), night before drop-in welcome reception (for 70), a room block, and other events the weekend of December 12-December 15, 2019. These events and the entire staff of the Intercontinental far exceeded our expectations.
We'd like to especially thank Julie Stanfield whose listening skills, attention to detail, and creative ideas were the perfect combination for our personalities. Julie was the event coordinator for both events and took on the role that a wedding planner normally would (no need for an additional one). She really knows the venue and provides honest, good feedback on what will work and what will not. She is fun to work with but very professional. She takes the time to get to know her clients' preferences and adapts the events to their desires. This was not a cookie-cutter wedding. It was highly personalized which made it even more special. Julie also coordinates with all of the vendors the day of the wedding to make sure that everything is in order and delivered. Our guests were unanimous that this was the "wedding to beat" and one of the best weddings they’ve been to.
The hotel staff were as close to flawless as we've experienced, and the team went way beyond the normal to ensure the bride, groom, and parents were treated like special guests. From the concierge on arrival to the wait staff on Saturday night and our departure Sunday, it was simply wonderful.
The Capital Ballroom itself is a fantastic venue for the wedding ceremony and reception. It offered old-world class with modern lighting and style. The ballroom itself opens onto a private balcony that looks over Congress Avenue, giving you a view of the Paramount theater, the Capitol, and Congress Ave itself. The smaller ballrooms (that could also be used for receptions or rehearsal dinners as we had) also have access to balconies and are cozier. We hosted a night before event in the two smaller ballrooms/boardrooms and were blown away with the ability of Julie and the staff to bring our vision of a "tacos & tequila" party to life. We had access to the balcony on 7th street that night. This was super unique to have this much access to a balcony with ample seating and a fun atmosphere. (No tents necessary! Heaters on most of the balcony). People loved getting to go outside and then meander back into the various ballrooms.
Food and drink was top-notch for both nights. We chose to have a taco station the night before and a Central Texas themed buffet with brisket, quail, and other Austin specialties for the wedding reception. We provided open bars and the service was excellent. We chose mostly local spirits, craft beer, and specialized wines (including a rosé cuvée for the toast) with Julie and the catering staff sourcing these for us. The signature cocktails, passed appetizers, and cheese display were a hit at the cocktail reception! Our desserts (churros and tres leches cake) were delicious the night before, as well. A small detail, but the way that they displayed food - whether at the cocktail reception, in a buffet, or even the plated salads - was beautiful.
All in all, it was a fabulous weekend as close to perfect as possible. If you're looking for a historic downtown hotel that is smaller, more intimate, and more refined than some other historic hotels, the Stephen F Austin Intercontinental cannot be beat.
Julie is an absolute pleasure to work with and she made sure our wedding was perfect. We customized quite a few items during the tasting and they were perfectly executed on the night of. Their staff is great and really follows through. For the wedding, I asked for water with lime and a straw (I wanted to stay hydrated!) and I had extra straws at my place setting and also when I got to my room at the end of the night, I had water, straws and limes!
THE BEST ! We have hosted TWO MAJOR events here: Both have been spectacular! The InterContinental's Event Director, Julie, has a wonderfully cheerful, positive, "What Can I Do to Help You?" attitude. She attended to EVERY detail & has ample staff on stand-by for any little thing. One reception was a Roaring '20's Celebration for 200 people: bar set-up; ; passed hors d' oeuvres: I simply cannot say what a fabulous time was had by all. The Ballroom is magnificent ( Chandeliers, Rich Drapery, French Doors & is beautifully appointed to be beautiful without added decoration if you chose. Our 2nd Event was a seated brunch for about 60 - 70 in celebration of UT Masters' Degree Graduation. Even with a seated brunch (we requested NO Buffet) we had 3 choices for each guest, for 3 courses. The service was amazing to plate & serve that many fresh plates in such a timely manner. The quality of the food was excellent - I would put their Chef up against any other. The only teensy draw-back was the A/V Department. a great individual to work with, but they kinda' nickel & dime you for everything. There are not enough glowing comments to share about the Event / Catering Director, Julie. She put a shine on everything. I would trust any event in this beautiful historic hotel & this amazing staff
Our wedding experience was truly fantastic! We appreciate the staff's expertise, thoughtfulness and overall timing of the event. The rooms in the hotel were incredibly nice and our guests enjoyed staying in the same location as the party. The second floor bar served as a meeting point for family and guests, making the hotel feel homey and welcoming for those who had traveled. Vinnie, the food and beverage coordinator, did an incredible job . Every option in the buffet was delicious and the Red Fish with jambalaya satisfied even our southern relatives. Julie, the onsite wedding coordinator, listened to our dreams and made them a reality from the beginning. We enjoyed working with both Vinnie and Julie and appreciate all that the did for the wedding.
We highly recommend working with the hotel and and their staff to make your day special. Because of the hotel staff's talents and ability to cater to our needs, as well as my daughter’s planning, I was able to enjoy the weekend with everyone!
Just to clarify, I give this place 5 stars for the day of and anything Julie Stanfield was involved with. My day went absolutely perfect! I was the MOST relaxed bride and I had the best time. If there were issues, I knew nothing about them. We got SO many compliments on the food! It was delicious, we had our rehearsal dinner there as well and it went great! Julie is the most compassionate, sweet and organized person I've ever met. She did everything in her power to make to make our day special and she succeeded. I would deduct one star for the room block process with the hotel. It really wasn't worth the trouble. The rate they locked me into was way more expensive than the rooms that were booked last minute and because of the attrition policy I had to keep track of all the bookings on a spreadsheet of my own. The last thing you want to worry about is paying for rooms you don't use simply because people want to stay somewhere cheaper. They were nice enough to honor bookings from other sources like Expedia, but again the hassle of keeping up with it all was more stress than it was worth.
InterContinental SFA was absolutely the very best choice for our wedding. We got married 8/18/18 and had the ceremony, cocktail hour, and reception all within the hotel. To give some background, we started looking in August of 2017 for venues and knew after meeting Julie Stanfield, we wanted to book the hotel for the reception due to her experience, straight forward attitude, and open communication. Since we were flexible on wedding dates, Julie let us know which months may work best in our budget and immediately looped in Justin Malone (who is no longer there but replaced by the wonderful Stefanie Yandell) who advised us on room block prices for suggested dates. Their advice was so appreciated, especially since we are not from Austin and not aware of all the festivals that can surge prices for hotels downtown.
Since most of our wedding guests were coming from out of state, we did request to do a food tasting sooner as opposed to later which they easily accommodated. WOW! The food tasting was a whole meal in itself. No tiny dishes. Full dishes of food and full presentation. We enjoyed the tasting immensely, were able to meet the chef, put in special requests for drinks the day of (Riesling was not an original option but they made it happen) and the food was absolutely to die for.
Leading up to the wedding, I was a bit of a hands-off bride. More people contacted me than me contact them. Julie sent some reminders on sheets I had to complete for timing, decor, etc. The week of the wedding was when I started to worry about everything, but Julie had answers ready to go and answered my emails and calls very promptly.
Honestly, the wedding day went by so fast but everything was absolutely perfect. I had ZERO things to worry about. Nothing. Julie took care of it. We just had to show up and have a good time (which we did to the fullest extent). We even had waitstaff tend to us to make sure we never had empty drinks in our hand. Everyone gushed about how amazing the food was, especially the lamb entree and the duck spring rolls! This was absolutely the wedding of my dreams and everything was perfect. We plan to go back to SFA for our upcoming anniversaries to celebrate with the wonderful hotel staff and enjoy the luxuries it has to offer.
TLDR: Julie Stanfield is so good you don't need a planner, SFA is the venue of your dreams, the food is to die for.
We used the Stephen F. Austin for our room blocks during our wedding weekend. We worked with Justin Malone and everything with the hotel was fantastic! Our guests really enjoyed the rooms and the hotel was so accommodating handing out our gift bags to our out of town guests. The room rates were so reasonable for downtown Austin and the location could not be beat! All of the hotel employees, especially the valet employees, were above and beyond helpful and friendly. I would highly recommend this hotel for future room blocks!
After reviewing several downtown Austin locations, our choice of the Stephen F Austin did not disappoint! It's location, beautiful interior, and historic ties to Texas history made it the perfect backdrop for our wedding ceremony and reception. But, it was the staff that made the wedding night magical. We enjoyed meeting the chef at the tasting. He even made special plates for my vegan guests. The Wedding Coordinator was invaluable in the planning stages and the evening of the wedding. She was so friendly and welcoming and very professional. The Sales Manager performed miracles attending to all the room requests and coordinating with other staff to see that our guests had everything they needed. Their attention to detail made the evening run so smoothly. At the last minute a major downtown parade was rescheduled to the wedding night and the hotel made every effort to ensure that all the guests had easy access to the hotel even though Congress Ave was closed and the side street to the hotel was reversed. The staff was incredible!
Our experience with the Stephen F. Austin was fantastic. From the first planning meeting to the actual event and even the valet parkers were the best! Julie, Catering Director, made the planning and execution so easy. She help plan the event, and worked with us to stay within budget and capture what the couple envisioned for the perfect wedding. The food was delicious and our guests are still raving about it. The bride stayed at the hotel for a few days prior to the wedding, and the entire hotel staff went above and beyond to accommodate her requests and made the entire week perfect. The Stephen F. Austin is definitely a first-class venue.
If you're looking for a centralized venue for your wedding, LOOK NO FURTHER! I swear, Julie Stanfield is an angel sent from heaven and there is no better planner in the business! She was responsive, and collaborative, and truly made me feel like I had ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to worry about on my wedding day. The whole day PERFECT and I know that that's 99% because of Julie. The entire team at the SFA is top notch! The food was superb and Justin Malone was the most attentive and kind room block sales associate EVER! I know I'm using a lot of capital letters and exclamation points but I'm not exaggerating. They'll literally make the reception of your dreams and, for the quality you're getting, you're not going to find a better deal in Austin, or maybe anywhere. SFA or BUST!
We had our reception as well as our room block for our guests at the InterContinental and it was a fantastic experience all around. Julie Stanfield bent over backwards for us and no question was a silly question. She gave us everything we asked for and the night of the wedding she was calm and handled everything with ease. I didn't have to worry about anything the entire night and she handled everything that came up herself. Justin Malone did a great job managing our room block and catering to our guests' needs. Our guests had nothing but wonderful things to say about the entire stay and the hotel was beautiful! We would highly recommend this venue to anyone looking for a place in downtown Austin.
My eyes are welling up with joyful tears as I write this, recalling the magical weekend in November 2016. We chose this venue for two reasons, location and Julie Stanfield. My daughter wanted an old Austin wedding. We visited many places, but when we met Julie, I knew she was the one that was going to make this the most special night. Julie's response to our many questions that started "Can we..." or "Will you..." was always met with an excited "Yes!" or "Sure!". Boy, did she ever deliver. She worked with our wonderful and amazing wedding planner, KristinAshleyEvents, to pull off everything that my daughter envisioned.
The weekend festivities began by Julie suggesting that we bring things the day before so she could have them on site. What a gift that was! Every experience from the moment we pulled up to "move in" on Friday to the moment we "moved out" and drove away on Sunday was magical. We felt like royalty. The staff was by our side providing everything we needed. The Governor's Suite was the perfect place for the Bride and all the Bridesmaids to get ready the day of the wedding. Plenty of room for hair and make up artists, the Bride to get ready and photographer to do her magic.
Watching the guests walk into the lobby, up the grandiose stairs...perfect cocktail hour on the balcony and second floor reception area. The doors eventually opened to the ballroom and revealed the magic of Julie, Kristin Ashley Events, and Westbank Flower Market knowledge and expertise to making all things beautiful. We were overcome with joy.
Every single staff at Stephen F Austin played an important role in our wedding weekend. We LOVED every minute of this experience, from beginning to end. If I had to do it all over again, I would not change one thing!
We loved the attention to details we encountered at the SFA Intercontinental Hotel in Austin where we held our daughter's wedding reception on April 23,2016 and housed many of our guests including attendants and family. Julie was amazing, emerging as a wedding planner that kept us all on time and happy, and more importantly,stress free. Our guests loved their rooms, the staff was attentive and helpful, the location perfect. My husband and I just need another daughter to have a good excuse to party again at our favorite Austin hotel!
We had such a great experience at the Stephen F. Austin hotel for our wedding weekend. We are from Houston and arranged our entire hotel block there, plus a Sunday brunch to host guests once more before everyone headed home. The service was impeccable. We had a long engagement, and started the hotel process early, so we went through three contacts and finished everything off with Madison Greene, who was absolutely wonderful. She was always very quick to respond to emails, helped us with all our questions, arranged for extra rooms once our block filled up, and ensured an extremely smooth check-in process and weekend for us and our guests. We used my bridal suite to get ready in all day on Saturday and Madison had arranged for a room with a full-length mirror, sent us a mini fridge, and scheduled housekeeping to come late that afternoon, after we left for the venue. We couldn't be happier with the service, hospitality and attention to detail from the staff at the hotel.
The team at Stephen F. Austin are some of the nicest and most helpful people I have ever worked with. Ever. They helped us get a great rate for our wedding block and then were there to manage the process of booking the block for our family and friends. They must have sent me an updated list of the room block ten million times. And they did it every single time with record breaking speed, a smile and a kind email or phone call. Then they took care of everyone when we all arrived. We were all happy, comfortable, taken care of and right in the heart of downtown Austin. It was the perfect Austin experience, exactly as we had hoped. The team here really goes above and beyond to treat you individually and like a personal friend. Seriously. It is impressive and I will forever appreciate all their help. Thanks especially to Madison and Rosie. You all are just wonderful.
My daughter had her wedding here on March 5, 2016. Everything was perfect. The location is fantastic. Julie Stanfield was an exceptional coordinator. The weather was perfect and our guests loved the balcony overlooking Congress with a view of the Capitol. We served a buffet that was the best food I have had at any event. And, all of my guests raved. The best thing to me, after looking at many venues, is that the Stephen F Austin has one ballroom so your party is private. No concern about who may be holding a function next door. For a downtown Austin, Texas wedding, you cannot go wrong at the Stephen F. Austin!
Once we reserved Ma Maison in Dripping Springs to host our Sunday evening wedding, our searched turned to the ideal hotel to host all of our out of town family and friends for our wedding weekend festivities. We fell in love with all that the InterContinental had to offer- the location, Stephen F.'s Bar with the wrap around balcony overlooking the Capital, the service and staff- all were top-notch! We hosted two cocktail parties in the Stephen F.'s Bar on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sherie and her staff were more than willing to accommodate our requests. Britt and Madison took care of all of our guest's room requests and helped to coordinate the shuttles that took our guests to Dripping Springs on Sunday for the wedding. We loved spending our wedding weekend at this hotel and look forward to coming back for many more celebrations!
I have nothing but good things to say about our whole experience here. Sherie and her crew helped make our reception absolutely perfect. We also enjoyed other perks (2 free nights in an amazing suite, big room rate reductions for all of our guests, a large gift certificate for having our wedding there). If you want a wedding reception in the heart of downtown Austin that's painless and beautiful this is as good as it gets in our opinion.
My daughter had her reception at the Intercontinental and it was fabulous. The service in every area of the hotel was excellent. Sherri, our coordinator was so accomodating and had great suggestions for vendors, food, music, basically everything. Half of our guests stayed the night at the hotel (70 rooms) and the hotel was great with allowing special rates. The valet was expensive but to me it was worth it for the convenience. I highly recommend this venue in downtown Austin.
Sherie made our entire weekend fabulous. Our guests had a fabulous time and said the entire hotel staff was exceptional all weekend long.
I stayed in the Yellow Rose and had some portraits done in and around the hotel. All the staff was extremely helpful and it was our "home" base for the wedding weekend with a tea and a day after brunch hosted by family. Sherri, the catering manager was extremely helpful and all the food and service was great. Rooms were nice- I'm not sure how prices compare with regular value but I think the room block rates we received were VERY fair given the weekend and football game.
We recently had our wedding at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel and I cannot say enough about how fantastic Molly and Liz were. I did not have to think about any of the little details that are easy to stress over day of, instead the staff was proactive and extremely helpful...most of my questions were answered before I asked! And they took amazing care of us throughout the reception so we could focus on nothing but our guests, each other and enjoying the night. Would definitely recommend this location to anyone looking for a gorgeous, convenient, fun venue!
Upon meeting with Molly the first time when looking for a venue, she assured us that if we went with Intercontinental SFA we would not need a wedding coordinator because she would be beside us every step of the way. And she was exactly right! From detailing a menu that would meet our budget, to invoicing, hotel room setups, and vendor communication she was readily available and leading the way. She recommended vendors based on my preferences, communicated with them once we had decided and also was available to meet with us whenever we came in town (as we were an out of town wedding). The food tasting was delicious and professional - left us excited about the menu and the staff. We went back and forth a lot on the layout of the ballroom for the reception and Molly and Antonio both walked us through many different options up until the night before the party. They were there to greet us after the ceremony, had a private room setup for my groom and I to eat before we entered the party and made sure all the timing of events were on que. We could not have had a more seamless reception or enjoyed it nearly as much without them! And the setting of the hotel itself is so elegant and beautiful that you don't even need a lot of other decorations, all the guests loved it! So thankful for Molly and the entire team that helped us pull off such a wonderful event!!
The InterContinental Stephen F. Austin was absolutley perfect in every way for our daughter and son-in-law's dream wedding!!!!
We had such a wonderful time planning with them-especially Molly, Liz and Antonio. Everything was truly delightful from start to finish.
Our ideas, special requests and personalities of the bride and groom were listened to, refelected upon and implemented in excellent fashion. This made it a very personal time for all.
There was an extremely large group of family and friends from out of the area and even the country-infants to elderies -and the entire hotel staff and bellman took personal care of everyone with attention to detail, smiles and kindness.
The wedding reception ballroom and veranda overlooking Congress Avenue were absolutely magical and breathtaking and exceeded our expecations in every way. The photographs from there are stunning!
It was so nice to not have to go all over town finding caterers, bartenders, table linens, silverware , and also other accommodation "room blocks"- it was all taken care of with grace, immaculate style and personal Texas hospitality.The hotel guests- even the persnickety ones- gave highest compliments to the reception food and drink, hotel, staff, restaurant food and especially the ability to walk to so many Austin landmarks. We are still getting compliments! Our family is very proud to have shared not only the beautiful wedding and love story , but to have been treated in such a special way at the at the InterContinental Stephen F.Austin. They made all the wedding weekend dreams come true!
Our reception at the Stephen F. Austin was absolutely perfect, and in large part that’s because we trusted David Lopez (Catering Director) to take care of us. I’m not sure which is David’s better quality—impeccable customer service or his determination to deliver the absolute highest quality in every aspect of our reception. The food was delicious, the ballroom was gorgeous, and David made sure that our event went off without a hitch. We had so much fun, and I know it was because by the time of our wedding day David had established such a good relationship and trust with us—we knew we didn’t have anything to worry about. If you are going to use the Stephen F. Austin for your reception, my biggest bit of advice would be trust David’s opinion. The huge bonus for this venue is that it is by far the most affordable place in its class—they do not charge a rental fee for the space, and their catering menu is extremely reasonable. You will not find any other venue with the beauty and history of this one for anywhere near the price. They also do a great job of offering package deals, but they are really flexible about making adjustments and figuring out a la carte options. We are so glad we had our reception at this gorgeous, historical spot, and we love going back every once in a while to have a drink at the bar and remember our happiest day. Thanks, David!
Love, Love, Love the Stephen F. Austin and the staff that assisted with our wedding. We were having a lot of out town guests attend our wedding and wanted to ensure they could explore Austin and this hotel was the perfect location for the reception and for our guests to stay! Initially, we had picked a date and there were some planned renovations happening, but the staff helped to work with their team to ensure we got the date we wanted - which I cannot say thank you enough! They worked with us on the menu to have great food on a limited budget! They were willing to meet with us multiple times to ensure we were comfortable with everything. The staff was overly accomodating and helpful! We couldn't have asked for more and everyone loved the location!
My wedding was perfect, BUT, trying to work with David was nearly impossible. I don't know why our wires weren't crossing but the whole time we were planning the wedding (14 months!!) I had a very hard time getting in touch with him and he even forgot about 2 of my meetings with him, including my food tasting! I don't live in Austin and my mom had to go back on her own to do a real food tasting, it was really frustrating. He took forever to answer my emails and every time we managed to actually get a hold of him, either in person or on the phone, he told us something different about what we were getting!! The only silver lining to this situation was that the day turned out perfect. The food was really good, the service the day of was great, and everything was beautiful. None of my guests knew what had happened and thought the wedding was perfect, however, for me it was a huge headache.
We loved having our wedding at the Stephen F. Austin. The place is gorgeous, food is great and high standards in every area are evident. The reception staff is remarkable and do everything in their power to make the event perfect! The sales department was wonderful at helping with the room accommodations too! My only complaint was that the catering manager was a little less responsive (didn't reply to emails) after we had booked with him than he was to start. Overall, our event was wonderful and we would do it there again for sure!
We wanted our out of town wedding guests to experience Austin, and the SFA was the perfect venue for us. David was an absolute joy to work with, and he was extremely accommodating considering we were planning the wedding from Dallas. The night of our wedding the staff was extremely attentive, always making sure we had everything we needed.
We heard rave reviews from all of our guests that the rooms were wonderful and the hotel was conveniently located right in the middle of downtown.
After looking at about 7-8 reception sites we decided on the SFA. My only glitch during the whole process was difficulty getting in contact with my coordinator in the very begining. My coordinator was David Lopez, and he assured me that he was late with his call backs because he did not have my phone #. After that was cleared up I have nothing but good things to say about SFA and David Lopez. David was really willing to work with my budget. He decreased the price of vallet parking for my guests and threw in a champagne toast on the house. The best part about the spending at the SFA, is that I actually spent what I planned on spending...I didn't go over budget!
The best thing about this place is the service! That and the awesome patio that overlooks Congress Ave. Antonio was our banquet manager for the night of the reception and he made sure we felt comftorable and kept everything running smoothly. He even asked me and my husband what we normally drink. I told him vodka soda for me and stella artois for Robert. And sure enough, we each had our drinks in hand for the whole evening! That made us feel really special. We had a couple of "special requests" the night of the reception and all of them were met. We told Antonio that we needed Floyd (our ventrilliquist dummy) to be placed under the head table before the speeches began and Floyd was ready and waiting by our feet before the first speech began.
Another part we really liked about the SFA reception was that we had a bottle of champagne waiting for us when we arrived to our suite. Not only that, but all our gifts were delivered to our room along with the top tier of our cake and a plate of food for each of us.
Also, the concierge was able to set up a post wedding brunch for a party of 20 the day after the wedding. They opened up the bar a little early for our brunch and we had the whole place to ourselves. The food was great and we were able to take our time and really visit with our close family/friends. They were able to set this up on really short notice for us, so that was greatly appreciated.
So, as my title emplies the SFA has great service and staff. They really do their best to make sure you will be happy with the most expensive celebration of your entire life!
great rooms, we stayed here for the bachelorette/bachelor parties. Right off of 6th street so perfect walking distance when you've had to much to drink, though a little pricey.
I can tell you in one word - Ray. He is the IC Stephen F. Austin and I would recommend anyone use him and this venue. My reception was absolutely fantastic and I thank Ray for all of his hard work.
Location, location, location! Hidden jewel for price and venue. Taste EVERYTHING, some pleasant surprises for food choices.;Stay on top of Catering Director. Also careful some folks didn't get group rate, had to call and have them switched. Sales Maanger was most helpful at hotel.
We basically owned the hotel Saturday night and that was fantastic. They kept us on schedule and everything was exactly how we wanted it all night. The planning process was also great and working with Ray was a delight.;I just want to warn that Ray the main wedding guy has left and I am not sure who the main person is now. He was fantastic and I would just make sure you feel comfortable with the new person. Everyone we interacted with though was TOTALLY fantastic and professional.
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701 Congress Ave, Austin, TX
The Stephen F Austin Royal Sonesta Hotel
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