A Look at Austin’s New Hotel Magdalena

The city’s beloved Barton Springs and Lake Austin inspired the design of the central swimming pool overlooking downtown.

Landscape architect Christine Ten Eyck incorporated tall bald cypress, Mexican Sycamore, and native ornamental trees to provide shade and interest throughout the multi-level complex. Pictured here is the hotel’s verdant herb garden outside the Summer House on Music Lane restaurant.

The lobby’s striking desk of unstained white oak tambor.

 “When we first started thinking about what this hotel could be, we wanted to entirely reimagine the typical hotel room,” says Tenaya Hills, Vice President of Design and Development at Bunkhouse. Even the smallest rooms feel like a mini suite, with a central desk dividing the living area from the sleeping area, and elegant wood ceilings made of composite stained Douglas fir.

Hotel Magdalena was named after Mary Magdalene. Many of the artists and makers represented at the property are female, such as Tracey Reinberg of Kismet Tile & Surface. Reinberg collaborated with Bunkhouse on the bright, glossy tilework in the vanity niches and bathrooms.

The guestrooms feature original photographs of icons Dolly Parton, Tina Turner, and Willie Nelson, all taken locally by the photographer Scott Newton between 1971 and 1985. “To have my images defining and illustrating the era is an honor,” he says. “It feels pretty good to see them collected in such a remarkable spot.” 

Local artists including Evan Voyles are well-represented throughout the hotel. Here, Voyles’ neon signage shines at the corner of Academy Drive and Music Lane.

Guests can take a piece of Hotel Magdalena home from the gift shop, which is stocked with custom robes and the hotel’s signature scent, a Patchouli Forest incense by Satya.

The bookshelves in the lobby feel like a well-loved living room on Lake Austin, with books about Texas folk art flanked by vintage records and a quirky armadillo sculpture.

The bar at Summer House on Music Lane.

Light pools through the dining room’s wide windows. The Spanish architect and designer Patricia Urquiola designed the custom two-tone green Moroso Mathilda dining chairs.

The kitchen’s commanding live-fire grill brings the menu to life at Summer House on Music Lane.

“This space is actually meant to have its own personality,” Hills says. The pool bar blends modern and vintage aesthetics with a playful terrazzo bar top.

Mushroom risotto with shaved truffles at Summer House on Music Lane.

The restaurant features a mix of abstract artworks by Graham Harmon and Michelle Billette, sourced at the state’s renowned Round Top Antiques Fair.

The Freetail Old Fashioned at Summer House.