La Unica

Honesty its what you expect for what you paid for. The room was clean. It had all the essentials. A bed and a shower. However coming home at night we noticed a lack of hot water. And thats the only issue we had. The rooms were spacious and the beds were basic overall an affordable staying experience in Austin

I believe this hotel used to be a school. There is no shower in the room you have to go down the hall to a room that has 3 showers in it that just has curtains. Like a locker room. There was a live roach crawling on my bed. Live roach in shower area too. The front desk clerk was super nice.

The room itself was almost adequate. Only things I didn't like were the community showers and the clerk in the morning telling that they don't provide receipts. I did get one eventually, but who says they don't provide receipts?

It was really awesome, charming place, but no hot water in the showers, we will stay again for sure though!

As long as you ask for a room with a bathroom you'll be good. Shower rooms are community showers and its first come first serve and they lock if you don't feel safe.

I was in Austin for a contra dance weekend, so my focus was not on my hotel room. I needed a place to sleep and shower and generally this place supplied my needs, except for Saturday morning when there was no hot water. Plenty of hot water at 6 pm Saturday evening, though. The bed was softer than I'm used to, but the sheets were clean with no holes. However, there was no pillowcase--the pillows both had shams on them with no pillowcase underneath, so I covered the pillow with my housecoat. The only chair was a rolling office chair, which is difficult to sit in to put on shoes--I reached a little too far and it rolled out from under me, landing me firmly on the linoleum floor. TV, tiny fridge and tiny microwave all seemed to work fine and so did the window unit AC. The place is obviously an old nursing home, and more than a little spooky. The neighborhood is very poor, and Saturday night there was an unhoused person yelling obscenities at the top of his lungs. But he didn't come onto the property. The desk clerk said if he had, then they would call the police. They require a $50 deposit and I wanted to pay cash, but the clerk said she would not give me a receipt for the cash, so I put it on a debit card. At check-out they said I'd get the deposit back in about 3 days. The lobby had an interesting surprise--some excellent magazines--National Geographic and the Quarter Horse Journal. I should have explored the lobby sooner!

The room was pretty clean, but the only pillows on the bed were the ones with the decorative pillow shams, not actual pillowcases meant for sleeping on. Also, there was only a single topsheet on the bed, and no fitted sheet - so I had to sleep between the topsheet and the comforter/blanket. The room didn't have a shower, which Hotels.com didn't specify. Looking at the website for La Unica, though, it looked like the price I paid was the same as a room that had its own shower, which seemed a bit odd to me.

So, this place is pretty much a repurposed nursing home. Had no idea it was also residential. Room was clean, didn’t know it wouldn’t have a shower. Also in my room, had to move the microwave because the cord was too short and the wall socket was on the opposite side. Had to buy my own ice as there is no ice maker. Community showers weren’t really up to par. I could tell it was an old bathing room for patients. Saw live and dead roaches in there. Neighborhood was kinda sketchy, I felt really uneasy. Hallways smelled like smoke, which irritated my lungs as I’m asthmatic. Staff was great, though. Tolerated it because I needed to stay for work and commuting 2 hours from San Antonio is a hassle. Just wasn’t it for me, pretty disappointed.

Don't visit in the winter--there is no means of heating these rooms. This is an abandoned nursing home, that probably had a boiler and radiators back in the day--no more. The rooms do have a working toilet but no showers -- the bath was "down the hall". I didn't try that because there was no hot water. I looked at Room 104 and stayed in 106. 104 had a dying smoke detector that needed new batteries, it was chirping loudly. I asked the guy working there (who spoke almost no English) if we could change the batteries in the smoke detector, but he just left it beeping and gave me the room next door--where I still heard the chirping but not quite as loudly. 106 had no smoke detector at all, just the empty bracket where one had been, so I didn't have THAT problem. The problem I did have was the Karaoke bar next door to the property that blared Tejano music into the room until they closed around 2 am. I mean it was can't hear your own TV loud. Also, the rooms had window air conditioners but it was January and they had NO HEAT. It was 56 degrees in the room, and the bed had no blankets--just a sheet and a thin bedspread. I was freezing. I had to sleep in my sweater. Quite a night. Life is too short to sleep in abandoned nursing homes. Might be bearable in the summer on a Tuesday.

Upon arrival, my husband asked me “is this an abandoned nursing home?” We immediately wanted to leave but since it was really late into the evening we decided to stay at least one night since the room was already paid for. When walking into the building you get that feeling that yes it is an abandoned nursing home. The lady at the front desk, who I can only assume is the owner, was extremely friendly. The rooms are decent enough. The bed, in my opinion, was extremely comfortable. The rooms come with a toilet and sink but no shower. The showers are a community shower down the hall. You can lock the shower so you have the whole area to yourself but not having the shower in the room was an inconvenience. There were some roaches in the shower area that we could have done without. Our corridor smelt of cigarette smoke. Again, the lady at the front desk was extremely friendly, she stated that she stayed up late for us to get back one evening so she could give us our towels we asked for (we didn’t want anyone going into our room). She is really the reason my husband and I decided to complete our stay there. The place just needs some TCL, maintenance wise. The rooms did have a retro style microwave and mini fridge, the air conditioning worked great. The front entrance was clean and for what you pay for it truly wasn’t a bad experience.

The hotel smelled of cigarette smoke and was not clean. One of our booked rooms was open and not clean when we arrived. It felt unsafe so we did not stay. There was no staff to be found at the desk when we went to check in. They did call us after we chose different accomodations and denied that anything was not up to par.

The price was great--very cheap. The bed linens were clean, which was great. The shower, however, had a very dirty floor. Glad I bought my own spray cleaner. Otherwise, the bathroom was fine, and everything worked, including the AC. The motel is a converted nursing home--and it looks and feels like it. Pretty creepy at night. But fine during the day when the sun is shining. If you need a place to stay on a budget, fairly close to downtown Austin, this is a decent choice. There's even a Target store half a mile away.

I believe this hotel used to be a school. There is no shower in the room you have to go down the hall to a room that has 3 showers in it that just has curtains. Like a locker room. There was a live roach crawling on my bed. Live roach in shower area too. The front desk clerk was super nice.

Hotel is gross and smells terrible. The room was disgusting and dirty. The location is ghetto and appears unsafe. The gentleman at check-in followede to my room, as if I was incapable of following signs. The door had no security lock on the inside. The tv didnt work. The sheets were scratchy and the bed was terribly uncomfortable. Please dont stay here. I'm so grateful it was just one night.

I love this place!!! It was so clean! The TV was the best set up I’ve ever seen!!! The lady at the front desk was nice and helpful!!! I’ll be back FER SURE!!!

the place was stinking.

Only needed an overnight stay after ACL that was clean and didn’t cost an arm and a leg. This place is cute

My stay was great at the Unica hotel. My room was very clean and bedding was nice and clean. The showers was great because it was clean and the showers had very hot water. I would stay here again.

Upon arrival, my husband asked me “is this an abandoned nursing home?” We immediately wanted to leave but since it was really late into the evening we decided to stay at least one night since the room was already paid for. When walking into the building you get that feeling that yes it is an abandoned nursing home. The lady at the front desk, who I can only assume is the owner, was extremely friendly. The rooms are decent enough. The bed, in my opinion, was extremely comfortable. The rooms come with a toilet and sink but no shower. The showers are a community shower down the hall. You can lock the shower so you have the whole area to yourself but not having the shower in the room was an inconvenience. There were some roaches in the shower area that we could have done without. Our corridor smelt of cigarette smoke. Again, the lady at the front desk was extremely friendly, she stated that she stayed up late for us to get back one evening so she could give us our towels we asked for (we didn’t want anyone going into our room). She is really the reason my husband and I decided to complete our stay there. The place just needs some TCL, maintenance wise. The rooms did have a retro style microwave and mini fridge, the air conditioning worked great. The front entrance was clean and for what you pay for it truly wasn’t a bad experience.

It looks like a halfway house - reeks of weed, stuffy, the lights didn't work, the bathroom didn't have any shower or bathtub. The neighborhood is straight out of The Wire.

A very unique design.

I stayed here while performing at the SXSW Music Festival. La Unica was a cute little place (it’s a repurposed Nursing Home facility), and the staff were great. Annie & Nick were EXTREMELY helpful & friendly, and took care of everything I needed. The room was clean, the bed was nice and comfortable, so my only complaint is that they need bigger air conditioning units appropriate for the room size. The immediate surrounding neighborhood is a Spanish-speaking community, with great little bodegas and convenience stores, as well as a taco stand directly behind the hotel, which was super convenient (though pricey), and the food was great. It’s a slightly dense traffic area, because of school busses/the highway a few blocks away. Only 20mins from the main city area - super convenient. Be aware that because it is a repurposed nursing facility, you do not have private showers in your room (just a toilet & sink in your bathroom). There are shower rooms with private stalls, just like a gym locker room type of setting, but there is a lock on the door so you can have that room to yourself if no one else is in there. It takes a few minutes for the hot water to kick in, but once it does, there is more than enough for a great shower, and the place is very clean. I had zero issues with anyone walking in on me or having to be in the shower room at the same time with anyone else. They provide you with towels, you just have to ask the front desk if you don’t have any extras in your room.

Clean place that is affordable Nice inside used to be a retirement home or something

I was in Austin for a contra dance weekend, so my focus was not on my hotel room. I needed a place to sleep and shower and generally this place supplied my needs, except for Saturday morning when there was no hot water. Plenty of hot water at 6 pm Saturday evening, though. The bed was softer than I'm used to, but the sheets were clean with no holes. However, there was no pillowcase--the pillows both had shams on them with no pillowcase underneath, so I covered the pillow with my housecoat. The only chair was a rolling office chair, which is difficult to sit in to put on shoes--I reached a little too far and it rolled out from under me, landing me firmly on the linoleum floor. TV, tiny fridge and tiny microwave all seemed to work fine and so did the window unit AC. The place is obviously an old nursing home, and more than a little spooky. The neighborhood is very poor, and Saturday night there was an unhoused person yelling obscenities at the top of his lungs. But he didn't come onto the property. The desk clerk said if he had, then they would call the police. They require a $50 deposit and I wanted to pay cash, but the clerk said she would not give me a receipt for the cash, so I put it on a debit card. At check-out they said I'd get the deposit back in about 3 days. The lobby had an interesting surprise--some excellent magazines--National Geographic and the Quarter Horse Journal. I should have explored the lobby sooner!

The room was pretty clean, but the only pillows on the bed were the ones with the decorative pillow shams, not actual pillowcases meant for sleeping on. Also, there was only a single topsheet on the bed, and no fitted sheet - so I had to sleep between the topsheet and the comforter/blanket. The room didn't have a shower, which Hotels.com didn't specify. Looking at the website for La Unica, though, it looked like the price I paid was the same as a room that had its own shower, which seemed a bit odd to me.

Don't visit in the winter--there is no means of heating these rooms. This is an abandoned nursing home, that probably had a boiler and radiators back in the day--no more. The rooms do have a working toilet but no showers -- the bath was "down the hall". I didn't try that because there was no hot water. I looked at Room 104 and stayed in 106. 104 had a dying smoke detector that needed new batteries, it was chirping loudly. I asked the guy working there (who spoke almost no English) if we could change the batteries in the smoke detector, but he just left it beeping and gave me the room next door--where I still heard the chirping but not quite as loudly. 106 had no smoke detector at all, just the empty bracket where one had been, so I didn't have THAT problem. The problem I did have was the Karaoke bar next door to the property that blared Tejano music into the room until they closed around 2 am. I mean it was can't hear your own TV loud. Also, the rooms had window air conditioners but it was January and they had NO HEAT. It was 56 degrees in the room, and the bed had no blankets--just a sheet and a thin bedspread. I was freezing. I had to sleep in my sweater. Quite a night. Life is too short to sleep in abandoned nursing homes. Might be bearable in the summer on a Tuesday.

Stayed here twice so far and intend on continuing to stay here for myself and my spouse's once-a-month visits to Austin. Honestly, we were a little surprised our first day when we realized the shower was communal, but going to the showers during the late night meant we didn’t run into anyone. The bed is honestly the best part about this hotel. I stayed in two different rooms between this month and last month and the bed was HEAVENLY both times. Check-in process was a little confusing, Annie at the front was a little perplexed when we said we checked in online, but I think we got the hang of it, and things got straightened out! Works fantastic for our short stays!

The size of the room was decent for one person. Even though the mattress was in good condition, the bed frame itself was less than adecuate to sleep in comfortably. It kept rocking from side to side which caused me to almost fall down several times. I did not like the fact that room doors opened with a code which could have been easily tampered with at any time. I tried to block the door with the room chair but it had wheels on it so it was a useless deterrent tool.

Was very comfy, but looked very of putting at first. It's an old nursing home so it was weird. Beeping from the hall all night. Bed was super comfy.

Upon arrival, my husband asked me “is this an abandoned nursing home?” We immediately wanted to leave but since it was really late into the evening we decided to stay at least one night since the room was already paid for. When walking into the building you get that feeling that yes it is an abandoned nursing home. The lady at the front desk, who I can only assume is the owner, was extremely friendly. The rooms are decent enough. The bed, in my opinion, was extremely comfortable. The rooms come with a toilet and sink but no shower. The showers are a community shower down the hall. You can lock the shower so you have the whole area to yourself but not having the shower in the room was an inconvenience. There were some roaches in the shower area that we could have done without. Our corridor smelt of cigarette smoke. Again, the lady at the front desk was extremely friendly, she stated that she stayed up late for us to get back one evening so she could give us our towels we asked for (we didn’t want anyone going into our room). She is really the reason my husband and I decided to complete our stay there. The place just needs some TCL, maintenance wise. The rooms did have a retro style microwave and mini fridge, the air conditioning worked great. The front entrance was clean and for what you pay for it truly wasn’t a bad experience.

Great service by staff

The hotel smelled of cigarette smoke and was not clean. One of our booked rooms was open and not clean when we arrived. It felt unsafe so we did not stay. There was no staff to be found at the desk when we went to check in. They did call us after we chose different accomodations and denied that anything was not up to par.

I didn't want to give too low a review because I believe this stay has the bones to be top-notch. First off, the staff were incredibly friendly and accomodating. Very approachable. The showers were in common spaces but that didn't really bother me since you can lock the door. Security was pretty good, cameras everywhere and digital locks on room doors. It seemed like nothing was attached to the walls though when it came to towel racks, screws sticking out of the tables in the shower room, and the swing lock being loose. Rooms were very nice and rennovated, even if the smokey hallway makes you think otherwise. The area has great food, it helps if you know Spanish. No one really bothers you if you don't bother them, use basic street smarts. Overall, I think this place can be a great bang-for-your-buck with a few improvements which they seem already aware of.

Great experience at La Unica. Quick and friendly service. A nice welcome and Privacy 100%.

This place is retro.. the management is kind and the place is very comfortable..

I stayed here while performing at the SXSW Music Festival. La Unica was a cute little place (it’s a repurposed Nursing Home facility), and the staff were great. Annie & Nick were EXTREMELY helpful & friendly, and took care of everything I needed. The room was clean, the bed was nice and comfortable, so my only complaint is that they need bigger air conditioning units appropriate for the room size. The immediate surrounding neighborhood is a Spanish-speaking community, with great little bodegas and convenience stores, as well as a taco stand directly behind the hotel, which was super convenient (though pricey), and the food was great. It’s a slightly dense traffic area, because of school busses/the highway a few blocks away. Only 20mins from the main city area - super convenient. Be aware that because it is a repurposed nursing facility, you do not have private showers in your room (just a toilet & sink in your bathroom). There are shower rooms with private stalls, just like a gym locker room type of setting, but there is a lock on the door so you can have that room to yourself if no one else is in there. It takes a few minutes for the hot water to kick in, but once it does, there is more than enough for a great shower, and the place is very clean. I had zero issues with anyone walking in on me or having to be in the shower room at the same time with anyone else. They provide you with towels, you just have to ask the front desk if you don’t have any extras in your room.

I love this place!!! It was so clean! The TV was the best set up I’ve ever seen!!! The lady at the front desk was nice and helpful!!! I’ll be back FER SURE!!!

Like -friendly staff, very helpful in my request. For the price it met my needs! Dislike- noisy neighborhood …. Loud music from a next door apartments. No hot water in shower.

Customer service was horrible if I could give them zero stars, I would.

The people here are the most hospitable people I've ever met in my life. It’s not a looked at 1st but they’ve quickly made it feel like home!

The price was great--very cheap. The bed linens were clean, which was great. The shower, however, had a very dirty floor. Glad I bought my own spray cleaner. Otherwise, the bathroom was fine, and everything worked, including the AC. The motel is a converted nursing home--and it looks and feels like it. Pretty creepy at night. But fine during the day when the sun is shining. If you need a place to stay on a budget, fairly close to downtown Austin, this is a decent choice. There's even a Target store half a mile away.

Hotel is gross and smells terrible. The room was disgusting and dirty. The location is ghetto and appears unsafe. The gentleman at check-in followede to my room, as if I was incapable of following signs. The door had no security lock on the inside. The tv didnt work. The sheets were scratchy and the bed was terribly uncomfortable. Please dont stay here. I'm so grateful it was just one night.

The rooms are nice but not every room had a shower. I did not like the community shower they had. The staff were all very nice. The neighborhood is a little rough but I had no problems coming and going. They did not change my trash can the entire time there either but I did not ask. I would go back but they need to make the rooms non-smoking.

The location was practicle for us to avoide the hustle of Austine downtown. A lot of shopping opportunities around.

La Unica is a great motel! Clean, quiet, and with convenient parking on-site. The location is excellent—close to The Domain and HEB. I was very satisfied and highly recommend it!

Even though this used to be a nursing home facility it was the nicest place I have stayed at in a long time. The room was clean and the bed was the softest I have ever slept in. The area around it is slightly run down but it was very quiet and we had no problem at all while we were there. The place is close to a few eating establishments and very close to the highway so easy to get on and off to travel farther into Austin. The best part of our stay was the ability to raise the window at night to listen to the rainstorm that came through. And the second was the outside courtyard where we could sit outside to listen to the quiet at night. The owner was very friendly and sat and talked with us for a good 30 minutes just passing the time. I look forward to visiting this lodging again the next time I am in Austin and have told many of my family about it as well.

I genuinely felt unsafe there couldn’t step foot outside with being harassed by people in the neighborhood, the doors barely worked the windows didn’t shut fully. Would not recommend

Do not stay here. This place is a dump. It is an old nursing home that reeks of smoke. Very unsafe area.

Don't visit in the winter--there is no means of heating these rooms. This is an abandoned nursing home, that probably had a boiler and radiators back in the day--no more. The rooms do have a working toilet but no showers -- the bath was "down the hall". I didn't try that because there was no hot water. I looked at Room 104 and stayed in 106. 104 had a dying smoke detector that needed new batteries, it was chirping loudly. I asked the guy working there (who spoke almost no English) if we could change the batteries in the smoke detector, but he just left it beeping and gave me the room next door--where I still heard the chirping but not quite as loudly. 106 had no smoke detector at all, just the empty bracket where one had been, so I didn't have THAT problem. The problem I did have was the Karaoke bar next door to the property that blared Tejano music into the room until they closed around 2 am. I mean it was can't hear your own TV loud. Also, the rooms had window air conditioners but it was January and they had NO HEAT. It was 56 degrees in the room, and the bed had no blankets--just a sheet and a thin bedspread. I was freezing. I had to sleep in my sweater. Quite a night. Life is too short to sleep in abandoned nursing homes. Might be bearable in the summer on a Tuesday.

The neighborhood was bad.. drunk people around yelling

A little dirty and very low quality furniture. There was coffee though.

I stayed here while performing at the SXSW Music Festival. La Unica was a cute little place (it’s a repurposed Nursing Home facility), and the staff were great. Annie & Nick were EXTREMELY helpful & friendly, and took care of everything I needed. The room was clean, the bed was nice and comfortable, so my only complaint is that they need bigger air conditioning units appropriate for the room size. The immediate surrounding neighborhood is a Spanish-speaking community, with great little bodegas and convenience stores, as well as a taco stand directly behind the hotel, which was super convenient (though pricey), and the food was great. It’s a slightly dense traffic area, because of school busses/the highway a few blocks away. Only 20mins from the main city area - super convenient. Be aware that because it is a repurposed nursing facility, you do not have private showers in your room (just a toilet & sink in your bathroom). There are shower rooms with private stalls, just like a gym locker room type of setting, but there is a lock on the door so you can have that room to yourself if no one else is in there. It takes a few minutes for the hot water to kick in, but once it does, there is more than enough for a great shower, and the place is very clean. I had zero issues with anyone walking in on me or having to be in the shower room at the same time with anyone else. They provide you with towels, you just have to ask the front desk if you don’t have any extras in your room.

Even though this used to be a nursing home facility it was the nicest place I have stayed at in a long time. The room was clean and the bed was the softest I have ever slept in. The area around it is slightly run down but it was very quiet and we had no problem at all while we were there. The place is close to a few eating establishments and very close to the highway so easy to get on and off to travel farther into Austin. The best part of our stay was the ability to raise the window at night to listen to the rainstorm that came through. And the second was the outside courtyard where we could sit outside to listen to the quiet at night. The owner was very friendly and sat and talked with us for a good 30 minutes just passing the time. I look forward to visiting this lodging again the next time I am in Austin and have told many of my family about it as well.