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ROOMWITH A VIEW:
The Presidential Suite is as luxe as it gets—crystal
chandeliers, intricate carvings, four-poster king bed, dining room table
for eight—and, at 774 square feet, it’s one of the biggest suites inMoscow.
But the view of the city is even bigger.
WHAT YOU’LL FIND JUST OUTSIDE:
The famed Bolshoi Theatre is
next door, and within walking distance you’ll discover Red Square, the
Kremlin, St. Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s tomb and TSUM and GUM,
Moscow’s largest luxury department stores.
UNEXPECTED TREAT:
Goodbye, plastic hotel-room coffeemakers; hello,
swanky Illy Francis Francis espresso machines.
WHAT’S NEW:
Makeovers for all 211 guest rooms and the lobby of this
9-year-old property will be complete by the end of the summer, with
custom-designed furniture and blown-glass light fixtures, oak-and-
mirror-lined bathrooms and floor-to-ceiling wood paneling.
SIGNATURE COCKTAIL:
A Russian Standard Imperia vodka martini at the
Conservatory Lounge and Bar on the 10th floor is a good place to start.
BACKSTORY:
A
Romanesque Austin
landmark, the Driskill was
built in 1886 by ca le baron
Jesse Driskill, who was ruined by
a drought just two years later and
had to sell it. Its lobby was the site
of the first interstate phone call,
in 1899, and the hotel itself served
as Lyndon Johnson’s re-election
headquarters in 1964.
ROOMWITH A VIEW:
The plush
Governor’s Suite has a full patio
providing a high vantage of Austin’s
rambunctious Sixth Street, a.k.a. the
“Live Music Capital of the World.”
WHAT YOU’LL FIND JUST OUTSIDE:
Revelers and live music, naturally.
BEST PLACE TO HANG OUT:
The
Driskill Bar is expansive but feels
cozy, with leather couches, tin
ceilings and well-curatedWestern
touches such as
The Widowmaker
, a
bronze sculpture of a cowboy taking
aim at a runaway horse dragging off
his friend.
SIGNATURE COCKTAIL:
Thanks to its
bat-shaped blackberry-and-hibiscus
garnish, the vodka-based Brazos
Brasiliensis Batini is a repeat winner
of Austin’s annual Batini Contest,
which honors the bats that live under
the Congress Avenue Bridge.
The Driskill
ARARAT
PARKHYATT
HOTEL
AUSTIN,
TEXAS
MOSCOW
42
JUNE 2012
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