Although this is largely a convention hotel, the Hyatt Regency’s location makes it appealing to leisure travelers too. It sits on Lady Bird Lake’s south shore (strictly speaking, this is South Austin, but its size and feel are more characteristic of downtown than hip SoCo). This gives the north-facing rooms lake vistas with the downtown skyline as a backdrop. The dock for boat tours on Lady Bird Lake, including those to view the bats emerging from under the Congress Avenue Bridge, sits right below the hotel. You can rent paddle boats and canoes from this dock too, or take advantage of the hike-and-bike trail with one of the hotel’s cycles. Restaurant options include the atrium’s SWB, serving casual fine dining with Southwest appeal (and a great breakfast buffet); and Marker 10, featuring sushi, craft cocktails, local microbrews, and a super kicked-back patio. This is an older property, but a $27-million room refurbishing in 2016 brought all the rooms up to date; they have excellent business-oriented amenities and nice touches such as padded window seats, the better to gaze at the vistas below. Accommodations come in a lot of different configurations, from viewless standard kings to river-view suites with patios. If you’re willing to forgo a peek at the water until you get downstairs, you can get some good bargains.