Cambria hotel opens in Rainey

Cambria Hotel Austin Downtown, one of the towers to rise recently on the eastern border of the Rainey Street Historic District, opened its doors last week. 

The 16-story building at 68 East Avenue joins the relatively recently developed hospitality row on the strip overlooking I-35 and backing to the popular entertainment district in southeast downtown. The 223,975-square-foot Cambria is the only one among them (so far) that has a rooftop deck, pool deck, and fitness facility overlooking Rainey Street, according to publicity materials.

The hotel has  212 guest rooms priced $200-$400 a night, a 1,600-square-foot fitness center, and  8,300 square feet of conference rooms. Graffiti, its signature restaurant and bar, is on the fifth-floor lobby level. Cambria's design incorporates natural limestone, the work of local artists, and other Austin-influenced elements. Limestone Rooftop bar and restaurant atop the hotel will will have Mediterranean-influenced/global fare and Austin-sourced spirits and beers. Its décor contains touches of burnt orange to reference its owners’ alma mater.

The hotel is owned by brothers and University of Texas grads Andrew and David Wood and was developed by Pacific Hotel Austin, of which the two are principals. “Developing this project in Austin is nostalgic and emotionally satisfying for us,” said Andrew Wood. "We attended The University of Texas for four years. As members of the UT rowing team, we practiced on Lady Bird Lake twice daily for four years. We grew to love this city, and that’s what drove us to develop here.” The brothers purchased the property in 2017.

Texas' Rogers-O’Brien Construction was the construction partner on the hotel. It's managed by San Diego's Azul Hospitality Group.

David and Andrew Wood have underwritten, developed, and built more than 5,500 hospitality, residential, and multifamily units representing more than $1.59 billion in investment. David’s focus has been on nonprofit affordable housing development; he has been chairman of the board of one of California's largest private nonprofit housing and services firms since since 2004.