Austin - Johnny Depp and his actress fiancée, Amber Heard, Robert De Niro, Alicia Keys, Julio Iglesias, Sandra Bullock, Hillary Clinton have all passed through this landmark in Texas.
It was built by a cattle baron in 1886, and the Driskill has since dominated the Austin hotel scene, a grandiose monument to Texas wealth and influence with a marble lobby and promenade.
These days, guests are as likely to be musicians or dotcom types. Austin is America’s coolest city, thanks to festivals such as South by South West (SXSW).
It’s “still Texas, though”, a good proportion of the guests are in cowboy boots and there’s a heady selection of cowboy art on show.
There are 189 rooms and suites, some said to be haunted.
The Driskill was President Lyndon Johnson’s favourite hotel. He had his first date with his wife, Lady Bird, in the hotel’s restaurant, the Driskill Grill. Today, instead of T-bone steaks and apple pie, all manner of culinary cleverness takes place using locally sourced ingredients, including raw goat’s cheese and non-cowboy concepts such as edible flowers. Robert De Niro borrowed the chef to recreate the meals on his film set when he stayed at the Driskill on location.
In the hotel’s 1886 Cafe & Bakery, spectacularly large croissants and cakes only prove the point that things in Texas are often larger than you would expect.
Just off Sixth Street, “the heart of Austin’s bar area”, the Driskill is a short walk from the Capitol, the Texas seat of government. Based on the design of the Capitol building in Washington, DC, it is of course just that little bit bigger.
Across the road, you’ll find the Firehouse (firehousehostel.com), a secret bar hidden next to a hostel that serves hipsterish cocktails. you can purchase a ten-gallon hat at the hatbox opposite the hotel.
A magnet for bands and film stars, many of whom turn up for the SXSW festival each March.
Sandra Bullock, who has a home in Austin, filmed Miss Congeniality in the hotel’s ballroom.
Depp and Heard headed into the Driskill Grill for a meal during this year’s SXSW. Iglesias and his band stayed last month while performing on the weekly music show, Austin City Limits.
For the rest of us? Austin is billed as the “live music capital of the USA” and there are more than 200 venues across the city.
The Driskill has one of the nicest, a mellow bar where you can hear all types of music, from jazz to bluegrass, every night of the year for the price of a drink, about $10 (about R110). – Mail on Sunday