Editor’s Choice Award: Kimber Modern Hotel Offers Unique Date Experiences

The Short Version: Kimber Modern provides couples with everything they need to take control of their own luxurious date weekend, including stylish rooms and a sophisticated self-service bar. Each room in the Austin, Texas, hotel is decorated in a clean, modern style by an interior designer. And the hotel staff works behind the scenes to ensure guest experiences are frictionless and customizable. For offering couples stylish, bespoke accommodations, Kimber Modern earns our Editor’s Choice Award.

A night at the Kimber Modern boutique hotel is different from most other lodging options in Austin, Texas.

Guests don’t check in at the front desk as they would at a typical hotel. Instead, they receive a unique code before they arrive that opens the door to their room.

Kimber Modern doesn’t have a large staff because it focuses on “elevated self-service.”

“The hotel respects the guests by saying, ‘Treat this place like you would your own.’ You arrive, and you don’t have to worry. We’ve thought of everything you might need,” said Dave Hime, Kimber Modern General Manager.

The Kimber Modern boutique offers guests a sleek, customizable experience.

Guests can help themselves to a self-service drink bar with wine, beer, or coffee in the hotel’s common room, just off the courtyard. They can enjoy their drinks in the courtyard or make it more of a date experience under the 300-year-old oak trees in the center of the establishment.

Guest rooms are full of designer touches, including large windows, thoughtfully chosen art, and neutral linens. And the rooms are stocked with full-sized shower products, including shampoo, conditioner, and lotion, that make guests feel at home.

Many guests also appreciate the comfortable Beautyrest mattresses in the rooms.

“A lot of our guests spend their first night, and then will say the next day, ‘I never slept as well as I did last night. What is this bed?’ People love our beds,” Dave said.

Kimber Modern strikes a unique balance with its amenities, privacy, sophistication, and comfort. Over its 12 years in operation, the hotel has retained a low profile, yet has become a popular stay for guests looking for a weekend getaway they can customize.

Couples can choose one of Kimber Modern’s seven unique rooms. The hotel offers four different room types, depending on their tastes.

Its standard rooms are on the Queen Balcony side of the hotel. These rooms are situated in the lively SoCo business district at the front of the hotel.

“The kind of couple who might want to stay in that room are people who like to go out in the evenings for dates and aren’t bothered by city noises,” Dave said.

Couples who prefer a quieter stay can choose from the King Courtyard Rooms on the residential side of the building. Guests who stay in those rooms may enjoy comfortable in-room dates. The hotel is located between two neighborhoods, a lively one and a quieter one. That makes it an ideal location for travelers who want to experience Austin in full.

The non-suite rooms at the Kimber Modern have one King or Queen bed and modern furniture with plenty of glass and sleek surfaces, and the team strives to create a warm, inviting atmosphere.

“There’s not this cold, brutalist modern feeling, but instead, we focus on comfortable, chic midcentury modern design,” Dave said.

All the rooms also come with desks, flat-screen TVs, Egyptian cotton linens, robes, ironing boards, and air-conditioning, along with other comforts of home.

The other room options are suites.

The Red Suite is the most secluded of the hotel’s options. It has a separate living room and bedroom, which is ideal for couples with differing sleep schedules.

The White Suite is a loft-like space, where the living area joins the bedroom area. It’s the largest accommodation and the only one with a private patio, perfect for picking up wine and cheese and having an in-room date night.

The suites also include large spa-like bathrooms, with glass walk-in showers and two-person soaking tubs.

The team at Kimber Modern came up with the concept of the sophisticated yet affordable hotel after spending years in the hospitality industry. They were also concerned by how difficult travel had become.

“Travel can be soul-crushing. Whether you’re traveling across the country or across town, you have to stand in line or find your spot on the airplane. The days of glamorous travel are far behind us, unless you can afford it,” Dave said.

That’s why Kimber Modern aims to make everything seamless and attainable for guests. Hotel packages are comparable to other lodging in the area but are all-inclusive — with off-street parking, wifi, and all of the room amenities.

Couples can relax and have a drink in Kimber Modern’s comfortable courtyard.

The team also wants guests to feel like they’re walking into a friend’s house. That’s why it preserves the ease of travel, without the intrusiveness that some singles and couples can feel at hotels or resorts. Instead, the hotel staff is available to guests but doesn’t overwhelm them.

“When you get to the hotel, it should be a welcoming, inviting, easy experience. We have housekeeping and maintenance along with overnight management, but we aren’t overstaffed,” Dave told us.

Many travelers appreciate Kimber Modern’s refreshing approach to hospitality.

One guest summed up the experience in a glowing review on TripAdvisor:

“Bottom line: with all the changes that Austin has seen in the last years (good and not-so-good), the Kimber Modern represents the old-Austin heart and soul with new Austin verve and style. Go here. You will love it.”

Couples appreciate the privacy and well-chosen amenities that Kimber Modern has to offer. Ultimately, many guests let the hotel team know it has accomplished its mission of creating a comfortable, stylish place that’s close to the city’s best neighborhoods.

“We value and respect the human spirit. The whole concept comes from this question: ‘How would I want to be treated if I was in a situation where I was traveling to Austin, Texas, and needed a place to stay?’” Dave said.

Kimber Modern also enjoys its status as something of an undiscovered gem. Many hotel guests are either digital nomads who work remotely or empty nest couples who are free to travel now that their grown children have left home.

But the word is getting out to more couples who can appreciate the hotel’s style.

“The pandemic proved that hotels always need to change with the times. We try to stay thoughtfully responsive to what’s going on in the world and with our guests and show up the way they need us to,” said Dave.

Kimber Modern offers memorable experiences because its team works hard to create a refined, comfortable environment.

“We provide respect for our guests’ spirits. Our goal is to help people navigate whatever they need when they arrive, and we’re right here behind the scenes if they need us,” Dave told us.