Going to visit UT Austin. From Washington, DC. and never been there. Where should we stay?
AT&T hotel is as close as you can get:-)
http://www.meetattexas.com/
Thanks. Is there anything less expensive? $469 per night!
I know there are tons of hotels in Austin, I just want to be close to the campus if possible. Can you tell me what part of town I should be looking at?
UT Austin is downtown, downtown = $$$ how far away are you willing to stay? We stayed at the Embassy Suits Town Lake while we were looking for houses in the Austin area and thought it was reasonable. It’s less than 10 minutes from campus.
There’s a DoubleTree on West 15th that is one of the closer downtown hotels to campus. Be careful with hotels on I35 as some are scary. The Embassy Suites @3scoutsmom mentioned is a good choice, farther from campus but closer to restaurants on Barton Springs & South Congress
Most hotels close to campus are going to be expensive: Hotel Ella, The Driskill, and Hotel Eleven are nice, but not cheap. The Hampton Inn and Suites (University Capitol location) is a little cheaper and nice as well.
DoubleTree Suites by Hilton
303 W. 15th Street, Austin, TX 78701
T: 1 512-478-7000
good one; walk to campus.
Austin is full of rideshare companies like Fasten (only in Austin and Boston, but cheaper than Uber and Lyft) and Uber and Lyft. Is easy to find a nice and less expensive hotel outside of downtown and just get a ride share service to campus. Only caution would be traffic on Mopac and I35 gets crazy during rush hour, so allot time if on a schedule. Austin is a great city, enjoy!!
@Meant2B is correct. Just south of the campus on I-35 (3-4 miles) is a hotel complex with Marriott, Hilton and other hotel brands that are much more inexpensive than downtown. They are right off the I-35 exit. Included in that campus are those that have suites with a full kitchen (and Fridge) and 2 bathrooms. If you are travelling with family, 4 people can stay in once suite and you are close to everything. You can either drive to campus/downtown or Uber (Rideshare, Lyft, etc) for 10 bucks.
You are also only a few minutes to SOCO there, if you like that neighborhood of shops and restaurants. 
Best place to stay in Austin for a UT or visiting family.
The Hampton at 1701 Lavaca St is pretty new and pretty close to the West Campus area. Rates probably depend on the night you are in town around $170.
If you want to get a real vibe for what living in West Campus is like, and don’t mind a B&B, I would recommend the Star of Texas Inn. Just a few blocks walk from the heart of campus proper, and you can get a real feel for what the neighborhood is like as a student, as it was a fraternity house many years ago. If you are going as a family, you would probably need to get more than one room, as they only appear to have a queen or king bed in each room, so that may negate the cost savings.