Hotel Review: Red Roof Inn in San Marcos, Texas

Hotel time! After driving across the Great American Southwest on our “Fabric of America” road trip, we stopped in south-central Texas for several days to hang out and see the sights in Texas German country. We also wanted to relax for a few days, check out San Antonio, and see whatever else we’d stumble across.

We needed a base for this, and found some strategically-located digs in the city of San Marcos. This would be the Red Roof Inn – San Marcos, parked on the west side of I-35, giving it easy access to Austin, San Antonio, and smaller towns here and there.

This is a NextGen property, which means it’s been renovated to Red Roof’s new, fancier standards. Yeehaw!

The lovely people at Red Roof Inn are supporters of our “Fabric of America” tour. They covered our stay, and we’re writing about it in return. This journey would not be possible without them (and you). Read about their support right here.

In case you haven’t read about our tour: You can read about it here, and see more of our posts here.

Checking in to the hotel, we were greeted by the manager, Mike, as well as his family and colleagues. The hotel’s newer standards are immediately noticeable in the lounge and breakfast area at the entrance.

Heading to our room, we were unfortunately inundated by traffic noise from the aforementioned I-35. That was fairly aggravating (we do work, after all), so we requested a room switch to the back side.

Much, much better. (If traffic noise bothers you, we highly recommend you do the same.)

Our room was equipped with new furniture, plush new mattresses, and our beloved work desk. Rooms only have one desk, but I was able to get plenty done thanks to an extra armchair and coffee table.

Most hotel rooms that aren’t suites don’t have this, so it was certainly a perk for me.

Everything in the room and on the property was clean and fresh, despite a regular onslaught of people coming in and out, summer rush and all. Families with students, tired overnighters, and Mexican tourists who come to town for the outlet malls were constantly buzzing back and forth.

Despite that, the staff was always in tip-top shape and the hotel never started to look grimy, which is unfortunately the case with a lot of properties that get packed to the brim every evening.

Pre-rush time of day…

There’s also a nice pool outside, but we neglected to take a dip, instead sitting by it and hanging out in the morning and evening.

The only major downside of the hotel is that it has the always-evil web log-in for internet access. We despise these in every possible way that one can despise something, as it’s constantly asking you to log-in, running slower than wi-fi should run, and basically just being a pain in the backside.

Because of this all-too-common scenario, we turned on our Verizon Jetpack and instead used that most of the time. For shame!

Whatever though, you can’t have it all, even if what you’re not getting is one of the most important things a traveler/worker needs.

Louis didn’t care about that, though. Lack of opposable thumbs and such.

So yeah, if you find yourself in the region, we certainly recommend you stay at this hotel. It’s got all the modern amenities – extra-new for us as it was recently renovated – and facilitates your connection to San Marcos as well as the surrounding area of San Antonio, Austin, Lockhart, New Braunfels, Fredericksburg, and beyond.

High fives!

The breakdown…

• Location: Smack-dab between San Antonio and Austin on I-35.
• Clientele: Great for student families and tourists, probably not great for business travelers due to the chaotic wi-fi.
• Technology: Annoying web log-in typical of most hotels, free for an unlimited number of devices.
• Beds: Proper for a good night’s rest, with brand new, plush NextGen mattresses.
• Rooms: Plenty large. Ours had a work desk, armchair, and coffee table as well as the bed and all that.
• Amenities: Cable TV, wi-fi, telephone, desk with a proper office chair, coffee table, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker. Coin laundry was down when we were there, but guests were allowed to use the hotel’s business laundry in the meantime. Worked out great for us. Also, swimming pool!
• Bathroom: Plenty of soaps and lotions that we didn’t need to ask for more during our four days here. Good shower with plenty of hot water.
• Dining: Continental breakfast is included, and coffee is free all day. Gotta love that!
• Staff: Mike, Rita, Jim, and the entire clan run a tight ship and are helpful with recommendations.
• Cleanliness: Rooms are very clean. Property kept clean 24/7, inside and out.
• Distractions: Just the swimming pool, but plenty to see and do in the surrounding area.
• Attractions: San Marcos, San Antonio, Texas Hill Country, Austin, Lockhart.
• Snacks & Such: Plenty of delivery options, but no vending or room service. A couple restaurants are in walking distance; otherwise, you’ll need to drive.
• Value: If you aren’t there in high season, it’s a score. For sure. During high season (late summer because of the university) or Formula 1 in Austin, prices are completely bonkers. However, that’s the norm across the entire area.

The Red Roof Inn in San Marcos, Texas, is located here:

817 I-35 North
San Marcos, TX 78666
Tel: +1 (512) 754-8899
Web: redroof.com

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Have you ever been to San Marcos, Texas, or stayed at this Red Roof Inn? Any thoughts about Red Roof Inn overall? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!