At Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT, you can look forward to a firepit, a garden, and a playground. Treat yourself to a massage or other spa services. Free in-room WiFi, with speed of 500+ Mbps (good for 6+ people or 10+ devices), is available to all guests, along with a library and laundry facilities.
Reviews
9.69.6 out of 10
Exceptional
Popular amenities
Kitchen
Washer
Dryer
Pet friendly
Free WiFi
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About this property
Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT
Chill vibe…Very Spacious, unique Old Austin and Texas charm. Built in 1941 by Dr. Willis Pratt UT English professor is a comfortable meeting place for families, reunions, getaways and those needing a space to relax or work from home. Let us take you away to another place with our COOL BLUE PRIVATE POOL, an oasis in the heart of the city. 10 minutes from ACL, SXSW, the University of Texas, Downtown and UT campus, just up the street from Mount Bonnell. Laguna Gloria, Mayfield and the ever popular Flo’s Wine & Bottle Bar, All Day Pizza and Lone Man Coffee. Zed’s ice cream, Casis Village and a quick drive or Uber just minutes away from Downtown ~ our old Austin Mexican ranch style 1 story limestone home is a place where the unexplored meets the avant garde in a time where artists, poets and scholars, wit, humor and long conversations, cocktail parties and eccentrics converged at the top of the long tall driveway. Imagine golden luminarios decorating the path up to this romantic era home in the 1940s in Austin. We hope to take you to away for a while. Our family home is a beautiful, charming classical one story Old Mexican Ranch house style home that sits on top of a hill on 3/4 acre with surrounding nature, privacy and charm in the heart of the city. We have a private swimming and a lovely view overlooking the soothing blue hills and amber and golden hues of lovely West Austin sunsets. The beautiful spacious living room with a baby grand piano is a great place to play music, read a book, relax, lounge, quiet down, have intimate conversations and gatherings, and be still for a moment, and gaze across the soft pastels to the radiant red lovely Austin sunsets. The stone sun porch opens to a path leading to the pool below with sparkling Christmas lights for a dazzling ambiance. We are 10 minutes from Downtown, across the street from Camp Mabry, 1/2 block up the street from the ever popular Flo’s Wine and bottle shop with All Day pizza and Lone Man coffee in the morning, just minutes away from Mount Bonnell, Austin's famous landmark overlooking the city and beautiful sunset, Laguna Gloria Art Museum and Mayfield Peacock Park with peacocks and Nature trails. Great for entertaining, the home captures an era of Old Austin. It is a 5 BR / 3 BA, has a pool with a deck that is completely private, a beautiful spacious living room, a stone sun porch and a library which is also a bedroom and has a queen size sleigh bed fold out futon which is very comfortable, great for lounging, reading, maybe watch a classic movie and relax. It has an array of 5 bedrooms, streaming TV, fast speed internet, cable, washer/dryer, kitchen, sun porch, a private pool and deck and is a rare treasure to find in the heart of Austin—a vacation within itself.
Many people come to go explore and stay and relax and enjoy the red cardinals, the blue birds, the purple night skies above the pool and starlight nights and sparkling waves splashing around the pool. Family festivities, reunions, celebrations and elegant parties continue to be the heart of our home. We welcome you and hope to host you and your guests and take you to another place and time.
We have our home professionally cleaned by professional housekeepers.
Please let me know what I can do for you to fully enjoy your stay here before, during and throughout your vacation time and have a wonderful chill on the hill Rare Secluded 1940s Estate Experience.
**((As for early and late check in/out, I'm sorry, but we generally aren’t able to with scheduled services and our safety and enhanced cleaning practices in place)) I apologize, but it is so hard on our team to give early check ins and late checkouts unless we know in advance, especially with the extra cleaning precautions that are in place. We will do our best if possible if we can make any exceptions. **We will try to return any items left behind and please let us know ASAP so that we can look around before new guests arrive. We donate them to charity if we don’t hear from you for 2-4 days. Im good to return them in the best way possible if possible, provided that we find the item. Please check safely before you check out.
Please remember that it is an older classic and rustic home with ambiance and rough terrain and nature that surrounds our home with a character that seem to charm our guests. The rustic nature of our property will still be deeply and freshly cleaned and is treated by ABC professional exterminator services. We have just had the AC/Heat ducts cleaned for your good health, the chimney swept for you relaxation and comfort. We do our best to keep wild nature out so you can enjoy it outside and not from the inside. We have an under door draft block that we ask you put up in the sun porch before you go in for the night. We do hope you enjoy your stay here and we welcome you!!
Most of all, please relax, read a book, have a splash in the pool with family and friends, make good memories, wedding parties, family reunions, girls’ & guys’ weekend getaways. Good fun to Chill on the Hill and maybe even Grill - most of all ENJOY your stay!!! We send our big Texas open arm welcome to you all. Relax, enjoy and remember that good times together make life worth celebrating!!!
Once you arrive at the top of the narrow path up the long, tall hill into the gravel sound on car wheels driveway, there are a few perks for parking which is limited to 3 cars. It is a sensitive driveway situation and must be carefully arranged. It is a long tall driveway so please understand that it is steep which allows for the privacy and we have been going up and down the driveway for 60 years and it is fine and solid and strong. Once you have made a reservation and before your, I can send you a photo for our guest parking spaces which will help hopefully ease your arrival. Most people don't think twice about it, but I like to be forthright and give you the heads up that we have a long tall steep driveway. That’s what gives us the privacy! Please leave space to make sure cars can get in and out of the driveway and leave the circle drive clear and do not park along the bamboo privacy fence or the small space next to the little casita which is behind the privacy fence where I live. When you come up the driveway, it is easier to come and go if you turn your car around and are facing out.
Thank you for your parking consideration.
Also, we have an energy usage issue, especially in the summer so please keep the AC between 75-80 degrees from May to October in the hot times that Texas gets and generally we leave the house at 75 in the winter time. We appreciate your respect and help with our high bills and the energy usage. Please be mindful of our generosity and hospitality as we are respectful for your comfort. Thank you in advance for your consideration. Unfortunately, and I apologize in advance that the 1941 architecture was not designed with handicapped features. **While we have had individuals who seemed to not have an issue as it is a one-story, the bathrooms are smaller and it is structurally very difficult to alter the accessibility for wheelchairs. I wish we could alter the architecture from the 1940s and our gravel driveway and rugged terrain and an old gravel and steep driveway that we do our best to accommodate everyone we can. The structure is a one story and was designed in 1941 for a family and please inquire if you have special needs. For any wheel chair or walkers, please park close the 2nd porch with only a 3” step to enter our home. **Please let us know as soon as possible if there are any issues with the house and we will tend to them as soon as possible. Please tell us when you notice or won’t be able to fix them or compensate if we don’t know about them** We are across the street from Camp Mabry Army base and the Texas Military Forces Museum which is really fascinating. We are just up the street from Mayfield Park, a beautiful park with peacocks, ponds and nature trails, Laguna Gloria Art Museum, an old Victorian home made into a lovely museum with rolling grounds up to the lagoon, as well as up the road to Mount Bonnell, a great tourist attraction that overlooks Austin’s skyline and a beautiful place to watch the sun set.
Now that you have parked, take a breath, relax, enjoy! Thank you. The Pratt Family
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Does Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT have a pool?
Yes, this property has an outdoor pool.
Is Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT pet-friendly?
Yes, this property allows dogs (limit 1 total) with a maximum weight of up to 20 lbs per pet. Some restrictions may apply, so please contact the property for more details.
How much is parking?
Limited spots are available.
What time is check-in at Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT?
Check-in begins at 3:00 PM.
What time is check-out at Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT?
Check-out is at 11:00 AM.
Where is Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT located?
This family-friendly Austin vacation home is located on a river, within a 15-minute walk of Mayfield Park and Lake Austin. University of Texas at Austin is 2.5 mi (4 km) away.
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Reviews
Rare Secluded 1940s Estate-Cool Blue Pool-Central location, by downtown, ACL, UT Reviews
9.6
Exceptional
All reviews shown are from real guest experiences. Only travelers who have booked a stay with us can submit a review. We verify reviews according to our guidelines and publish all reviews, positive or negative.More informationOpens in a new window
Virginia was such a gracious host! Quick to respond, so very helpful and kind. My favorite room was the living room with beautiful dappled light all day and a lovely view of the pool. The home is quiet, nestled in the Austin oak woodlands. The house has a lot of history, paintings and art books. There was plenty of room for our family.
My friends and I very much loved the house, the books, the back porch, the pool. The beds were even so comfortable. Virginia is a wonderful host. I would love to stay here again. It was perfect. It was the perfect t location for my 50th birthday party. All who attended fell in love with the charm of the house. Thank you Virginia! I highly recommend this house to anyone who want to hear birds and see cardinals in the yard.
This property is like staying with friends—artwork and family memorabilia from as much as 80 years ago in a charming five-bedroom house overlooking a pool on a lower vista. We enjoyed every bit of our stay and will hopefully be back!
My friends an I go to ACL every year for the last 9 years and this house was by far the best we've stayed in. It was huge and comfortable and it was perfect. Will be staying here for future visits!
Wonderful home with lots of character. Clean comfortable bedrooms and lots of unique areas to congregate. Beautiful pool in the trees. Quiet neighborhood close to downtown. We will be back (again)!
Thank you for opening your home to us for our visit to Austin for the eclipse! The house has lots of space to stretch out and a beautiful pool area. We look forward to visiting again!
We had an amazing stay at this house. The host was so easy to communicate with and very responsive. Checkin and check out were smooth and easy. The pool was perfect for the Texas heat and we loved the vibe of the place. It has so much character and charm. I would definitely stay here again if I returned to Austin!
The location was great and communication with host was great. The WiFi did not work well, the kitchen water wouldn’t get hot, but all in all it was a nice stay.
We loved the atmosphere and the size of the large house. Loved all the nooks and crannies and places to settle down for cozy conversations. We all loved the pool, especially the grands. It was very clean and well-maintained. The host, Virginia, was wonderful to communicate with and very responsive. She was part of the reason we loved staying there.
Quiet house on a heavily wooded lot with a refreshing pool. Unique older house with a lot of character. Clean and everything in good working order for an older home. Close to downtown. We've stayed here multiple times and we'll be back again.
back.
Although the property itself needs some TLC, we enjoyed our time especially in the pool. The home is very spacious and we loved that our Golden Retriever was welcomed. Virginia was super friendly and communication was awesome. I see endless possibilities to restore this 1940's estate to its glory days.
The host was wonderful & very helpful! We had a few issues with the electricity & heat, but she was prompt in handling them. The house & location are great - we were able to have the whole family stay together over Thanksgiving. As advertised, the house is very old and a bit creepy - but in a cool way. Like, I got the impression that there were probably ghosts there - but they were cool Old Austin ghosts, chillin having a good time.
We appreciated the opportunity to visit Ausitn, TX and have a cool place to return to after a full days activities. Plenty of space, wish teh weather would have allowed for a dip in the pool.
Close to downtown and very quiet. The owners could not have been nicer and their communications were promptly asnswered.
Make sure Uber drivers know to look for the red mailbox!
The house is older and decorated very eclectic. Lots of room and many various areas for visiting or relaxing. A little funky for some, but definitely a great location for all things austin. Very secluded atmosphere for in the city. A few glitches with internet and water, but owner is very responsive. Property could use a little love, but all in all it suited our needs!
We had a ball on our short trip to Austin. It was HOT... our little Washingtonian bodies thought we might die...HOW do people live here??? But that pool was incredible, the house was cozy and stayed cool and we had such a great time exploring the city!
The location could not be better, close to downtown but felt incredibly private.
Checking in and out was a breeze and we had everything at the house that we needed. Instructions were clear and communication was great. The beds were SO comfortable...especially that red room :)
We will be back...but perhaps not in August next time...
Stayed 4 nights in Aug 2023
Verified review
4/10 Poor
Mary M.
May 2, 2024
Liked: Check-in, communication, location
Disliked: Cleanliness
cluttered
The clutter and ubiquitous crucifixes everywhere are off-putting. It's got to be hard to clean with so much stuff so it's not surprising that it's on the dusty side. Having said that, the owner seems nice and the location is fantastic. The living room has plenty of seating for family members and there is a high chair available. The kitchen is well supplied. We never used the pool, but it was clean and looked like the pictures.
Stayed 3 nights in Apr 2024
Verified review
6/10 Okay
Anna M.
May 10, 2024
Liked: Check-in, communication, location
Disliked: Listing accuracy
Vintage Charm
The property was charming but more rustic then anticipated. Slow internet, lack of outlets and switches. Most overhead lights/ fans used pull cords, which in itself is fine but we are rather short. Plumbing was all two handled so hard to adjust temperature.
The beds were comfortable, the sheets were nice and soft, the towels were fluffy and absorbent, there was good quality shampoos and conditioners but we didn't find a hair dryer. The pool was enjoyable but the weather was not good during our stay so we didn't use it as much as we would have liked. Concrete around the pool has broken so its important to watch the kids playing as it could be a hazard.
Our hostess, Virginia, was available on site if needed and left us a number to contact her with any problems.
Overall we had an enjoyable stay with our family.
We had the best day of our trip hanging out at the pool with our family.Our host was lovely and took great care of us.Parking-be aware that parking is very limited and the driveway is very narrow and steep in one place with low overhanging branches. I should have asked more questions about parking. We were traveling with a van and a small trailer that we ended up parking off-site and it worked out fine with a little shuttling back and forth.Hope to book again for a girls trip and spend more time exploring Austin and Round Top.