Gina Wahab was very timely, personable & professional over the phone, e- mail & texting. All went perfectly.

I highly recommend the SFA Royal Sonesta for any of your wedding weekend needs. The SFA Royal Sonesta was the designated hotel for my son's wedding. We not only stayed at the hotel but also held the Rehearsal Dinner in the Capital Ballroom. The event was amazing! The hotel staff was excellent throughout the planning, set up, and execution phases. Special thanks to Ghina, Joshua, Aziz, and Louis who were so attentive and accommodating to any of our needs. The food was delicious at the Rehearsal Dinner and in the restaurant for breakfast. The hotel suites were perfect for getting ready on the wedding day. The convenience of the location could not be beat as the church and wedding venue were within walking distance. Being in downtown Austin with the vibrant night life was also a bonus for after the wedding. Thanks so much to the amazing staff at the SFA Royal Sonesta for making the wedding weekend spectacular!

Our wedding was held on New Year's Eve. This was the perfect location for guests to celebrate the wedding and ring in the New Year. Congress Ave was beautiful as was the view of the Capitol....and the hotel still had it's Christmas decorations everywhere which added to the festivity of the event. David Kaso, their catering director was amazing....he kept us organized....very professional and efficient...the food was delicious....our wedding party and guests had a fabulous time

I booked out the Stephen F Bar and Terrace for a cocktail party after my proposal. Ghina and the rest of the team were extremely accommodating, from the day I reached out about the inquiry down to the day of the actual event. They helped me coordinate pricing, timing, setup, food and drinks, and headcount in a way that met my requests, preferences, and budget. The venue itself is great and perfect for such an event. The bartenders were well praised on the night of and did an amazing job serving my guests. Overall, the event was a 10/10, and I would not have wanted to hold a party for that special night anywhere else! Would highly recommend!

We had a fabulous and unforgetable evening here! David Lopez, director of catering, worked with us for months planning and getting all the details just right for our daughter's wedding reception. He never seemed too busy to take one more call or have one more meeting to get it all right! Antonio Pace, the banquet director, was on hand and on every single little detail that night to make sure it all went smoothly. We were very pleased with the entire experience and the beautiful venue that the Stephen F Austin Hotel provided. The food was delicious and we had many guests comment positively.

What a fabulous hotel!!! This was our first stay here and everything was perfect. We had a suite on the Continental Club floor ~ the 16th floor ~ for 5 days and it was so wonderful. The staff greeted us by name at every turn, the room was beautiful with plenty of room to dress and prep for our wedding. My husband and I had such an amazing stay in this hotel for our honeymoon. Within walking distance to all the fabulous sites of downtown Austin and a fantastic 2nd floor outdoor bar overlooking the capitol building! Cannot wait to return!

Ghina and her team made my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner flawless. The food was delicious, the room and outdoor space was more than expected and the service was impeccable. They all went out of their way for the evening to be a success and it ended up even better than we imagined.

Venue was absolutely fabulous! Wedding went without a hitch and was so smooth! Beautiful space, great bar area for guests, and wonderful food! Suite was also wonderful, and we were so well accommodated!

I cannot say enough fabulous things about this venue. We did a "bar buyout" which included rented out nearly the entire second floor including the ballroom, bar, area near the stairs, and terrace. We had a bar set up on the terrace which was perfect for guests to get some fresh air and take a break from the band. The best part about this venue was Julie, the director of Catering, at Intercontinental. She basically became my wedding coordinator not only day of but leading up to my day. She was always available by email, phone, text any time. She was amazing to work with and made my wedding day free of stress. I honestly believe she is the greatest asset to this venue and I would recommend her and this venue to anyone. The service was phenomenal all weekend and I will continue to call the SFA Intercontinental my favorite hotel!

Tour this wedding venue! This was our first venue that we toured and we ended up touring about 4 to 5 after this and immediately knew this was our venue after each subsequent tour. The historic charm, boutique feel in the middle of downtown, the location off of Congress with view of the capital, and the staff- especially Ghina - made this the best wedding venue for our cocktail hour and reception.

We got married in April 2025 and used this venue for our cocktail hour and reception. Our cocktail hour was in the upstairs foyer. This is a beautiful space with access to an outdoor terrace. The venue provided cocktail tables, linens, bars, and Access to a piano to provide elegant cocktail hour music. We had many compliments on our passed appetizers that were crab cakes, brisket, empanadas, and a goat cheese crostini. There is plenty of space for a guest. They were able to sit stand and mingle.

Our reception was held in the one ballroom on the second floor. It was nice having only one ballroom because we felt like we had the entire hotel for our event. There is a grand stairwell leading to the upstairs level, which provides a beautiful space for pictures. There’s also a terrace located off the ballroom that overlooks the Paramount theater Congress Avenue, and the capital which is a great place for guests to go outside as well as a good place for pictures. The venue also provides tables, linens, bars, cake stand, stage, and dance floor, which was rare compared to many other venues where you needed to rent these items. They also have chairs available, although we brought in our own Chiavari chairs. They have plated or buffet option available. We chose plated for the number of guests that we had and received many compliments on our food options. I think mass production of food at a hotel is difficult, and while it wasn’t as good as the food we had at our tasting, it wasnt far from it. There is also a well known bar upstairs that did not interfere with our wedding, but provided a great place for an after party following our wedding and a fun place for our guests staying at the hotel to meet and mingle days before the wedding. This was a huge selling point for us! There is no self parking, but this is typical of downtown. Garages are close, but valet worked hard to make sure this wasn’t too much of a stressor.

The best part about this venue was the staff- particularly Ghina. She is the wedding/event coordinator at the hotel. She was incredible and so great to work with. She is kind, hospitable, calm, extremely detail oriented, attentive, accommodating, and should be a wedding planner on the side. I wish I could work with her even after the wedding. She is a gem. She would respond to our questions in minutes, always had an answer, and created a seamless event for us. She helped me with vendors, decisions, and any problem solving- although I can’t think of any problems because she is so on top of it. She knew every detail about our wedding and kept us on schedule during the planning process. She provided us great advice and knew what worked well at this venue based on previous weddings. The rest of the staff was 10/10. Bridgette was extremely accommodating for our guests and room block, and valet and hotel staff were all very kind and welcoming. The day of staff were great, and I remember having a staff member bring us food and cocktails making sure we had a moment to eat and drink while bustling my dress. They were always willing to help and serve.

There is a beautiful bridal suite that I toured but it was already booked. Ghina was extremely accommodating and booked the governors suite for my bridal party to get ready. This suite was huge with two living spaces, dining space, two bathrooms, and large bedroom, stately design, and overlooked the capital. I was VERY happy with this suite and it worked perfectly for having 10-15 guests in my room at a time. Ghina and Bridgette made sure we had enough glassware, steamers, and staff available for our needs.

We were very happy with our choice, and loved this unique historic Austin venue! Our guests enjoyed staying at the hotel and being in such a great location. Thank you again to Ghina and the hotel staff for creating such a wonderful event.