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Waco · Hotel shortlist

The best hotels near Waco Convention Center

Mei-Lin Zhou

Mei-Lin Zhou Japan

Updated 1 September 2026 · 22 Waco hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Waco, out of the 22 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.8 down to 4.5.

All five are inside 700 m of Waco Convention Center, so you can walk it.

AC Hotel Waco Downtown

Highest rated of the five

AC Hotel Waco Downtown

★★★★★4.8 from 679 reviews

AC Hotel Waco Downtown comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.8 from 679 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 4 star property, found under poi and around $435 a night on the dates we checked.

22 hotels in Waco qualified for this list and five made it. Cambria Hotel Waco University Riverfront is the one I would book if the first is full.

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All five, ranked

  1. AC Hotel Waco Downtown1

    AC Hotel Waco Downtown

    ★★★★★4.8 from 679 reviews

    700 m from Waco Convention Center, about a 9 minute walk

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    • Cambria Hotel Waco University Riverfront2

      Cambria Hotel Waco University Riverfront

      ★★★★★4.6 from 328 reviews

      400 m from Waco Convention Center, about a 5 minute walk

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      • EVEN Hotel Waco - University Area by IHG3

        EVEN Hotel Waco - University Area by IHG

        ★★★★★4.7 from 180 reviews

        500 m from Waco Convention Center, about a 6 minute walk

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        • Holiday Inn Express Waco Downtown4

          Holiday Inn Express Waco Downtown

          ★★★★★4.8 from 403 reviews

          600 m from Waco Convention Center, about a 8 minute walk

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          • Hotel Indigo Waco - Baylor by IHG5

            Hotel Indigo Waco - Baylor by IHG

            ★★★★★4.5 from 1,225 reviews

            600 m from Waco Convention Center, about a 8 minute walk

            • Pool
            • Spa
            • Gym
            • Restaurant
            • Bar
            • Parking

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          How this list was put together

          22 Waco hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating first and on how close they are to Waco Convention Center second, then took the top five.

          Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

          The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

          What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

          Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

          Mei-Lin Zhou

          Mei-Lin Zhou Japan

          Works agency hours in Vancouver and spends all 18 vacation days abroad. One new country and one repeat visit per year. Five trips to Japan and a running list of ramen shops.

          Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.