Best romantic hotel on riverwalk for anniversary?

La Mansion del Rio (Traditional Old World-ish)
Grand Hyatt (Swank-modern)
Hotel Valencia (Swank)
Hotel Contessa (Swankish-nice Spa)
Menger Hotel(Historic charm, not directly on the Riverwalk)

My go to is La Mansion, but it depends on what you're looking for.

[This message has been edited by p_bubel (edited 10/27/2009 1:27p).]

Haven't I heard good things about the Emily Morgan?

I think there was an old thread on this... I'll try and look it up.

I found this so far...

Hotels:
http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=54&topic_id=1349987


Restaurants(Aggies Only):
http://www.texags.com/main/forum.reply.asp?forum_id=27&topic_id=1493974

Loooooooove the Emily Morgan. Get the King suite with the big tub. It's right next door to the Alamo and two blocks from the Riverwalk.

I made this post in one of those links:

quote:

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I always priceline/name-your-own-price four star riverwalk hotels. My last two have been the hyatt regency (I think i bid around 90), and a few months ago I got La Maison de Rio for 102/night).

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Last week, I pricelined "4 star" riverwalk hotels and bid $86. I got the Emily Morgan. I read the reviews on tripadvisor, got scared, and tried to give it away for half of what I paid (their online price was $400, I tried to sell my two nights for 100... no takers except one tailgating friend who considered helping me out). That said, I paid a 75/night upgrade to get the king suite. If you do the Emily Morgan, do priceline and upgrade to king suite.... However.

On the riverwalk, I have stayed at:
Menger
Hyatt Regency
La Maison del Rio
Emily Morgan

Of those, I would recommend a riverview room of La Maison del Rio

Others to consider would be Valencia and Contessa. FYI, when we were there last week, we booked the Hotel Contessa (Executive King Suite) for December. Check out www.tripadvisor.com for hotel reviews.

Also, if money is no object, you could look into the Watermark.


Actually... after I typed all of that, I remember a place that we almost booked, and wished we have. Depends on what type of place you are looking for (e.g. trendy/modern vs. upscale vs. whatever), but this is more of a bed and breakfast feel on the riverwalk. For full disclosure I have never stayed here or looked at it, but the reviews are great and may fit the bill.

http://www.riverwalkvista.com/

Menger is great to visit and look around (Hotel bar is really fun and historic), with an outstanding Sunday brunch. But...

Stayed in a suite during out last Alamobowl trip and it was miserable. For the price it was just a big, old room without any of todays ammentities.

It was fun for nostalgia and history but the bed was terrible and the furniture hurt to sit on.

Got a great rate on the room but I think they originally wanted ~300/night--got it for their regular room rate.

La Mansion del Rio

My wife and I stayed at the Riverwalk Vista. A neat little boutique hotel right downtown.

http://www.riverwalkvista.com

O.K., need to book a hotel for a weekend 5 weeks from now on the River Walk.

I want something ON the River Walk. Preferably a king room with a river view.

I looked at the La Mansion Del Rio online and really liked it. They have a special that includes buffet breakfast, valet parking, and riverwalk cruise tickets. But the River view rooms are like $300 a night($235 for a non-river view). Didn't really want to spend that much money. But also realize the extras in the special total to like $106...
Is this a good price?

I would like to try and Priceline a room also to save some money, but have never used priceline before. Makes me a little nervous not being able to pick which hotel/room I want. I thought about bidding $100 or $150 for a 4 star hotel in the riverwalk area. If you bid more, will you get a better hotel/room? How long will it take to know if I got a hotel? Is there a chance I get something off the riverwalk(a block or two away)? I want a king bed. Once I bid and get confirmed in a particular hotel, if i get a queen room, can I upgrade to a king room or suite, by paying the hotel more money directly? Is it to far out to priceline right now... or should I wait closer to the date to get a better deal? Just tons of questions....

TIA!

Oh yeah, is it possible to get a crappy 4 star hotel on the riverwalk with priceline? Or are they all pretty nice so no worries?

Menger Hotel Sucks, DO NOT STAY THERE

[This message has been edited by ColoradoMooseHerd (edited 4/8/2011 11:22a).]

quote:

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Actually... after I typed all of that, I remember a place that we almost booked, and wished we have. Depends on what type of place you are looking for (e.g. trendy/modern vs. upscale vs. whatever), but this is more of a bed and breakfast feel on the riverwalk. For full disclosure I have never stayed here or looked at it, but the reviews are great and may fit the bill.

http://www.riverwalkvista.com/

---

Wife and I have stayed here several times and love it.

If you do go to Menger, look for Jay the eccentric hotel "mascot".

La Mansion is your best bet. Spring for a room with a balcony overlooking the river. It is on a quite part of the riverwalk and very relaxing.

Yes, that is what I want... but does anyone know how priceline works? If I use it what are the chances of getting La Mansion? And then will I be able to get one of the river balcony rooms or will I just be put into a cheaper room?

I have only used Priceline a few times but I would not use it if your hotel & room choice is important. You will most likely be put in a less desirable room so they can sale the "better" rooms for more $$$. I have never tried to "upgrade" upon arrival but there would be no guarantee that this would work. Basically you bid on a certain area w/a certain star rating.If your bid is accepted, your credit card is charged right away & then they reveal what hotel you are in & you can't cancel or change.

Thanks for the reply.

I done a little more checking on it and it makes more sense now. I called Omni and asked about priceline, and they said they do not give priceline any of the river view rooms.

Trying to decide if I want to spend $550 for two nights in a river view or priceline two nights for $250.

How much time are you going to be in the room looking at the river?

Just spent a weekend on the Riverwalk AND used priceline. Bid $99 per night and got a 4-star. The Mariiott Plaza & Suites which was just south of Rivercenter Mall and the Alamo. We loved it and save $100 per night from their online specials. You can use betterbidding.com to see a list of the 14, 4-star hotels for the San Antonio Riverwalk. And at the end of the day, we spent as little time in the room as we could when we were awake.

We never spend any time in the rooms so we always use priceline. For the money we save, we can cover some dang nice/romantic meals and have a good time on the river in the evenings. I've always gone 4* or higher and always get in for somewhere around $100. None of the hotels we've gotten through priceline have been bad. They've all been nicer/upper end hotels and we've had no complaints. The riverwalk area is just expensive as hell if you book directly through the hotels.

I ended up using Priceline.

1st bid $80 wasn't accepted.

2nd bid of $90 wasn't accepted.

3rd bid of $100 wasn't accepted.

4th bid of $110 was accepted at the Grand Hyatt.

A little disappointed. I was hoping for one of the smaller boutique hotels on the Riverwalk. I probably got a little impatient and shouldn't have jumped up so fast. I was also looking at hotwire and they had a riverwalk north hotel for $113 per night, that I narrowed down to either La Mansion Del Rio or Sheraton Gunter(based on the amenities)... I really didn't want Gunter, so taking that deal made me nervous.

Overall I am pleased with the price I guess. I ended up saving $175 total on the cheapest "full" rate I found online for the Grand Hyatt, and it seems nice enough.

Thanks for the replys and recs!

[This message has been edited by jpb1999 (edited 4/12/2011 7:16a).]

You got a steal man! $110 for the new Grand Hyatt. You will love it. I can't believe you are disappointed.

Sweet place to stay.

I haven't stayed at the river in a few years so I didn't even know there was a new Hyatt there. After I saw your post I looked it up. I think you got a fantastic deal. Even if you don't get the view you wanted, it still should be nice. When I travel I look for new hotels to stay in. At least if somethings go wrong the rooms are new & clean!

Thanks for the encouragement! I am o.k. with it and it does seem like a great deal, I just had one of the other boutique hotels in mind.

I'll give a report on it when I get back.

The Grand Hyatt just finished a major overhaul and is in a prime location on the riverwalk. You will enjoy your stay.

Finally heading down to the Riverwalk this weekend and wanted to get a massage my wife.

Staying at the Grand Hyatt as mentioned above.

Anything close, as in walking distance from there, and won't break the bank?

TIA!

Mokara Hotel & Spa
Dasa Spa

Menger is cool, good location, good restaurant.....not a good bar (in 2009), not luxurious, but interesting

My favorite is mariott riverwalk, not rivercenter

Favorite bar is durty nellys, btw