San Antonio, TX

Instead of our usual trip for Easter break to the Caribbean, we decided to put some money into the U.S. economy. We picked San Antonio for a variety of reasons. We'd never been there. The River Walk area looked pretty. Continental had a great deal and we could get a nice hotel via Priceline. This trip was taken April 11-17, 2009.

HOTEL: We bid with Priceline and got the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa at a very good rate. The resort is HUGE and the property is VERY NICE. The weather was great except for one rainy day on our last full day (it was mostly in the 80s during the day). Floating down the lazy river pool was LOVELY. However, the water was COLD! My husband and son had no problems going in. I just stayed on top of my inner tube. There's also a hot tub near the big pool as well as a kiddie pool. Side note: We've stayed at the Hyatt in Bonita Springs, FL, where there are great pools as well, including a lazy river pool. We liked Florida's lazy river pool better (it's just prettier).

OUR ROOM: We were in the 400-block on the 4th floor which was the top floor. Our room was a standard Hyatt room. Nothing special but nice enough. There was a small balcony with a view of trees. The timing for room cleaning varied. The first couple of days, they'd come in the afternoon. Towards the end of the stay, they'd come to clean in the morning.

 

THE RESTAURANTS: We only ate at the Springhouse Cafe and Papa Ed's Pool Bar & Grill. We also had room service a couple of times. We thought the fajitas (cafe), quesadillas (pool bar), chicken wings (room service), apple bread pudding (room service), chocolate mousse cake (room service) were good -- the cheeseburgers with fries (pool bar) were just okay -- and the chicken caesar salad (cafe), BBQ brisquet sandwich (room service) were not good. They have a pretty good children's menu. Oh and look who we just ran into... the Easter Bunny!

THE SPA: I had a 60-minute relaxing massage. It was GREAT.

THE STAFF: No complaints. Everyone we encountered was really nice and helpful, especially the waitresses at the Springhouse Cafe.

RESORT MISCELLANEOUS: It is about 30 minutes away from the airport. It is a 20 to 25-minute drive to downtown San Antonio. It is a 10-minute drive to a Target, IHOP and TGIFriday's. 

RENTAL CAR: We bid with Priceline and got a mid-size from Avis at the airport.  The guy at the desk tried to upgrade us without telling us. We noticed the extra charges as we were about to sign the agreement. Not cool at all.

OTHER RESTAURANTS: We had dinner at two River Walk restaurants. We sat outside on both occasions.

--  BOUDRO'S: I had the Texas filet of sirloin & frites which was very good. My husband tried the grilled prime rib which he said was just okay. Our son had the ranch-grilled chicken (off the kid's menu) which must have been good since he ate it all. My creme brulee was disappointing. My husband's double chocolate brownie was good.

-- PAESANOS: I had the meat ravioli with bolognaise and mozzarella. It was very good but the portion was small. My husband had the fettuccine alfredo with chicken. He said his meal was very good as well. Our son had the penne pasta with tomato sauce. My marble cheesecake was okay. My husband's double chocolate cake was good.

THE TOURISTY STUFF WE DID: It was our first time in San Antonio. We loved the RIVER WALK. Besides the fact that it's pretty, if you're into people watching then this is the place for you! :-).  We did the obligatory RIVER BOAT TOUR (loved it!). We checked out the TOWER OF THE AMERICAS (our son was dying to take the elevator to the top), the KING WILLIAM HISTORIC DISTRICT (some beautiful homes there!), and THE ALAMO of course.  We had a great time and would recommend San Antonio  to families and couples.