My hubby must come for business to San A. often. He has stayed at the Watermark and the Omni. I chose the Hotel Contessa because just wanted to see how it was, looked neat in pictures. San Antonio is a wonderful place; I had no idea it has all the stuff it does. Wow! Thank goodness they didn't pave over the River! Tip: Go to the Alamo and pay the extra for the audio tour. I spent 2.5 hours here.

I really loved it; the setting is wonderful. Rooms larger than most , nice bathroom. It's located in the best area overall to me. Just a little walk to Boudros. Right next door to the Villita shops, which were disappointing shop-wise but I enjoyed the preserving the architecture.

I have to say after seeing where the Omni & Watermark is; think it's too loud over there. The Omni's exterior is nice but interior just so so. Watermark's exterior wasn't anything special but hubby said he liked their fitness center. (Which is very important to him, less so to me). Another option that looked nice was the hotel next door to the Hotel Contessa; Wyndham or Westin? not sure.

The customer service of the Hotel Contessa is a lot to be desired. Our flight to San Antonio was delayed and we called the Hotel to relay that information and they said that was fine and they would have our room ready when we arrived. When we went to check in they told us we were going to another Hotel because they were over booked. We had booked 6 months prior through priceline. The inexperienced front clerk told us that our new hotel was equivalent to the Hotel Contessa and that we could walk there with our luggage. The new hotel ended up being 8 blocks away ( they wouldn't even give us directions). And it was not equivalent price wise to say the least. The Contessa said we could come back the next day to check in for our final day at that hotel. They wouldn't provide transportation until we started raising our voices. The staff kept trying to get us out the door. They expected us to check out of our new hotel at noon and wait for our room at the contessa at 4pm. The manager would not come out and speak to us. When I finally got someone on the phone I had to ask repeatedly for some compensation for the money I paid and they offered a future free night at the contessa. Give me a break. Luckily with priceline there is a 100% room guarantee and I finally got our money back.
Ended up finding a room a block away for $100 cheaper and the same amenities as the Contessa. Would recommend any other hotel in San Antonio Riverwalk area but the Hotel Contessa

This is a beautiful hotel on a "quiet" part of the river walk. Very clean and comfortable with large suite-type rooms. The staff, especially at the front desk and the concierge, were extremely courteous and helpful. Even though it wasn't on the main part of the river walk, it only took us ten minutes walking to get to the restaurants, boat launch, etc.

We had a riverview suite. I don't know exactly what we paid for our room, but the river view probably wasn't worth the extra cost because there are no balconies. And how long are you going to stand at your window and look down at a river?

Just a couple of concerns, which were not a big deal for us: The pool is very small; the picture on their website is deceiving. If we had been traveling with our children (it was just my husband and I), we would have preferred one of the resorts out of town, like the Hyatt Hill Country Resort, with a larger pool and grounds. Also, we were there from Wednesday afternoon through Saturday morning and the only time we saw a pool bar was Friday afternoon. The other days we had to call down for drinks from a pool phone, sort of like room service, with a hefty delivery charge.

If you are NOT traveling with kids who will occupy the living room area of the "suite", then this hotel really isn't worth it. The room is the size that a regular room at a luxury hotel would be, but they chop it in half to create a "suite". The bedroom area is small with an old TV (most luxury hotels are doing flat screens now) and if you're just a couple who is traveling for pleasure, you'd never just sit in the living room area doing nothing...

The hotel is nice, but I'm not a big fan of these so-called "suites". If I go back to San Antonio, I will either book a room at the Hyatt or the Westin. Both are right next to the Contessa and are much nicer.