Disclaimer: My review is based on comparing this hotel to others in it's price/star range. I travel for work and the hotel cost is expensed, so I rarely am concerned about the room rate.
Overview: If you're going to San Antonio, the downtown/riverwalk area is the place to be, but if the downtown hotels are full (and around Cinco de Mayo, they often are), stay at this property in North San Antonio. This is a mission style hotel, built around a central outdoor courtyard with a large pool, hot tub and lots of tables for dining or drink (no outdoor bar, but you can bring drinks outside from the bar). Spanish design with lots of tile and stucco. Very open, airy feel. Because this hotel had the word airport in the title I immediatly imagened the worse...over-crowded with business travelers, lots of airport noise and was glad to be wrong. There is a mall directly across the street from the hotel and a strip mall with a TGI-Friday's and, deli and chinese/sushi place next to it.
Bars/Restaraunts: KC, the weekend bartender was a lot of fun and I ended up subbing for one of the palyers on his softball team. Tip well and ask him about his softball team and you'll probably be paying for less than half of your drinks. This is the bartender that every bar should have. The restaurant wasn't much to write home about. Mostly southwest style menu, but not true Tex-Mex (and if you're eating anything else in San Antonio, you're wasting your time). I ate out most nights, but room service was fast and not bad.
Room: I was upgraded to the Executive section of the hotel through my Hilton Diamond membership. Great room decorated in desert colors. Huge king bed, very comfortable with new bedding. Good bathroom amminities. My room had a full sliding glass door that opened all the way (not a real balcony, but there's a rail outside the window. Wireless internet was 10 dollars a day and only of average quality, which has, unfortunatly, become the norm. Especially poor performance between 6 and 9 PM when their access points are bogged down with users.
Staff: Good all around. House keeping always did a solid job. They brought me plenty of extra hangers for my three week stay. Front desk staff thanked me for my Hilton Honors membership and upgraded me when asked. I'm originally from just up I-35 in Austin, Texas so I didn't require much assistance on getting around or what to see, so I didn't have a lot of staff interaction. Bar staff was very good.
Other: Has a decent gym and small sauna. Pool and hot tub both very nice. Looks like there is a ton of meeting space and there were several conferences/meetings while I was there, in addition to a wedding reception and a few birthday parties. Overall a much better than expected stay.
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