San Antonio Hotels Cited as Tops

It’s no surprise to us that San Antonio is receiving top accolades from two of the top travel magazines: Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler. Travel + Leisure included the Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, Omni La Mansion del Rio and Watermark Hotel & Spa on their 2008 list of the top 500 hotels in the world; the rankings were based on ambiance, service and amenities. Condé Nast Traveler placed the Watermark Hotel & Spa and Westin La Cantera Resort on their 2008 Gold List which denotes the best places in the world to stay as ranked by their readers.

What They Said:

Hotel Valencia

• Travel + Leisure noted that this as San Antonio’s hippest hotel with its stylish VBar. This Tuscan-style, terra-cotta-roofed property on the famed River Walk is five blocks from the Alamo and immersed in the culture of downtown San Antonio.

Omni La Mansion del Rio

• Recognized by Travel + Leisure for a high level of charm and a recent $6 million renovation to their 1852 Spanish colonial property that overlooks the River Walk. Travel + Leisure also suggests not missing Chef Scott Cohen’s deviled blue-crab cakes with roasted corn relish at the hotel’s riverside restaurant, Las Canarias.

Watermark Hotel & Spa

• Both Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler pointed to the four-year-old River Walk hotel for its sophisticated, Texas ranch-style interior and location across the river from the opulent 1920’s-era Majestic Theatre. Both magazines recommend sampling world class tequilas at the hotel’s renowned restaurant, Pesca, and enjoying the 17,000-square-foot spa.

Westin La Cantera Resort

• Condé Nast Traveler highlighted the Westin La Cantera Resort’s unique location in an abandoned limestone rock quarry as well as its Spanish mission architecture, warm interior décor and six swimming pools–as well as “great fish tacos” at The Gantry.