San Antonio hotels

I'm not sure you'd find a 4 star hotel for $100/night. Its been a while since I've been there, but I believe there are two Drury properties on Riverwalk. I've always been quite happy with that chain.

You have two choices, $100 or 4 Star.

4 star. We are willing to pay a little more

What do you want to be near?

We stayed at the SpringHill Suites by Marriott (a 3 star hotel) a few years ago. I believe we paid around $100 per night, there was free breakfast, and we really enjoyed the location. It isn't right on the Riverwalk, but very close to it, and very close to the Alamo. Rooms were clean, there was a small but nice outdoor pool. I would stay there again.

Hotel Valencia is a nice 4-star hotel on the Riverwalk. I also really liked Hotel Havana - great architecture and very atmospheric. There are many others. But they won't be priced at $100 per night (most 4-star chain hotels in any major US cities are way higher than $100 per night). On my last trip, I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott Riverwalk using hotel points. In retrospect, some hotels outside the Riverwalk were a lot more cost effective (using points) and were a mere 5 minute walk. I would not hesitate at all to stay outside the Riverwalk which is loud and crowded in some areas. I never felt unsafe walking around in the evenings outside the Riverwalk although it could be eerily absent of foot traffic in some places (I went in February though, so I'm sure that made a difference).

Also, check out Hotel Emma (http://www.thehotelemma.com) in the Pearl District which is on the northern part of the Riverwalk (away from downtown) and is a nice compact cluster of restaurants, shops, etc. I really enjoyed that neighborhood.

Hotel Prices around the Riverwalk in San Antonio are really sensitive to hotel demand. If there is a big convention in town, prices will shoot up. As others have noted, you can save quite a bit if your hotel is close to the Riverwalk. I liked the Residence Inn which was a little behind the Alamo. You can also save some if you are a little further from the Convention Center. I stayed at the Holiday Inn on St. Mary’s (there a few hotels right next to each other and they are probably all comparable).

Thank you, everyone, for your input. We decided on the Drury on the Riverwalk. Not to pricey and seems to have a lot to offer.