New hotels in San Antonio

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by cooter1869

I just heard on the news that the Gaylord/La Cantera deal fell through. They are going to have a full report on KSAT at 10PM... I figured this whole thing was too good to be true!

That has been dead since right after it was announced.

[icebrg]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

Look what it did for Austin... While it might not be a GREAT Four Seasons within the grand scheme of things, it is a fiscally successful hotel and brings a much needed upper-crust kind of clientele who spend in the city accordingly. That's not a bad thing.BN

San Antonio did have a Four Seasons Hotel, it is now the Marriott Plaza San Antonio. As far as upscale hotels, San Antonio has them. They are just not part of big chains (with exception of La Mansion del Rio and Watermark, which are now owned by Omni and the Westin Riverwalk) The Fairmont and Valencia Hotel are two that come to mind. The high end tourist base is there. It will only be a matter of time before Four Seasons comes back and Ritz Carlton comes to town.

[Bowie]

Originally Posted by cooter1869

I just heard on the news that the Gaylord/La Cantera deal fell through. They are going to have a full report on KSAT at 10PM... I figured this whole thing was too good to be true!

USAA Real Estate also announced plans for a $10M renovation to the property. Despite the sale falling through, it's still considered to be a top-flight resort.

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by icebrg

San Antonio did have a Four Seasons Hotel, it is now the Marriott Plaza San Antonio. As far as upscale hotels, San Antonio has them. They are just not part of big chains (with exception of La Mansion del Rio and Watermark, which are now owned by Omni and the Westin Riverwalk) The Fairmont and Valencia Hotel are two that come to mind. The high end tourist base is there. It will only be a matter of time before Four Seasons comes back and Ritz Carlton comes to town.

The Fairmont and Valenica are not 5-star properties by any means. The closest thing SA has would be The Watermark, which has made various top 10 lists with both T&L and Conde Nast.

I'm not saying that homegrown hotels can't be 5-star, but it's really yet to happen around these parts. While with decent design, the Valencia has poor service and lack of true 5-star amenity (spa, pool, large workout facility). The Fairmont needs a little face-lift as well.



BN

[tgannaway89]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

The Fairmont and Valenica are not 5-star properties by any means. The closest thing SA has would be The Watermark, which has made various top 10 lists with both T&L and Conde Nast.

I'm not saying that homegrown hotels can't be 5-star, but it's really yet to happen around these parts. While with decent design, the Valencia has poor service and lack of true 5-star amenity (spa, pool, large workout facility). The Fairmont needs a little face-lift as well.



BN

Valencia, Watermark, and Westin are all ranked 5-star hotels. The hotel going into the Rivercenter Mall has been rumored to be 5-star. Just to compare: Houston has at least nine 5-star hotels, Austin has three, and Dallas has ten.

[BenjaminNicholas]

Originally Posted by tgannaway89

Valencia, Watermark, and Westin are all ranked 5-star hotels. The hotel going into the Rivercenter Mall has been rumored to be 5-star. Just to compare: Houston has at least nine 5-star hotels, Austin has three, and Dallas has ten.

San Antonio Riverwalk Hotels | Luxury Hotel Lodging | Hotel Valencia Riverwalk TX

Read em' and weep: Valencia is 4-diamond, not 5-diamond. It's posted clearly on their main page above.

As for The Westin, the only two properties in the whole system that rate at 5-diamond/star are The St Regis (NYC) and The Phoenecian (also a part of The Luxury Collection). Everything else is 3 or 4-star.

As I said before, The Watermark is the ONLY true 5-star property in San Antonio, with La Mansion now dropping to 4-stars thanks to Omni not keeping the standard of service up as it once was.

The two premier hotel rating systems continue to be Mobil Guide, as well as AAA.

Here's an interesting article on so-called ratings systems employed by sites like Hotels.com, Travelocity and Expedia. Not good.




BN

[icebrg]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

San Antonio Riverwalk Hotels | Luxury Hotel Lodging | Hotel Valencia Riverwalk TX

Read em' and weep: Valencia is 4-diamond, not 5-diamond. It's posted clearly on their main page above.

As for The Westin, the only two properties in the whole system that rate at 5-diamond/star are The St Regis (NYC) and The Phoenecian (also a part of The Luxury Collection). Everything else is 3 or 4-star.

As I said before, The Watermark is the ONLY true 5-star property in San Antonio, with La Mansion now dropping to 4-stars thanks to Omni not keeping the standard of service up as it once was.

The two premier hotel rating systems continue to be Mobil Guide, as well as AAA.

Here's an interesting article on so-called ratings systems employed by sites like Hotels.com, Travelocity and Expedia. Not good.




BN

Although my original post did not mention hotel ratings, Mobil has only one 4-Star hotel listed on their web site, The Watermark. AAA lists several 4-Diamond hotels in San Antonio. If we are discussing ratings, San Antonio will not likely have a 5-Diamond or 5-Star rated hotel even if it is a St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental or other top tier chain. It is a good market for these types of hotels, but not a top, global destination (San Francisco, New York, LA) that demands these types of accommodations.

[smitty12]

Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas

San Antonio Riverwalk Hotels | Luxury Hotel Lodging | Hotel Valencia Riverwalk TX

Read em' and weep: Valencia is 4-diamond, not 5-diamond. It's posted clearly on their main page above.

As for The Westin, the only two properties in the whole system that rate at 5-diamond/star are The St Regis (NYC) and The Phoenecian (also a part of The Luxury Collection). Everything else is 3 or 4-star.

As I said before, The Watermark is the ONLY true 5-star property in San Antonio, with La Mansion now dropping to 4-stars thanks to Omni not keeping the standard of service up as it once was.

The two premier hotel rating systems continue to be Mobil Guide, as well as AAA.

Here's an interesting article on so-called ratings systems employed by sites like Hotels.com, Travelocity and Expedia. Not good.




BN

To go with that if you play with AAA booking engine there apparently are only 4 5-star hotels in the entire state... 2 in Houston and 2 in Dallas

[tgannaway89]

Has construction begun on the 10-story Staybridge Suites adjacent to UTSA Downtown or the 17-story Embassy Suites beside Piazza San Lorenzo?

Any news on the Element or Indigo hotels?

With the 17-story Courtyard and Vistana reaching height what new projects do you expect to be announced downtown?

Two aloft hotels are supposed to open next year (including a 14-story downtown location), has either begun construction? Starwood Hotels & Resorts