Starwood Preferred Guest - Westin La Cantera Resort, San Antonio, Texas [Master Thread]

I tried to search for some info about this hotel as I'm staying there next week. Nada.

Does any members have experience with this property?

Plat upgrades? Exec floor? Parking, is it free? How long does it take to drive to SAT airport?

I also wonder what the USD 10 resort fee they charge covers?


Thanks

I now live in SAT, so it has been 4 years since I have stayed there, but visit often due to guest in town.

Plat upgrade is normally to starwood room above pool, big shared terrace, and larger room. Bad side is that during the summer, when the grill is open, it can smell like a hot dog stand in your room. If you stay there often or they are in a good mood, they will upgrade you to various suites throughout the property or the casitas.

Airport to hotel. Depends on which way you go. I would suggest 1604 west to Military Drive south to 410 west to airport exit. About 20 to 30 minutes depending on traffic. Do not speed on Military Hwy. Lots of cops who will pull you over for 1 mph over.

Property is very nice. Big plus if you are golfer.

Also by 6 Flags Fiesta Texas (seasonal) and a new Mall (La Canterra) with upscale shops (think Niemans).

I valet, so there was a charge. But if you do not mind walking, you could park in front of the 19th hole and walk up the hill which would be free.

No Exec floor

I tried to search for some info about this hotel as I'm staying there next week. Nada.

Does any members have experience with this property?

Plat upgrades? Exec floor? Parking, is it free? How long does it take to drive to SAT airport?

I also wonder what the USD 10 resort fee they charge covers?


Thanks

I have stayed there a few times and I really like the property. It's not really close to downtown but there is a nice mall very close to the resort. The least you should get as a platinum upgrade is access to the club lounge. The lounge is very nice and they offer some really nice hot and cold appetizers and free alcohol. If you like to golf the have two very nice courses on the property.

Parking is free unless you valet. The parking is fairly close to the hotel and I would probably park myself as valet isn't cheap.

I was just there staying with points, once at the end of November and then again last week. Beautiful property. As a Platinum I was upgraded to the Casitas area. This is separate from the hotel with the section has its own small pool and hot tub. It was very nice. They even give you your own golf cart to get to the hotel. The terrace at the back of the room was very secluded and private. Quite a peaceful setting away from the main hotel. My wife and I love it even though there is not that much to do near the hotel besides the Shops at La Cantera and Fiesta Texas (currently losed for the winter).

You also get to use the executive lounge as described. They serve breakfast ín the morning (egg tacos, pastries, cereal) and appetizers and drinks in the evening (5-7 pm). The lounge gets pretty crowded and there seem to be quite a lot of kids there. Get there early if you want to find a seat. Last time a couple of guests came out in PJ's and bathrobes as if it was their own den at home. There were a few others just reading which seemed inappropriate given how crowded it was and that there was no room for some guests to sit down. The food is good and the servers are friendly. The room is not that small but definitely not adequate for the number of people that come to it. Maybe it was unsusually crowded because of the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks when I was there).

I don't know what the $10 covers. I do know that internet access is extra!

...I don't know what the $10 covers. I do know that internet access is extra!

According to internal data, it covers no charge for local phone calls, no access charges to make credit card/800# calls, use of health club facility and tennis courts, shuttle service within the resort to the Palmer Course and the Six Flags theme park.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

Let's see:

I have a cell phone with no long distance or roaming charges, I don't play golf, Fiesta Texas closes from around October to March. Good value for me! :)

I don't understand why resorts have a separate resort fee. Why isn't the cost of these amenities just part of the room rate?

I seem to recall the State of Florida asking that very question.... ;)

No, I think rather that the State of Florida was concerned that people were not being sufficiently advised that there was a resort fee. At least that is the way I remember it. :)

As usual, trying to be helpful here at Flyertalk does not win me any friends or influence anyone to do anything but kick sand in my face. ;)

However, if it was me and I was asked to pay a resort fee and did not intend to use any of the services provided, I would just tell the manager on duty when I checked in that I expected to have the charges waived. @:-)

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

I had a terrible experience at this hotel about two years ago, but not as a guest per se. I had my client conference there and experienced the absolute worst service from a convention standpoint I've ever seen. Inattentiveness, MIA conference concierge's, theft from our exhibit room...amazing.

One of my co-workers was put in one of the casitas. For the first two nights he had the neighbor on the other side of the door blasting the TV and hotel staff would not rectify it. On the third night he came to the room and was greeted by buckets and mops and an empty room. There had been a leak and they started to clean it up but stopped and had to relocate the guest.

For my two stays there I got to experience the wonderful smells of sewer problems.

Beautiful hotel and I doubt you'll have the problems I did...at least I hope not.

I was considering the Westin and also the Hyatt Hill Country for a meeting in March. I know this is slightly OT for the *W forum but can anyone comment on the differences between the two.

I was considering the Westin and also the Hyatt Hill Country for a meeting in March. I know this is slightly OT for the *W forum but can anyone comment on the differences between the two.

I assume you read my post above yours on my experience with a meeting of around 100 people. I'll never take anyone of importance there again personally.

I assume you read my post above yours on my experience with a meeting of around 100 people. I'll never take anyone of importance there again personally.
I would just be there with 5 other people and we usually do our meetings out by the pool or find a quite seating area somewhere. No formal meeting here with any big requirements. More of a casual sort of warm destination bonus meeting for my sales people!

Westin is newer and nicer than Hyatt and is located better. Hyatt has a nicer pool where you can tube.

Around the Hyatt you only have Sea World, plus you have to traverse the west side to get downtown. Confusing and potentially dangerous for a tourist.

Hyatt is also flatter topography than the Westin. Westin is built on top of a hill.

I stayed here 2-3 times a year in the past few years. All on weekend, and always get upgraded to Royal Hacienda Club room (where club lounge is located), except for a reservation with specific view (which was pool view - no RHC room has pool view).

They usually send an upgrade notice by email 2-3 days prior to arrival date.

Great for golfers, also great for family in Summer - they offer free smores at pool side in the evening (8 pm ?)

I stayed here 2-3 times a year in the past few years. All on weekend, and always get upgraded to Royal Hacienda Club room (where club lounge is located), except for a reservation with specific view (which was pool view - no RHC room has pool view).

Great for golfers, also great for family in Summer - they offer free smores at pool side in the evening (8 pm ?) We were upgraded for a week stay. Rather nice. Smores are only on Fridays. They play movies at night on the weekdays, by the pool. You can also watch the fireworks from six flags in the exec lounge. Overall a great get away.

Thank you, William. ^

Got this e-mail today:

Dear Mr. 777,

Thank you for booking a reservation with us here at the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas! We are looking forward to your arrival on 01.15.07. As a concierge on the Royal Hacienda Club Floor, I wanted to extend to you as a Starwood Preferred Guest Platinum Member, our services if you would need any assistance with your travel plans, suggestions for dining, and/or activities in advance or while you are staying in San Antonio. Please feel free to contact us, we will be more that happy to assist you. The Royal Hacienda Concierge is available to you 6a-10p, Monday through Sunday and our phone numbers and email address are listed below. Again, we are looking forward to your arrival at the Westin La Cantera Resort and looking forward to seeing you on the Royal Hacienda Floor.

Sincerely,

Jessica Royal Hacienda Concierge

Westin La Cantera Resort

16641 La Cantera Parkway

Would appreciate any feedback on this resort from a SPG Gold perspective. I already trying to work up the "expect nothing extra and you won't be disappointed" mindset but I can't bring myself to actually endorse it.

Can any Golds speak of being pleasantly surprised here, above-and-beyond published benefits?

I forgot to report back.. (I did report it under the Report your Platinum Upgrade thread)

I got a nice upgrade to a room on the Royal Hacienda Floor. After a little nudge a suite was produced. It's a very nice, new property, I loved it. The lounge had free alcohol (whatever you wanted) and the best food I have ever seen in a SPG lounge. Great breakfast burritos!

The only bad thing was I had to ask for the upgrade, so that doesn't sound good for any Golds, does it?

I love to stay here and have done so many times however no upgrades
with my gold status. When I asked they replyed I was on a higher floor or
some other meaningless upgrade. However I have had good luck with the
50% cupon here. Used it just this weekend - Easter, and got the Royal
Hacienda club floor for $230.00 a night. The club was very nice! But again
no upgrade that I could see with my gold status. Its a very nice resort,
we always enjoy it!

I haven't been to La Cantera for a few years but I remember the gold upgrades to be there...but nothing fancy...from a 'traditional' room to a 'deluxe' with perhaps a better view...certainly no Club floor. I was pleased relative to the typical gold upgrade--nothing.

How is La Cantera holding up?...when I was there 2 yrs ago I was a bit concerned with its condition. The coffee stains on the wall, peeling wallpaper in the rooms..etc Perhaps I just got a bad room...but it sure could have used a deep cleaning. My stays since have been at the Hyatt Hill Country due to this concern.

How is La Cantera holding up.I was just there the last week of March and I thought the property was kept up pretty well. They were actually painting some of the hallways while we were there.

As for upgrades....as a Platinum I had to specifically ask for an upgrade at check-in. At first I was told there was no upgrade available but after some checking they "suprisingly" found a Jr. Suite for me. I really hate that I have to push the upgrade issue every time I seem to stay at resorts (and even at regular hotels for that matter)!

Only negatives during my stay were the concierge who basically wasn't very knowledgable about restaurants and I had co-workers that complained about the new no smoking policy because you have to actually go off the hotel grounds to smoke. As a non-smoker this didn't bother me but I found it strange that the couldn't smoke out on the patio or in front of the hotel.

Great property. Very Texas. Upgrades were minimal in my opinion.

Nicer / newer than Hyatt Hill Country. The lazy river at the Hyatt is a hit for kids, no doubt. A nice property as well.

I thought I would post a link to my photos (http://www.flickr.com/photos/travelingotter/sets/72157602318612868/) from my stay at the Westin La Cantera back in June. We were upgraded to the absolutely massive Garrison Suite. Its octagonal living room alone was larger than some other suites I have been assigned at other SPG properties.

OT and still a few years away but since the Hyatt was mentioned above I figured I would post it here......Marriott has announced a JW Marriott for the Texas Hill Country outside of SA.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8528454#post8528454

I was sad to hear that Westin La Cantera will no longer be a part of Starwood starting January 26, 2008. This was one of my favorite resorts and probably one of the best club lounges anywhere.

I was sad to hear that Westin La Cantera will no longer be a part of Starwood starting January 26, 2008. This was one of my favorite resorts and probably one of the best club lounges anywhere.

They appear to have a new owner...most likely this brought about the change.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/stories/MYSA112607.resort.EN.4053ea02.html

This is very bad news, I visit here often, its one of my favorite hotels
I always considered it a star in the starwood group!

Wow, that's weird timing... I just stayed here for the first time last week for a couple of nights. I had business north of the city and it seemed more convenient than the Westin Riverwalk, where I found myself having to drive back and forth 30 minutes to get to meetings.

I was pleasantly surprised by the setting, and the views from the hill of the city are stunning. As a Plat I got upgraded to the Royal Hacienda floor, and although the concierge was very nice, it was the gigantic quantity of breakfast tacos and other food that really impressed me in the morning.

Its too bad that it wont be a part of Starwood anymore... back to the Riverwalk for me, I guess.

I was sad to hear that Westin La Cantera will no longer be a part of Starwood starting January 26, 2008. This was one of my favorite resorts and probably one of the best club lounges anywhere.

Hmm...it's January 31st 2008 and the Westin LaCantera is still live on spg.com and taking reservations for this summer. Anyone hear any recent news on this?

Hmm...it's January 31st 2008 and the Westin LaCantera is still live on spg.com and taking reservations for this summer. Anyone hear any recent news on this?

I think there was some kind of press release from Gaylord Hotels that said they asked for an extension on the offer to buy. Pretty sure it can be found through Google.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

guest.forum@starwoodhotels.com

Anyone know any more information about this hotel leaving starwood?
It still shows up on the SPG site and when I called Starwood reservations
she said she didn't know anything about it leaving the starwood group.

This would be great news for me if its staying in the group. Its my favorite
hotel in San Antonio and I stay here 3-4 times a year:)

Maybe the sale fell through?

Maybe try calling the property itself and they might know more about the future with Starwood.

or maybe it's gone after the end of this month?

http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=72635&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1098483&highlight=

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 22, 2008--Gaylord Entertainment Company (NYSE: GET) today announced that it has amended its purchase agreement for the acquisition of the Westin La Cantera Resort in San Antonio, Texas, extending the closing date to April 30, 2008. The extension will allow Gaylord to bring in an additional capital partner to complete the transaction. Under the amendment, Gaylord retains the right to terminate the purchase agreement for any reason by forfeiting the $10 million deposit it previously made.

My understanding is that the deal fell through... so I guess it will still be SPG for the time being.

We just returned from a 2-night stay here with 4 rooms (paid for with Cash & Points - wohoo!). Overall, an absolutely incredible property with good service. We had a few minor problems, but we were impressed enough with the resort that we will definitely be back.

First, some updates (and confirmations) on a few things from earlier in the thread:

* They definitely do smores on other nights besides Fridays. The kids in our group raved about them on Tuesday (the only evening we were there early enough). I'm not sure if they do it every night, but it's definitely more than just Friday.
* Self-parking is free, but it is is pretty good walk up the hill from the parking lot to the resort. Walking down isn't too bad. They do run golf carts and shuttles through the parking lot periodically, but I found it easier just to walk up. We were too cheap to pay the Valet Parking rate. ;)
* It's definitely still an SPG property.
* Internet was pretty steep ($14/24 hours?). I have an Aircard so I just used that.

Okay, our trip...

We received an email a few days before our trip confirming that we really intended to have four rooms.

Check-in was probably the most frustrating part of the trip. After 5 hours of driving, we had three carloads of tired kids who were ready to head up to the rooms. It took about half an hour to get checked in, which was totally unacceptable. There was only one employee at the counter and one customer already being checked in. No employee was at the Gold/Platinum checkin. A second employee came out (to the Gold/Platinum check-in) as the other customer was finishing. I went over there. I gave my DL, CC and name and said I was checking in for four rooms. I said that we needed all rooms with two double beds and that being near would be nice but not essential. The counter agent said that capacity was low and that she should be able to get us together. It took her a while to find rooms. She described the four that she found and started making keys. Two rooms had hill country views, so I asked which ones. She had to pull them up again to see and she commented that one had a king bed. I repeated that we really needed two doubles. (It turned out that a second one was a king as well.) She searched again and eventually chose four other rooms. She told us that two were connecting - not something we asked for, but something that we could have utilized so I put the two groups who could use that in those two rooms. When we got to the rooms, they weren't connecting. She also paired the rooms, allowing the keys to work in either room. We didn't ask for this and really didn't want it. Other employees kept coming over, seeming to wonder what was taking so long (as I was wondering as well). Eventually, we ended up in four 42xx rooms with hill country views, two which also had nice views of the pool In all, it took about 30 minutes before we had keys in hand and rooms assigned. Not a good first impression at all.

When I went into our room, it was very hot (probably close to 80). I turned the temperature down as low as it would go (65). Next, we looked at the view. Absolutely incredible! The hill country view is breathtaking. The pool "complex" is phenomenal. We unpacked and everyone else went down to the pool while I went to buy some things we forgot to pack and pick up some carry-out for dinner. When I returned, all the kids were RAVING about the pool and the incredible smores. The room was still warm. I don't think it ever got below about 75 in the room, although the thermostat said it got as low as 67. I had to sleep on top of the bedding, as I was too hot to sleep if I got under the sheets and bedspreads. There was a noticeable difference between the hall temperature (cooler) and our room temperature. Standing at the door, you could feel cold air coming under the door.

We called Service Express to get a crib for one room and bed rails for another. There was no charge for either (nice!) and service was quick and friendly.

The next day, we drove to Sea World (an easy drive) to spend the day, went to Cici's for dinner, and got back late. We decided that some of our group would go to Six Flags the next day and the rest of us would stay to enjoy the hotel pool. I stopped by the front desk to ask if we could get a 4pm checkout. I was told that they were at capacity (on Thursday, after being told that they were low on Tuesday) and that they could only give me late checkout on one room. I figured most people would want to shower after Six Flags or swimming before we left, so I asked if we could have 4pm checkout on 2-3 rooms. They reluctantly offered it for all 4.

On the last day, I finally got to enjoy the pool. It was incredible! This is definitely one of the fanciest pools I've ever seen. There are several different connected (and separate) parts for all different ages, plus a separate area you have to be 21 to get into. My 2-year old daughter absolutely loved the slide and the waterfall. The slide is intended for older kids (and many were enjoying it) but my daughter is big for her age (38 inches and 45 pounds) and can swim, so she did great on it. Every time we got to the bottom, she said, "I do it one more time!" The waterfall has a ledge and nook where you can sit under/behind it, and we enjoyed climbing up, sitting behind the waterfall, and jumping in the water.

About lunchtime, I headed up to the room for lunch and to put my daughter down for a short nap. About 1pm, a couple employees came by to ask when we would be checking out. Apparently the guy the night before hadn't put our late checkout in the system. They said it was no problem and let us stay until 4pm.

Almost forgot one other thing... The ice machine on the 4th floor didn't work the whole time we were there. I went up to the 6th floor, figuring that one would work. It didn't either, but it might have just been out of ice. Next I went to the 5th floor, and that one worked. Tried the ice machine on the 4th floor each day, then went straight to the 5th floor.

Looking at the floor map on the door and the balconies that you can see from the pool and from our balcony, it looks like there are some really nice rooms. I would think that the upgrades for Platinums ought to be pretty good, but from what I've read in the thread it sounds like they can be a little stingy on giving them out unless you ask. As a Gold, I'm pretty sure our rooms were fairly close to standard (but with a little better view).

Despite the minor annoyances, we had such an incredible time that we're tentatively planning on returning in the fall and I've also recommended the resort to a business associate who is looking for a venue for a small convention.

Just back from a quick stay this weekend and the place looks very nice.
We were on the club floor and the rooms now have the nice flat screen tv
and the furnishing are updated too.

The club was nice except no more mixed drinks:td: only beer and wine.
I know its a small thing but I really find that annoying (because I don't
drink beer or wine). Otherwise its about the same, maybe a little less
to offer, they had the wraps, cheese and crackers, fruit and some
chicken nugget things and cookies. Breakfast was muffins, danish, fruit
yogurt, and egg sandwiches, juice and coffee. No more bloody marys
because of course no more vodka.

Service was good as always and I'm glad they are still in the starwood
family!

Greetings:

I did a search but did not find anything up to date........has anyone styed here lately? I plan on using my "Free nights" here.

Thanks...............

This probably doesn't say much but the run some type of commercial here in Houston for this Westin and they talked about it being 'renewed' or something like that....so perhaps they've done some renovations? You might want to call the hotel and get some details about any possible renovations.

This probably doesn't say much but the run some type of commercial here in Houston for this Westin and they talked about it being 'renewed' or something like that....so perhaps they've done some renovations? You might want to call the hotel and get some details about any possible renovations.

When i was down in Austin I heard the same thing on the radio...they were offering some package that included tickets to Six Flags and the rates started at $199.00. And I heard the same thing about it being "renewed" so I would assume renovations...although we all know what happens when we assume things ;)

You may want to ring up the property like Renard said, and ask for details. If you do in fact end up staying here, please post a trip report. We are obviously in need of one!

Greetings:

I did a search but did not find anything up to date........has anyone styed here lately? I plan on using my "Free nights" here.

Thanks...............

I was there last week, my 3rd or 4th time in the last couple of years. Great hotel, checkin is still slow, and it's a bit of a walk from free parking to the lobby, but great hotel.

As I posted in June the hotel looks very nice. The last few times I have
stayed here after I booked the room I got an email offering me an upgrade
to the club floor for $50.00. The floor is nice and I always do the upgrade, its well worth the $50.00 but next time I will have to bring my own vodka.

I stayed there this weekend. It has a very idyllic setting and I have to say that the nature trail gives you a nice workout!!! The whole hotel is decorated highly refined but comfortably approachable. The views were exquisite with a wonderful view of the sunrise from the lounge and an even better view of the sunset from the room.
I checked in at about 3:30 and a room with the king bed, as reserved, was not available. I was offered to be checked in a different room and then when my room would become available, I would be moved to the requested room. (Really, at 3:30 pm the rooms are not ready?) As a result I was given a room on the club floor with two beds. I did not inquire about an upgrade to a junior or full suite, but I was surprised when the person next to me was offered an upgrade for $50 a night.
The lounge was nice and it had a decent service at dinner and breakfast. (It had a much better service than the IAH Sheraton but not as good as ONT Sheraton; three SPG properties sampled in one week – where am I again?)
In short – good property to stay at and wonderful surroundings but you have to ask for your elite benefits. I will do that next stay.

Stayed on a Starpicks rate; amazing service all around! Upgraded to a very nice suite; lounge service was incredible; great service in the golf shop all the way through. We'll be back!