CCIE_Flyer

While I haven't actually stayed at the Marriott Riverwalk, I've visited on a couple of occasions (drinks in the bar, etc) - I would prioritize this last among your three choices. I have never been able to book into the Westin, as it's either completely sold out or rates are beyond what I'm allowed to indulge in. I doubt you'll be dissatisfied with the St. Anthony, but obviously every stay is subject to the specific staff and scenario you encounter.

I hope you have a fantastic final Plat weekend, regardless of your ultimate choice!

ralphs

Stayed at the St Anthony. My Suite Night Award was accepted and I received an email confirming my King View Suite, but when I actually arrived at the hotel, I was given a room (716) that was just a regular view room.

I've never had a situation where the SNAs were deducted, I had a confirmed suite, and then showed up at the hotel to not actually get a suite. Was really annoying as my wife got sick and we ended up spending a lot more time in the (smaller) room than expected. Normally we would have tried to spend as little time in the hotel as possible but due to the circumstances, it was a huge let-down.

Too bad because I think there are elements of a nice hotel here.

edit: called hotel to complain, was offered no compensation other than a "we'll take care of you if you come back" - I let them know that I had no plans to return to SAT.

bhrubin

That's a violation of SPG Terms. Did you share the email with the FD and ask for a manager? Did the SNAs get returned?

ralphs

I didn't complain on-site because I figured that perhaps their suites were just really small and my wife refused to contemplate moving rooms as she was sick. In retrospect I wish I had done so.

Just called SPG to complain, was offered on the spot (and accepted) 3k SPG points.

Was a really disappointing way to spend my last weekend as an SPG Platinum member. I guess it shows the limits of elite status if one doesn't know their privileges (and how to assert them when things go sideways).

CCIE_Flyer

Was the bedroom in any way separated from the living area? I had a suite at this property that was quite small - I remember thinking that I was glad I'd cashed in some SNAs, or I'd have been pretty claustrophobic in what I imagined a standard room to be. Typical of older/historical hotels.

I don't blame you for not wanting to ever return to SAT - it's pretty sad, and I can't believe that people find enjoyment in any of it. I, however, keep winding up back there for work. I was finally able to book the Westin Riverwalk just before Christmas, and was pleased overall (free suite upgrade, decent location, nice enough property). My new favorite hotel there, though, is the Valencia. No FF affiliation of any kind, but a pretty cool property overall. Try out their home-brewed Manhattan if you're into bourbon!

bhrubin

ralphs

What living area? There was no living area in my room. Only a small foyer that was about 2ft by 2ft with no armchair, no sofa, no sitting area. In the entire room! I should have complained (as bhrubin said, I should have showed them the email that confirmed me in a suite), since I've had bigger standard rooms in the past year at SPG properties in Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, SF, and other more space-constrained cities...

I don't think there's anything really wrong with SAT the city per se, it's just that I have a combination of work and relatives in Dallas/Houston/Austin that see me there frequently so no real reason to return to San Antonio.

jasonNYC85

I'm staying here next weekend - anything I should know about as a Bonvoy Plat? Is there a club that I can access and/or any special perks?

I don't think SNA work anymore for this property - I don't see an option to use.

neuro0

Plat Bfast is $20 per person up to 2 people.
Two free bottles of water in room.
Parking is steep at $47 plus tax.
No ice machine for self service.
The seafood restaurant on site is meh...
Free coffee and small muffins laid out in the lobby in the morning for everyone.
Easy walk to River walk.
A lot of homeless people around the area.
I was upgraded to Park view room from base room on FHR rate as Titanium.

madgoat

That's a welcomed change, last year when Is stayed it was $13 (cost of the continental breakfast) and didn't include a choice of coffee or juice.

dagangwood

Any recent experience of staying at this hotel?
Just booked a one-night base room via FHR. Which suite is worth using Suite Night Awards?

longtimereader firstimeposter

I’ve probably stayed 100+ nights at this hotel. Great hotel, outside the front of the hotel can be a little sketch with the park but about 2 blocks from the Riverwalk. Rooms are all amazing and a little bit different due to the age of the hotel. Pool on the rooftop is great but the gym is a little bit lacking.

what are the options for SNA?

dagangwood

Thank you for your quick inputs.

There are four options for SNA:

1. Superior Suite
2. Junior Suite
3. Pool, Park or City View Suite 1 Bedroom 2 room Suite 1 King
4. Deluxe King Suite

I will definitely select Superior Suite and Junior Suite. But I have no ideas about the other two and the difference between them.

mdbe

Average recent stay. Good recognition of elite benefits but had to fight for breakfast for the second room under the same Titanium. Concierge was excellent. Hotel has started to show it's age.

Mrgolfer21

Just stayed here over New Year...some good spots, but the disappointments outweighed the good spots. My booking was for two single nights, one using a free cert and the other using AMEX FHR. FHR was the first night, which has caused some issues.

* Checked in at 4pm. Had sent a message ahead of time asking for an upgrade. Submitted a suite night request several days out but had not cleared. They told me that they don't provide upgrades until check-in and based on availability. Ok, what about the suite night request? And you have suites available to book? Whatever, not a big deal, used to it, plus it was New Year's weekend, so kind of figured. However, when checking in, they said the room I was pre-booked in wasn't ready yet. As they were looking for another room, I made a comment that I could wait if needed especially if I was pre-booked into a nice suite. The lady checking me in made it a point to say that I've been upgraded to the next room category per the terms, where I'd have a view of the park and not have to look at a brick wall. Well, in that case. Anyway, she got me moved to another room, got my keys, and off I went. Lobby is nice, old hotel charm if you like that.
* Room was on the 5th floor, even though there are 10 floors. My profile asks for top floor as I can't stand the clanking footsteps above me. However, given that they had to find a room that was ready, this was fine. It didn't get exactly better though. When I got to my room, it was literally right across from the elevator. Again, profile states away from elevator. Got into the room and the room was fine, except the windows were incredibly water spotted and dirty. Like, very dirty, maybe not cleaned that whole year. While I was facing the park, I was on the 5th floor, so, road and park noise could be heard. I'm a heavy sleeper, so it never bothered me, but I know others would not have liked the dinging of the elevator, conversations of people mingling and waiting for elevator and road/park noise. i wish they would give you a choice if the room you are pre-booked in isn't available when you go to check in. Top floor away from the elevator would have been worth an hour wait. Bed was comfy, loved the pillows, TV was too dark while trying to watch, both for football game and regular TV viewing. Wasn't an option to get to the settings on the TV to turn up the brightness that I could find. Wasn't going to sit in the room and watch TV for a long time, so didn't call down.

The bathroom made me scratch my head. The toilet needed to be replaced. When you look into the toilet and see brown stains that are not from a bodily function but b/c the toilet is old and has essentially worn out, its time to put a new one in, even if it is functioning. I literally had to look at it closely to make sure the stains weren't from somebody using it and it never got cleaned. But it was just from being old. Same with the trash can...stained, rusted and just old. A shame...two simple replacements makes all the difference in a hotel like this. Rest of the bathroom was fine, however, water pressure in both shower and sink was lacking. There were a few towels that had stains on them, pretty obvious ones that should not have been put back into use (lipstick type stains on them that didn't wash out).
* Parking: You can either pay for valet and use one of the parking garages in the area. I opted for the parking garage 2 blocks away, which worked out great for me. I was able to park out front, unload the bags and leave my wife with them while I went and parked the car and walked back. Same for when we left, pulled up front, went in and got my wife and bags, loaded them up and on our way. I think it's $50 a day for valet. The parking garage I thought would be $10-$15 for the two nights I was parked there. I pulled in, took the ticket and parked the car. Sunday morning, went and got it and as I drove down, the arm was just open and the ticket/billing machine was turned off. So, maybe they have free weekend parking? Not sure, but definitely worked for me.
* Breakfast: Breakfast was fine, nothing special. Booking through Amex FHR you get $30 per person, total of $60 to use. I had the steak and eggs and wife had the salmon. Both were good, although the steak was not a great piece of steak, but edible. Downside was no steak knife provided, so cutting a little tougher piece of meat with a regular knife was a little difficult. I could have asked for a steak knife, but didn't bother.
* St. Anthony Club: Thought this was nice...since Amex gave $100 hotel credit, used some of it to have a drink and some food in the bar before heading out for the night. Burger was really good and so was the Old Fashioned. Service was prompt and cheerful.
* Room Service: Room service was the same menu as what's in the St. Anthony Club..should have ordered the burger again. Instead, ordered the turkey sandwich. It wasn't bad, but could have been better. Fries arrived hot, so that was good. Lady that delivered the room service was super nice and cheerful. When we called down, they said it would take an hour to get our food, but 30-35 mins later it arrived.

The biggest downside was the billing and the advice we got from the concierge. As stated, we were there for New Years. We had already walked down by the tower and thought maybe we would go down there to watch the fireworks. However, the hotel was advertising the NYE party at the pool desk. We had already planned on being out most of the day to watch the college semi-final games, so thought it would be nice to watch the fireworks from the pool deck and then just go right to bed. We looked at the pool deck so knew it was wide open, but were concerned that you couldn't see the tower from there as there was another building that blocked it. I inquired from the concierge if we would be able to see the fireworks from the pool deck given that the building was blocking the tower. He assured me that while we can't see the tower, you can definitely see the fireworks. Well, he was completely wrong. And it didn't seem like we were the only ones told wrong info. Within 1 min of the fireworks starting, you knew we wouldn't be able to see anything and 20-25 people walked away. Kids were noticeably disappointed. We got up there around 11:30 and I stood in line for over 20 mins just trying to get a drink with only 5 people in front of me. Very unorganized bar service with the bartenders having to run around in the back several times to get simple supplies.

The second issue is the billing. As stated, I used Amex FHR to book my first night and thus, had $100 F&B credit as well as $60 of breakfast. The bill at St. Anthony club was covered correctly, but even after talking to the front desk and making sure the breakfast and room service would be covered. Still hasn't been taken care of and I've now had to dispute it with my credit card.

Overall, on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 6.4. Dirty windows, worn out toilet, dirty hand towels, bad info from concierge, and billing issues.