San Antonio Trip Report

San Antonio is a great place to spend a long weekend. We spent the Fourth of July weekend in San Antonio and had a great time. Fortunately it was sort of rainy, so we didn't get to experience the hot and humid heat.

 

 

 

Places to Stay

Drury Inn on the Riverwalk We stayed at the Drury Inn on the Riverwalk and we were pleasantly surprised as to how nice it was. It had good user reviews on tripadvisor.com so we thought we would give it a try. The hotel is located on the Riverwalk but it is in a "quiet area" of the Riverwalk. When we booked we used a special SAV code which saved us on the room rate. (The rate was just over $100 a night)
	The hotel is an historic landmark. The rooms have very high ceilings. They were also large and clean. We didn't have a view to speak of, but that didn't matter much because we didn't go to San Antonio to look out our window. Our room also had a small refrigerator which was also nice.
Included with room is a full breakfast and complimentary cocktails from 5:30 to 7:00 each evening. We were there during the 4th of July weekend, so the hotel was pretty full, but they did a good job providing good service even though the hotel was full. This is a great place to stay because of its price and location.

Places to Eat

Durty Nelly's Durty Nelly's is really much of a place to "eat" as it is a great place to "drink" and have a good time. Durty Nelly's is a pub which has a live piano player who sings Irish and contemporary songs which keeps the crowd pleasantly entertained. Durty Nelly's reminded us of a place we visited in Key West which also had great "sing a long" entertainment.
	The place gets pretty busy as the night goes on. Peanuts are served for free and it is customary to throw the shells on the ground. When the waiters would "clear" a table, they really do clear it. Everything goes on the floor. We spent two nights here because we enjoyed it so much. (A little secret is that this place is really owned by the Hilton next door)
Dick's We had dinner at Dick's and we were not impressed. The "concept" behind Dick's is that the waiters are supposed to be rude to you. That was fine and dandy, but we thought the food wasn't that great and way overpriced.
Buckhorn Saloon We had lunch at the Buckhorn Saloon. This is a touristy little museum place. They have a "walk up" food window along with a nice big cowboy like bar. The food was just OK, but it was pretty cheap. We never did make it into the museum.
Casa Rio We had lunch at Casa Rio on the river. Casa Rio is the largest and oldest restaurant on the Riverwalk. The food was decent. Nothing special, but sitting by the river, sipping a margarita couldn't be beat.
The Esquire The Esquire falls into the "good place to drink not eat" category. They are pretty much a bar. But The Esquire is the oldest bar in Texas and it also has the longest bar. And it is long...... It sits directly across the river from the Drury Inn. We loved sitting out on the balcony and people watching. The beer was cold and dirt cheap at only $2 a pint.

San Antonio Riverwalk

The San Antonio Riverwalk is truly a unique place. It is a series of rivers that run through town. Along the rivers are various restaurants, a few shops, and lots of hotels. The Riverwalk is a very beautiful and scenic place.
	One of the things you can do on the Riverwalk is to take a River Boat cruise. The cruise last about a half hour and only costs $6.50 a person. It wasn't as fun as Disney's jungle cruise, but we both enjoyed it and would recommend that you do it at least once.
About 5 blocks from the Riverwalk area is an area called Market Square. Market Square consists of lots of Mexican type shops and stalls. We really had fun here. It reminded us of being in Mexico.  The prices were not as cheap as Mexico, but we did find some good deals on a few things.
It was hot and we were parched so we stopped into La Margarita in the Market Square. We ordered two cervezas. And wow, the beers they brought were huge! And they weren't too expensive either. So we both recommend this place as a nice place to cool off and wet your whistle.

The Alamo

The Alamo is a must see if you visit San Antonio. It is the number one attraction in all of Texas. The first day we walked over to the Alamo in the afternoon and there was a long line. The next day we arrived at 9:00 AM and we had the place to ourselves.
	Before going to the Alamo we saw the IMAX film that is playing across the street at the mall. That was a good idea because it made the visit more meaningful. Make sure you go out to the courtyard and listen to the stories that the tour guides tell. They are very entertaining and informative.
This is a fountain that is in the middle of an intersection, around the corner from the Alamo.

Carroll's San Antonio Blog

Saturday

Dave and I woke up early and drove to Sacramento International Airport. Since we were flying Southwest we first flew to San Diego and then on to San Antonio. Once in San Antonio we took a cab to our hotel. Our driver was especially friendly and shared many things about the new airport expansion and other tidbits about San Antonio. 

We stayed at the Drury Inn and Suites on the River Walk which is in the heart of downtown San Antonio. Once we checked in around 3:00 PM we walked down the River Walk to find a quick bite to eat. We stopped at a place called Rita’s and had a margarita and some nachos. Once we had some food in our stomach we walked on down the walk and enjoyed the views. We returned back to our hotel for the manager’s reception and relaxed a bit. The Drury has a reception each evening with free drinks and snacks. It is a nice way to relax for a bit and unwind.

We decided to go back out and walk on the River Walk and find a quick bite to eat at around 7:00. We were quite surprised to see that things were much busier than before. All of the restaurants were completely packed. We ended up at a funky little bar called Durty Nelly’s. It is kind of unique in that it resembles an old Irish pub but it is actually part of the Hilton hotel. They have great entertainment. There is a piano player that takes requests and engages the audience in participating. We had a great time and stayed there for a few hours.

Sunday

We slept in and then went downstairs and had the complimentary breakfast that comes with our room. It was busy but we did find a seat. They served typical hotel fare: scrambled eggs, sausages, biscuits, gravy, Danish, waffles, etc. 

Since it was Sunday most things did not open until noon. We walked over to the IMAX Theater and got tickets to see the film about the history of the Alamo. It was a good film that was done well. After viewing the film we thought we would walk over and see the Alamo. Unfortunately the line was just way too long. We decided to see it first thing tomorrow morning when things were not so busy. 

We walked over to the Buckhorn Saloon and Museum. The saloon is a fun place to get a quick bite to eat. The walls are heavily adorned with trophy heads of not only deer, antelope and buffalo, but also some very odd things like giraffe, polar bear, and elephants. We decided not to do the museum thing but I’m sure it is interesting.

We then walked back to the Rivercenter mall to walk around a few of the shops that were closed earlier. We made a few purchases and then needed to find a place to sit and relax awhile. Alas we ended up back at Durty Nelly’s and had a few brews and listened to the entertainment. Once we had relaxed a while we decided to make our way back to our hotel and rest before the manager’s reception.

After the manager’s reception we decided to go down the River Walk and find a place to eat. We had been thinking about Dick’s because everyone seemed to be having a great time every time we walked by. We were able to get an outside table right away. The waiter had a piss poor attitude which is the way they want it there. We split an order of ribs. The food was just okay. There were several groups around us that were pretty rowdy. They were having a great time getting hammered and harassing the staff.

After dinner we walked back toward our hotel and decided to have a nightcap at the Esquire. This bar is the oldest bar in Texas as it opened the day after prohibition ended. It also has the longest bar in Texas. The draught beers were reasonably priced at $2. We sat on the balcony and watched the boat cruises go by. The service was excellent and it was a good way to end the evening quietly.

Monday

We woke up fairly early and had breakfast at our hotel. We then walked over to the Alamo so we could see it before the crowds converged. The Alamo is not only a park but also a shrine. There was an interesting talk by a docent retelling the 13 days of the legend of the Alamo. This is a must see for anyone who loves history and also for anyone who doesn’t. Just being there brings the story to life and you realize the true sacrifice that these men made for their fellow Texans.

We then went back to the River Walk to get tickets for the 11:00 river boat cruise/tour. This is a great little narrated tour of the San Antonio River. You learn the history of the river and the River Walk. The price is quite reasonable (6.50 pp). 

After the tour we had lunch at the Rio Café which is the oldest eatery on the River Walk. It is also the largest restaurant on the River Walk. They serve Mexican food. We thought it was okay.

We walked over to La Villita which was supposed to have artisan and craft shops. We were not that impressed. There were a few art galleries and a few overpriced craft stores. It was getting warm so we decided to return to our hotel room to rest for a little bit. Dave caught up on some e-mails and I took a well deserved nap.

Market Square and the Mercado were our next stop. It is located about 4 to 5 blocks from the River Walk. There was entertainment going on and scads of people wandering about. We strolled through the Mercado and ogled at all the wares. Dave bought another ceramic parrot. We also picked up a t-shirt and a few salsa bowls. We stopped at a great little restaurant called La Margarita to wet our whistle before trekking back to our hotel.

During the manager’s reception we visited with a nice couple, ironically, from Sacramento. They were newly retired and on a 40 day road trip. 

Dinner was at Waxy’s Pub. We were not all that hungry so we ordered appetizers. It was a nice place to sit outside and people watch. The food and service were good. 

So that’s about it for our trip to San Antonio. We thought that it was a great place to visit for a long weekend. We found the people to be quite friendly. Since it was a holiday weekend many places were quite busy. There were also many families with small children. This sometimes made walking along the river crowded because of double-wide baby strollers. San Antonio also has two major theme parks, Six Flags and Sea World, that we did not visit (good thing with all the kids.)

We would highly recommend the Drury Inn as a place to stay in San Antonio. The building is a historic 1921 building that was turned into the hotel in 1999. The ceilings were very high and the place had charm. The service was quite good. We enjoyed our stay.

As for food we found that many of the restaurants were touristy, but of course you are in the #1 tourist city in Texas. Nevertheless we still enjoyed ourselves.