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Hotel Contessa
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306 W Market St
San Antonio, TX 78288
(210) 229-9222
San Antonio, TX 78288
(210) 229-9222
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17 reviews for Hotel Contessa
We were in town for a conference, and my colleague found this amazing hotel at the government rate - so for us, it was a steal! The rooms were simply amazing. They were two room suites with a sizeable bedroom, huge bathroom, and a wonderful living room space. Everything was clean and beautifully decorated. I loved coming back to this hotel after a long day at the conference.
The service was generally friendly, though I did not use many hotel services. Having to pay so much money for valet parking was annoying, but the other Riverwalk hotels were charging for parking as well. Speaking of the Riverwalk, this hotel is right along a quieter part of it. This means that there was not much noise outside of your room, but you were a very short walk to the heart of the action.
A great find for a great price! If I was here again on vacation, I may look for something cheaper. However, for the rate I was able to get it at, it was a steal.
San Antonio, TX, 78288, Hotel Contessa, This hotel is NOT what it advertises- If you can call the river view a view...it is small at best between a tree and a road.
Staff is totally RUDE, the rooms are under par with things broken. I have NEVER felt such uncomfortable furniture in my life. What's great about a hotel room that one side is red brick wall and the other side cement??
The hotel boasts quality and cleanlyness but it is a facade. In reality, it is old and broken down hotel that seem be upgraded, worn out furniture, unfriendly, and just not the quality of a 2 star hotel!! and they call a tube TV "flat screen".
No H3llo for Hotel Contessa, SAn Antonio.... TX.
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My partner and I stayed at Hotel Contessa for our 1 year anniversary. The stay was perfect, the room was comfortable, clean, and a unique modern design. The hotel staff was friendly, and informative. We scored a great deal, and got to stay in the Kings suite. The pool is located on the rooftop with a great view of the city, and the spa is open 7 days a week.
I would recommend this hotel to everyone!
I really enjoyed my stay at the Hotel Contessa: reasonably priced, striking in appearance and friendly, I couldn't have asked for a more comfortable or convenient stay. I'm reserving a star by virtue of the fact that there are things I've not tried here yet: we didn't get back to the room until such time as it was too late to dine or have drinks here, i've not tried the spa (though after bouncing around greater San Antonio last night that sounds pretty good).
It's located on the Riverwalk for what that's worth, and there's a thirty dollar per night difference in whether your room faces inward toward the river or outward toward the approaching city. We were fine with the more reasonable of the two options. And the usual trappings are still happening here: riverside dining, warm Old Spanish touches throughout, as if Santa Anna himself might wander in to tell some stories. Somehow I feel like the Hotel Contessa still has a few yarns to spin to me too.
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I think I was most impressed with the quality of room we got at the price we paid during our stay at the Hotel Contessa. All the rooms are suites and extremely spacious. The hotel itself is beautiful and sits right on the Riverwalk.
Since it was just a short stay, I didn't have a chance to check out the pool and the pool bar (which is open 11 am - 7pm. Nice!). And on Saturday nights, it looks like they show movies out at the pool. How fun is that?
The only reason I am knocking off a star for now is because I wasn't totally impressed with the bedding. While the bed was big and comfortable, a few of the pillows were about as soft as a cinder block. I also prefer a big thick comforter to curl up in and it seemed their blankets were pretty thin. But who can blame them for not using heavy blankets, its pretty easy to stay warm in August in Texas.
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The place is nice and clean, and the service is good...
They advertise "Flat Panel Televisions" however what is really installed are old analog tube televisions with a "flat" screen. Not to be confused with Hi Definition LCD flat panels.
Amenities say Wireless Internet... but its $10 a day.
Guests do not get to park for free, that is an extra $28 a day.
Mini Bar is not a fridge, if you want a fridge, they will add one for $20 a day... and so on, if you get my point.
For the price, there are other options on the river walk that are a little more inclusive.
Thoughtful service and good rooms - great location. Better than most hotels on the Riverwalk.
Absolutely fabulous!
The boo and I chose hotel Contessa for our trip to San Antonio because they had a 2 night get 1 free offer, which made our hotel + airfar combo even less expensive. It looked great from the website but we weren't really expecting too much.
As soon as we entered we knew we had chosen correctly. Up to the top floor we went and marveled at our suite. It wasn't that we had splurged on the luxury room...every room at the Contessa screams luxury. The king size beds and living rooms are pristine. The best part about our room was the wonderful view. We'd get naked and dance to our hearts content, shouting "Suckas! Look at us! We're living a life of luxury!".
The rooms aren't the only positive aspect of the Contessa. The rooftop pool is marvelous, and right next to it is a great fitness room and a spa. The spa was a little pricey so my dreams of being pampered my whole trip were crushed, but it seems like a quality place. They use a lot of Aveda products.
The hotel is conveniently located on the Riverwalk, so you can pop down to Las Ramblas (a "Spanish" joint. say it with me..."Lath Ramblathhh!") and drink a mojito on the river. Though I don't think there is any life in the river, there is a cute little night heron that made several appearances while I was hanging out.
If you're going to be staying in San Antonio I urge you to patronize the Contessa. The staff is a dream come true and the rooms are delightful. Be sure to do a naked dance for me.
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I stayed at Contessa because I had classes for work to attend there. I was lucky and had a suite all to myself. The place has this rustic Mexico feel, its fancy but in a humble way. The service was superb and the food was great as well. I loved the lobby/bar area, it made me feel like I was in a foreign country. There's no doubt in my mind, the next time I stay in San Antonio it will definitely be here.
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I was in San Antonio for the annual American Pharmacist's Associaion convention a while back in April. A friend and I stayed at this beautiful and very modern hotel. I loved everything about this hotel. It sits right on the riverwalk and has a roof top pool!!! The attendants were so very helpful and accomodating to our situation as well. You can easily walk to the convention center, alamo, and restaurants downtown from this hotel. Our room was suite style and gorgeous and had exposed brick on one wall, which I love. The bathroom was so nice too! Highly recommend this place if you are deep in the heart of Texas.
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Beautiful hotel, great location, and nice Aveda spa! I stayed here for a week and it was such a relaxing experience. It is a little out of the way from the cluster of other hotels, but it is on the river and the little walk to the other hotels is so beautiful!
Also, the pool is on the roof and it is truly amazing to swim on top at night when the lights of the city are twinkling!
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Loved it! We stayed here after our wedding and had a group brunch here the next day. The staff is great and very helpful. We had 30 people for our brunch and they gave us a private patio. I couldn't be more pleased!
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My wife and I stayed at the Hotel Contessa this weekend and were very pleased. We were there for only one night, so we didn't get to experience the entire hotel.
First, every room is a suite, with a bedroom and separate sitting area. There are two televisions, a couch, table and very nice bathroom. Our room also had a cordless phone which I thought was great. The hotel is decorated in a Hill Country fashion, so that's great if you like that sort of thing.
We didn't try the spa, but did enjoy the workout room. There's also a roof-top pool with a great view of the city.
We were there on a Saturday night, and because the hotel is built with an open space from the ground floor up through the center of the building, the noise from the bar could be easily hear on the 12th floor where we stayed. We could even hear the noise inside our room, but not in the separate bedroom which was really good.
The Contessa is on a great side of the river and away from the bars.
My only complaint is that I had to pay an additional $10 for Internet access. This is one thing I cannot get over in hotels. If I'm paying $200 a night, I think they ought to throw in some Wifi at no charge.
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I was pretty pleased with my stay at the Hotel Contessa. Located right on the Riverwalk at Market and Navarro Streets, the hotel is close enough to the action without being in the middle of it.....and by action, I guess I mean the main Riverwalk drag.
The decor at the hotel is really nice....the rooms are all suites, with a nice sofa, large chair, dresser w/TV and round working table in the living room...there's a brick facade on the wall where the door is, which makes for a nice touch, and an eight or nine foot mirror with a substantial wood frame. In fact, there were three large mirrors in the room, all with really nice, dark wood frames. All of the artwork is tasteful with well-chosen colors, and the beds are comfortable....bathrooms are spacious, with good water pressure, although I would have liked a little more counter space around the sink. I believe the hotel is only a couple of years old, so everything is clean and in good shape.
My company had a a couple hundred people there, with all of the meals included, and they were all good, which often isn't the case with with larger meetings. No complaints here, though. We also went on an evening Riverwalk cruise, complete with bartender and appetizers, which was pretty cool. There's a bar across the street called drink, that I didn't make it into, and a martini bar a short walk away called Swig that made a pretty good dirty martini, and also had a great blues band playing. The Hard Rock is right across from Swig, and you can delve into the meat of the Riverwalk right there also.
Valet was prompt, and although I really didn't have a need for much other service help, everyone was courteous and attentive. I'd probably give it 4 and a half stars....if you can get a room on the Riverwalk, it will be quieter than the street side (which is where my room was)...and the only other complaint would be that there are only 3 elevators, which can be a bit slow, especially when you're with a large group...and the stairs aren't very convenient.
All in all, though, a very nice hotel in a great location, and if you're looking for a place to stay in San Antonio, I'd recommend it.
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The Hotel Contessa is a 3 star hotel that wants to be a 5 star hotel. The facility, and location are great, but the staff are just so-so. We arrived at 2pm, but found out they don't allow check-in until 4pm. Our front desk clerk did not appear very interested, and said she'd try to get us in early. This happened at 4:20. Most of the front desk staff were on the phones most of the time, and not terribly helpful. The service staff were always apparent, and freely used one of the only 3 elevators. There was a charge for parking, and a $10 a day charge for the wireless Internet, which was anything but high speed. There were no robes in the room, which I am used to seeing in the better hotels. On the up side, the rooms were spacious and the bed was quite comfortable. The spa was wonderful. The bell staff was very helpful, but the car valet a bit slow. Overall a good experience, but I'll probably continue to shop around the River Walk in future visits.
Gary W. Austin, Texas
Nice hotel overall with a blind spot or two in service But there are far worse places to spend 5 nights in San Antonio, I'm sure. Would like to give it 3.5 stars, but will hold it to 3 rather than 4.
The Rooms
Suites are spacious and don't have that soul-sapping cookie cutter hotel room vibe, which is great if you find yourself stuck in San Antonio for 5 consecutive nights ... in mid July. I was with a work group that was booking ~100 people for the week as part of a package, so I have no idea what we paid. The rack rate is $239/night, which doesn't seem bad for the space, but I also have no clue what the going hotel room rate is in San Antonio.
Bathrooms are also good-sized and contemporary, if not sleek and totally top of the line. No complaints
You get 2 TVs - 1 in bedroom, 1 - living room. They aren't flat-panel, but are thin profile. Good size.
Location
It is definitely convenient to the Riverwalk, if that gets you excited. It is close [~3 - 5 minute walk] without being right in the middle of the carnival atmosphere that seemed to roll through the Riverwalk every night I spent time there. The patio of the hotel restaurant, Las Ramblas, is right on the river in a semi-quiet spot around a bend from the main Riverwalk drag. Other than the Riverwalk, there isn't a whole lot else around that I could see. A Hard Rock cafe. A couple of restaurants / bars nearby. Unfortunately I was not able to check out drink, a bar across the street from the hotel that was recommended by James B. And, if you wander down Commerce to Soledad, what has to be one of the grittiest bus stops you'll ever want to walk through.
Amenities / Services
I never tried room service, as the mini-bar / fridge is decent sized and not packed to the gills, so I was able to load it up with some basics. Between that and group dinners / lunches, room service never came into play. But I did have to call the front desk twice for a bottle opener. The second time it took them about 45 seconds to hook me up, so I'll chalk up the first screw up as a fluke.
Two things about the common areas and services were a little aggravating.
First, the elevators strained to keep us with the demands of our group. They were slow and a little balky at times, too [e.g., open/closing doors multiple times before moving floors]. When you're trying to maximize your break times or trying to maximize sleep time before 8am training sessions, having to burn precious minutes waiting for elevators is a drag.
Second thing was that 2 of the 3 sinks in the mens' room were out of soap by Tuesday afternoon and were still out on Friday. We were clearly the biggest group in the hotel and we were there all week in daily 8 - 5 sessions. Doesn't take an event planning superstar to make sure 'mens' room soap' is on the service checklist, does it?
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incredibly pleasant stay for new year's eve -- close enough to all the activities but far enough to be nice and quiet -- had a city view room which turned out well -- perfect view of the fireworks!
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