Nice historical hotel on the riverwalk
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 7/9/10
We just spent our family vc in San Antonio and stayed at the Omni (Colannade) near Six Flags Fiesta Tx for 3 nights. We wanted our kids to have a completely different experience and decided to do 1 night on the riverwalk as my oldest (12) only knows San Antonio through his Seaworld experiences. This was pricier than the Omni near Six Flags but I recognize that it's somewhat to be expected given the downton riverwalk location. We paid $169 nt + taxes. It was a nice treat because it's a historical landmark so it definitely was a different experience for our kids. The pool was small but nice and had a quaint patio area with a bar if you're so inclined. They also had some nice music piped in and there is a small waterful that cascades into the pool. We had asked the front desk if we could have a riverwalk view for our kids. Given it was a Wednesday, we hoped one would be available but we reserved a double room at the lowest rate available. We were pleasantly surprised when they gave us a corner room -- possibly a suite but there was no adjoining room per se but it was more spacious than the other Omni we stayed at. The kids especially liked the 2 balconies which had chairs so they could look out over the riverwalk. One balcony was more street side but you could still see the riverwalk and they enjoyed watching the horse drawn carriages in the evening. The other one was directly over the riverwalk. The beds were comfy again like the other Omni and I thought the bathroom was nicer than the other Omni -- slightly bigger and a nicer, oval tub. We had looked at another name brand hotel in close proximity to the riverwalk but a couple blocks away for like $100 nt but opted to pay a bit more to actually be on the riverwalk and it fit the bill for us. A nice treat but we could only afford 1 nt on our family budget. A couple of footnotes, the other Omni offered "turn down" and delivered ice nightly along with free internet for being a "select" customer. This hotel did not and charged us for the free internet which we had inquired about at check in and was told it was free for "select" members. At check out, there was no hassle and they credited us back for the $9.99 internet charge.
It is downtown so you have to recognize that there are some transients in the area and parking is at a premium. Transients were not around the hotel at all but if you walk within the downtown area they are there. We were quoted $32 to do the Omni valet parking during our "stay." Given we were only doing 1 nt this was kind of pricey for our budget so we opted for the public parking garage immediately across from the hotel and one which the hotel also offered up as an option. It was $8 flat rate for 1 day. Just a tip. We got a Six Flags season pass and were in San Antonio for 4 days. We'd go in the a.m. and then break around 3pm and then return in the evening. The last nt we stayed downtown, I didn't want to go in the parking garage and have to pay $8 twice so I opted for a parking meter which is hard to come by -- most parking is "15 mins commercial." I found some a couple of blocks over off of Main St. The meter even accepted a credit card. I paid $2.50 for 2 hours and the sign said it was monitored 8am-6pm Mon-Sat. It was a Wednesday and we didn't leave to go back to the park until after 6pm so it was a good value. Plus, with it being summer time it was light out and we stayed on the well kept public streets for safety and had no issue. In fact, we walked the riverwalk as far as we could from the hotel and then ascended stairs and only had to walk like a 1/2 block to the car.