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    Hotel Contessa

    3.4 (546 reviews)
    Open Open 24 hours
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Rose E.

    This is one of many hotels located on the Riverwalk, and we stayed here for several nights. First of all, we were so appreciative of the fact they let us check in super-early! I believe they usually charge $40 for early check-in, but the Concierge said she'd lift this charge (possibly because this was for our anniversary?). Super-nice...Thank you!! Now, the hotel itself is gorgeous...with stunning pictures and artworks throughout. Also, they had a plush bar area...as well as plush sitting areas. Also, they had a great restaurant, Ambler, where we enjoyed several drinks. Now the room! We chose a suite, and it was so spacious...and beautifully decorated! The living room, especially, was HUGE...almost as if we were in an apartment home. There was even a nice bar table with chairs to eat in the room. So aesthetically, it was 5 stars! However, I have to be honest. The amenities were a bit outdated. The shower stall was antiquated (with curtains?!?), and the showerhead was really weak...and the water was really soft. It took a long time to get soap out of your hair. Otherwise, the bathroom was spacious and ideal. Also, we couldn't find a guide with their TV channels, so it was incredibly hard to find something to watch. Possibly another outdated TV system. A/C system was fairly quiet, but somehow, I felt it could have been cooler...in that 65-66 felt like about 69. Still, the A/C was pretty good overall. One last thing was the bedding. The bed itself was comfortable, but the comforter was super-thin...so not as plush as it could have been. I guess given the hot 'n humid San Antonio weather, thicker comforter probably didn't make much sense? Service was really good on the most part. Like I mentioned, they gifted us with an early check-in, so kudos for that. I do have to mention that on our check-out, however, there was this guy who stayed on the phone with another customer for a good 10 minutes before even acknowledging us. WOW. I've never had to wait that long to check out...possibly anywhere! I thought we were going to miss our flight! We found that super rude. Aren't you supposed to help the in-person customer before the phone customer? I included a pic of the team member that nearly delayed our flight. Not perfect, but overall, we really enjoyed staying at the hotel. In terms of aesthetics and space, we absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, some of their amenities could use some updating. Despite some highs and lows, I feel that this hotel still deserves at least 4 stars.

    Decorated for Fiesta!
    Steve G.

    Great hotel! We came here for a Yelp event and decided to spend the night. Beautiful place! Big, goegeous room! Great bar! Good food! If you have the chance to come here during Fiesta week you will not be disappointed. Really done up and decorated beautifully The only thing that I had to question was the fact that we were on the third floor and we could hear this hum all night from the elevators, but it really wasn't that bad. Did not change my rating at all. Che k it out!.

    Stacey S.

    This is a perfect location if you want to be right on the Riverwalk. Excellent staff--not a single person failed to be welcoming, genuinely friendly, and exceedingly helpful. The rooms are spacious and nicely laid out. The facility was clean. We mostly ate elsewhere, but the few food items we tried were pretty tasty. The restaurant gets relatively high ratings for being part of a hotel AND right in the heart of a tourist trap. Haha. The free afternoon margaritas are an extra nice touch, and actually tasted very good! Not overly sweet and nicely boozy. The patio alongside the riverwalk is lovely, and the inside lounge area is very pleasant and comfortable. We were there to celebrate our friends' 50th wedding anniversary (!!!). They are not frequent travelers, and flew in from several states away just for this event, so this was quite the big deal for them. The hotel really went above and beyond to mark the occasion. They upgraded them to an executive suite, sent a variety pack of local craft brews to the room when they arrived, and then sent up a bottle of bubbly with a cheese plate and balloons on their actual big day. Really sweet and thoughtful gestures that made them feel special. We ourselves only had two criticisms: First is the exorbitant valet fees. We have stayed in every kind of hotel you can imagine, all over the globe (from the scariest dive motels to the most high end luxury resorts you can imagine), and nowhere have we seen $72 per day for parking. Yes, we get it downtown tourist area parking lots cost a lot. But charging more than double the self parking rate ($30-$35/day depending on the lot) is pretty close to outrageous, especially in an area where 90% or more of the guests do everything on foot once they arrive so won't be having the car pulled out at all, much less multiple times daily. We tipped the porter who unloaded and delivered our stuff to the room, then parked ourselves in the lot across the intersection. You might want to do the same if you expect to walk everywhere. Second is the condition of the property. This place is long overdue for in update. They keep it reasonably clean, but it looks rough, with so much visible wear and tear. From the chipped, scratched, and permanently stained tub, to the peeling "leather" bar chairs in our room, not to mention the multiple ugly stains all over the beige sofa upholstery (first thing you see when you open the door), and the actual holes in one of the bedspreads (see pics). Those are just a few examples of many. It's a lovely physical plant, with a nice design and beautiful decor, but when you're paying $250/night or more, you expect a fresh look and well maintained fixtures and furnishings.

    Atrium
    Paul D.

    While visiting my parents in San Antonio my wife and I decided to stay two nights downtown to walk around, and see what has been changed since the pandemic. It was also a new opportunity to stay and experience a different hotel where seem to making my rounds from previously staying at other ones. For me this place was easy finding this hotel where used to live here and pulled in to valet my vehicle. I must have timed it perfectly where not too long later there was a mad rush to check in. Upon walking in I was surprised to see an open atrium where from the out side this hotel does not looks large enough to have one. And was greeted with a portrait of La Contessa de San Antonio. It was a eye-catching painting giving this place a luxurious feel. Check-in was quick and nice to see refreshments available where it was very hot outside. Our room was a suite where was bigger than I expected and nicely decorated. It was a table for two, pull-out couch, nice bath, mini fridge, and king bed with a nice downtown view. The room was very clean and nothing wrong with it. We enjoyed hanging out at the hotel bar and restaurant called Ambler. It's was high quality and very good. You have River Walk access with a short walk to bulk of the restaurants and next to the Briscoe Western Art Museum and Arneson River Theatre. If you need to get to the side where the Hard Rock Café is located then faster to cut across on the street level. Surprised to see so many homeless people around not on only on the street level but on the River Walk too, but none around the Hotel Contessa. We also spent some time at the rooftop pool where we were provided with towels, chairs (limited shade areas), and a small bar providing drinks, and could order food from it. The pool was heated but being over 100 degrees outside colder the better. They also had a spa which was a bit hot for me. You had a great view of the city behind glass walls, and at night a perfect romantic spot. Overall I enjoyed this hotel and the rooms had so much style where we most likely will stay here again.

    Riverwalk floor sitting area
    Stacie J.

    The hotel is old and there are signs of its age (bubbling paint and aged fixtures) but it makes up for that with large suite accommodations. The hotel is set on a quieter part of the Riverwalk but a street facing room, will make its downtown location apparent, as street racing and loud shared music from passing cars will happen all night. The front desk was helpful with all our needs. Staff were friendly. The hotel was clean and parking attendants were just as friendly as the hotel staff.

    After browsing several hotels online I decided to book Hotel Contessa for a getaway for myself, my husband, and my son. We decided to book a King room online because the listing for the room says that it "Sleeps 3." The listing picture shows a king bed and a couch in the room, and so I thought that the couch must be a pull-out sofa since the listing says the room sleeps 3. To confirm, I emailed the hotel after booking and asked where the sleeping accommodation would be for the third person- did the couch pull out or did they provide a rollaway bed? The hotel wrote me back a few hours later to say that no, the couch did not pull out and that no, they do not provide rollaway beds. They told me, "some guests say that they don't mind sleeping on top of the couch for shorter stays." I was shocked that they would even be allowed to advertise the room as "sleeps 3" when in reality there is not an actual bed provided for a 3rd person and it truly only sleeps 2. There is no way in the world I would have booked this hotel if I knew one of us would be sleeping on the couch. We aren't couch sleepers- we sleep on beds and expect a good night sleep when paying a lot of money to stay at a hotel. We are expecting to get what is advertised when booking a hotel that says it sleeps 3. At this point, why not say that your rooms "Sleep 12" and then we can all just sleep on the floor? That's basically what this hotel is saying. After multiple back and forth attempts by us to cancel this non-refundable room (based on their misleading advertising) the management of the hotel would not back down. We ended up taking this all the way up the chain- through the hotel booking website and then all the way to our credit card company.... contesting this hotel as fraudulent/false advertising. We will now be staying somewhere different that actually has beds for 3 people to sleep in and I will plan to let anyone who plans to stay here what an absolute scam it is.

    Sub-standard, old hotel. Badly in need of updating. Our room 625: tub unusable; overflow drain & lever missing leaving big hole; AC vents horribly dirty. Toilets old & low to ground (12"). Made it very difficult to sit & stand up. Front desk said booked up so couldn't relocate. Mediocre bar & restaurant Decided not to stay for our 2nd night.

    At entrance

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    Ask the Community - Hotel Contessa

    Is there another parking option less expensive than the Valet?

    Yep, kiddie corner is the public lot where I parked. Enjoy your stay and money savings.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

    Review Highlights - Hotel Contessa

    You cannot beat the staff's pleasantries, the view and be able to enjoy the Riverwalk just outside the hotel.

    Mentioned in 130 reviews

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    Hotel Contessa - hotels - Updated May 2026

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