Oh, another thought. If you are a Costco member, they have rate deals with certain chains, including Hyatt.

We don't have Costco here, but we do have AAA.

I like the looks of TownPlace Suites. It is ranked #3 on Trip Advisor. I need to talk to my sister in law, but looks really good to me .

Contessa is less than $130 per night - less than the Menger, and a suite.

Glad you found something yellow rose!

I'm sure you are aware that TripAdvisor rankings have little bearing on a hotel's actual ranking among other hotels, and #3 doesn't mean it's the 3rd best hotel in town. It isn't, but it is nice for what you get...which seems to be more what those rankings are all about.

I like (and had mentioned) Austin's Contessa too. It gets terrific reviews, and I like its location in a quiet section of the Riverwalk, but I think you gain with Townplace Suites because it's the "new guy in town" so still working on pulling occupancy rates up, and underselling the room rate which it hopes to use, once it has established itself. The Contessa went through similar gyrations when it first opened.

The Contessa looks very lovely - the best rate I can find for them right now is $130/night. The Menger is $74.00/night. TownePlace Suites are $69.76/night. They are having a special right now.

Wow. That is cheap for Menger. I compared a weekend in January and founfpd $130 and $148

Sounds like the Townplace are a great deal for suites.

We are booked at TownePlace Suites. I will let you know what we think of them after the trip. Hubby wants to spend one night at Corpus Christi, so now will look for a place there. May wait till we get there as I don't think it will be very busy during the week in January.

Wanted you all to know that we arrived in San Antonio on Tuesday. The TownPlace Suites are great. 00 I am so grateful to your husband for his advice and recommendation. We are very close to the Riverwalk - just about a block. And the same distance to the Alamo. My sister in law and I walked to the drug store on the Riverwalk at midnight and felt perfectly safe. We saw the missions yesterday (in the cold!) and are heading to TX hill country today. Will see the Johnson ranch, etc. Tomorrow we will go to Corpus Christi to see an aircraft carrier and the ocean. Thank you for all your advice. I have never had bad advice on Fodors.

Hi yellow rose!! Thank you SO much for letting us know! It's great to hear that TownPlace worked out for you--it certainly is a prime location. I'm only sorry that the weather has been cold--we are in FL now but DH told me it was to be 25 for a low in SA, either today or tomorrow. That is unusual! Too bad, as for the most part, it's been a beautiful winter there this year. Hopefully the sun is shining at least. Enjoy, and have fun in Corpus. I've never been there!

Yay! Glad you had so much fun in San Antonio! Honestly, you can skip the Johnson Ranch in winter unless you are a big LBJ fan. It's great to go there in the spring and see the wildflowers, but the rest of the year it's just so-so. Drive a little but down the road and go to Lukenbach, or one of the wineries along 290 Texas' "Wine Road" instead. You should have lovely weather for the res tof your trip!

we enjoyed the drive to the Texas white house and also walking a trail down to the river. we saw photos where it can flash flood. that was scary. my hubby and bil are history buffs. we enjoyed seeing the jet lbj flew in on and also the house tour. i enjoyed it immensely. 00 the weather was wonderful today and remember we are from the north anyway. my sis in law and i wandered around late on the riverwalk tonight with just sweaters on. cant stress enough how great this hotel is. perfect location and super helpful people.

We are having a cold snap here now too. It's funny to see peope still in shorts and t-shirts when it's mid 50's, and inevitably they are the ones who get into the cars with Quebec license plates. Me, I'm in a heavy fleece and long pants.

I'm so glad you are enjoying your stay yellowrose, and again happy the hotel worked out so well. I'm always hesitant to recommend places lest what I want and someone else wants are entirely different, but I was 100% positive you were not going to be at all happy in that vrbo house!!

We took a day trip to Corpus Christi today. My brother and sister in law leave tomorrow. But we are here till Tuesday. We saw the missions, the alamo, Johnson City. We need some ideas. Monday is going to be very beautiful and hot - what should we do? Is there anything in the vicinity that would be good to do in the nice weather? I read something about the Guadalupe river and state park. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks

You might take a trip up to Natural Bridge Caverns. Obviously, with a cave, the weather doesn't matter, but the formations in the caves are just beautiful. It is a guided tour and the ceilings are tall....no stooping, and the paths are paved. We've even taken our toddler grandkids there and they did fine. We had friends with us from the UK one year and they felt the caverns were the highlight of their San Antonio trip. Take I35 north to Natural Bridge Caverns Rd, and drive north to the caverns. They are very well marked. You'll pass my neighborhood on your way to them. http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/ Click on the video overview.

From there you can make the side trip to Gruene. Home of Gruene Hall, oldest dance hall in TX and there is still live music there every weekend. It is a cool little town too, although now well "found". Still it retains its old character and has some cute shops. Eat at the Grist Mill overlooking the river if the weather is nice. It's all ultra casual. If you go, I do hope they have someone playing in Gruene Hall. It is almost always free...just walk in, sit down and listen. Dance if you feel like it. It was (is) one of the fun things we'd do on a Sunday afternoon, and have heard some terrific music there! http://www.gruenetexas.com/

You might enjoy a drive up to Austin and a visit to the LBJ Library on the campus of the University of Texas. It's only about 1 hour away.

If you haven't done so, take a walk around the King William District - it's an area of beautiful homes, many being restored, that was settled by German immigrants, I think in the 1800s. We also really enjoyed Natural Bridge Caverns and poking around Gruene, as well as Austin (mostly to eat and listen to music, although we did also visit the state Capitol, which is impressive.

Great idea sf7307! King William District is beautiful! The best of the restored area is King William St itself, as well as Madison, the street that parallels it one block over. Drive through and look at he gorgeous homes--nearly impossible to imagine it had become rundown and shabby, with those homes sub-divided into apartments. If you are there early in the day, stop and eat either breakfast or lunch at the Guenther House (on Guenther St at the foot of King William).

Also, if you haven't been to El Mercado, that's worth a stop too.

The McNay Art Museum would be another good afternoon. Most of it is housed in a beautiful old estate, but there's been a new addition built as well. I love old architecture so the museum is a double treat for me, picturing how they lived in that era.

HehHeh...you'll have to stay another week!

We ended up driving through the King William district. We also went to Gruene and ate at the Gristmill and walked through the dance hall. Very interesting. When we left San Antonio on Tuesday it was 78 and when we got home it was 14. Byt Friday we had -40 wind chills. Enough said!