One word... "WOW"
We got up this morning to meet Heather and Sheila for brunch at Moonshine. Rated best brunch in Austin, it was fantastic... but that's not what the wow is about...
After brunch, we headed south to San Antonio. It's an easy hour drive from South Austin, and we found our hotel pretty easily. The hotel is the Wow! Hotel Valencia... it's amazing. This one was also a hotwire find and this time I feel like I REALLY got a deal. It was a little over $100, but it's literally ON the Riverwalk and it's worth every penny... especially since the going rate is more than double.
We stepped inside to a waterfall, went up in the elevator to the 1st floor for the check-in desk, while gazing at the top of the waterfall and the winebar calling us. The clerk treated us like we were special (instead of a discount shopper!) and we were given the keys to what I though must surely be the wrong room... On the 10th floor, corner, with views of the riverwalk out both sides of the room! Walking in through a long hallway, INSIDE OUR ROOM, and around the corner... it's modern, it's sleek, it's gorgeous, and we're really bummed we only get to spend 1 night here. The wooden shutters are very cool. The bed has a faux mink throw and down pillows, and the leather chair feels like it's 100 years old... so sumptuous. There are dimmers on all the lights, spot lights and lamps and even a plant. The coffee is even good. We checked in four hours ago and haven't been tempted to leave the room yet, even though the River walk is literally RIGHT downstairs. Don't worry, we're going to dinner soon. And we've been here MANY times now, so we know what we are or are not missing.
I took some pictures but I'm sure they won't do it justice. The WOW factor has to be seen in person!
Oh, and Hotwire is completely back in my good graces now... not just because of this hotel, but because I asked for compensation about the 1 night spent in that bad hotel and they gave me a $50 credit to use on my next booking, good for a year. That means we only paid about $20 for that room with taxes, and that's about all it was worth!
After brunch, we headed south to San Antonio. It's an easy hour drive from South Austin, and we found our hotel pretty easily. The hotel is the Wow! Hotel Valencia... it's amazing. This one was also a hotwire find and this time I feel like I REALLY got a deal. It was a little over $100, but it's literally ON the Riverwalk and it's worth every penny... especially since the going rate is more than double.
We stepped inside to a waterfall, went up in the elevator to the 1st floor for the check-in desk, while gazing at the top of the waterfall and the winebar calling us. The clerk treated us like we were special (instead of a discount shopper!) and we were given the keys to what I though must surely be the wrong room... On the 10th floor, corner, with views of the riverwalk out both sides of the room! Walking in through a long hallway, INSIDE OUR ROOM, and around the corner... it's modern, it's sleek, it's gorgeous, and we're really bummed we only get to spend 1 night here. The wooden shutters are very cool. The bed has a faux mink throw and down pillows, and the leather chair feels like it's 100 years old... so sumptuous. There are dimmers on all the lights, spot lights and lamps and even a plant. The coffee is even good. We checked in four hours ago and haven't been tempted to leave the room yet, even though the River walk is literally RIGHT downstairs. Don't worry, we're going to dinner soon. And we've been here MANY times now, so we know what we are or are not missing.
I took some pictures but I'm sure they won't do it justice. The WOW factor has to be seen in person!
Oh, and Hotwire is completely back in my good graces now... not just because of this hotel, but because I asked for compensation about the 1 night spent in that bad hotel and they gave me a $50 credit to use on my next booking, good for a year. That means we only paid about $20 for that room with taxes, and that's about all it was worth!