Derek W.
Yelp
First off, I have to say I'm super thankful to be a guest here because when I first checked hotels in all of San Antonio, this looked to be the most popular pick. A 4-star hotel with such limited availability that when I entered the dates of my stay on their website and even booking.com, I was told no availability. I still kept my eyes on it in the event someone canceled their reservation or something would come up through some other means, and wouldn't you know it? Turns out there was availability for me when I thought I'd have to settle for Hotel Valencia Riverwalk, another 4-star hotel, but with much more availability from what I could see.
I stayed at a couple of hotels in Seattle earlier this year. One was by Marriott, and the other was by Hilton. However, I'm pretty sure I would have gotten sick of both if I stayed as long as I did in San Antonio. So instead of going with either, I went with Omni, even if it meant sacrificing free breakfasts.
Omni La Mansion Del Rio is located in downtown San Antonio, literally right by the Riverwalk, the heart of Alamo City, especially considering that namesake historical monument is just a half mile east. As a matter of fact, within a half mile radius of this resort, you can find so many shops and eateries that even if you spent a month there, you probably won't have time to patronize each and every one of them!
Two things that concerned me up front were parking and laundry. Since I was going to be in San Antonio for a few weeks, I called them a couple days before my check-in date to ask. For parking, it is valet only, and it's $49 per night, which is obviously pricey, but you do get in-and-out privileges unlike the Houston Street Garage on the other side of College Street. When you want to head out of the hotel via car, you'll have to call the front desk to let them know to get your car ready. Sometimes, this can take 5 minutes. Other times, it can take 30, and I've had that happen a couple times, which was really annoying. However, one of the valet attendants did tell me about a chest by the door to the lobby that has cold water bottles; they also had some Powerade bottles on another day.
For laundry, I was told over the phone it is dry cleaning only. However, I did see a form to fill out for laundry services, but the pricing is so extravagant you'd be better off finding a laundromat.
On my first day, I noticed that the shower light in my room wouldn't turn off. There was no switch for it, so when I called the front desk for help, they sent a technician, and even he couldn't get it resolved that day! They had to order a switch and install it the next day; for the trouble, I was compensated with $100 credit at any of their restaurants; I used it all at Four Brothers.
On my second day, the alarm went off literally right after I called the front desk to bring me my rental car. All they left me was a letter of apology informing me it was a false alarm. Luckily, no false alarms after that.
Closet space isn't that large. If you try to hang long pants in the closet, they'll be touching the floor.
Housekeeping is inconsistent. There were some days when they did everything they were supposed to, but most other days, they missed a few things, like cleaning out my ice bucket and restocking my coffee bar. This got a little annoying, but a call to the front desk later, they got me the needed supplies. Sometimes, it could take 10 minutes. Other times, it could take 30. I do appreciate how they're happy to give you as many water bottles as you'd like. I once asked for a dozen, and they gave me the dozen I asked for.
There are two restaurants on the hotel's property: Four Brothers and El Colegio. El Colegio is a bar, but offers delicious eats as well. I'm not 100% sure, but I think these eats are prepared at Four Brothers and brought to El Colegio. If that's true, it seems kind of silly. Four Brothers is a full-service restaurant with a bar, and there's also a Riverwalk entrance for tourists who aren't guests of the hotel.
The employees are usually pretty hospitable and do what they can to make your stay comfortable, but a couple of valet attendants can be borderline rude. One was clearly agitated when there were a handful of cars to attend to at the entrance, and another made me feel like an idiot for driving into the exit lane even though I've seen other cars enter that lane too.
I stayed for almost three weeks, and even though they try hard to perform on a consistent basis, it wasn't like that during my whole three weeks. Of course, everyone has their bad days; it was probably half and half if I had to guess.
Overall, it wasn't a bad stay, but if I make a return visit to downtown San Antonio, I'm likely going to try Hotel Valencia Riverwalk instead to see how that one compares. If that one is full, this isn't a bad option. However, just be forewarned that for the price you pay, you'd expect the best, but it won't necessarily be the best if that makes sense.