Royal treatment
Luxurious San Antonio castle lets guests live like royalty for $750 a night
Maybe you’ve got relatives in town. Or perhaps you’re in the mood for a staycation. Either way, you very well might check out a lodging option like San Antonio’s widely acclaimed 146-room Hotel Emma, housed in the old brewhouse at the Pearl.
Not too far from Hotel Emma, though, is a more intimate and perhaps more spectacular place to stay — a 126-year-old, castle-like mansion turned Airbnb property fit for royalty.
Lambermont Estate, which also serves as a venue for weddings, baby showers, parties, and other events, sits on a lush one-acre site at 950 E. Grayson St. on the Near East Side.
The event website for Lambermont Estate (at one time known as Terrell Castle) describes the mansion as “a true historic jewel that offers unmatched character and warmth.”
The sand-colored stone house — built in 1894 by Edwin Holland Terrell, a former U.S. ambassador to Belgium — is inspired by European castles, and features four bedrooms and five bathrooms. That’s enough space, according to the Airbnb listing, to accommodate eight guests. All of the bedrooms are on the second floor.
Sadly, wet bars in the master suite and on the first floor aren’t stocked, so you’ll need to BYOB. However, the master suite is equipped with a two-person Jacuzzi and a fireplace where you can sip your adult beverage of choice.
Airbnb guests enjoy access to the common areas on the first floor, including the library, music room, parlor, and dining room. Kitchen amenities also are available. Wrap-around porches look out onto the well-manicured lawn.
To give you an idea of how immense the 12,000-square-foot mansion is, it can hold about 70 guests for a sit-down event and about 150 attendees for a standing-room-only gathering.
Interior highlights include crystal chandeliers, hand-carved woodwork, hardwood floors, original cabinetry, nine molded-brick fireplaces, and a wine cellar.
Terrell originally named his castle Lambermont in honor of business associate Baron Augusta Lambermont. After Terrell died in 1910, the property went through a number of ownership changes before current owners Pat and Dona Liston bought it in 2008 to establish an event center.
Luxury lodging with this pedigree does come at a steep price: $750 per night. But if you split the bill among eight guests, it’s less than $100 per night for each person. On its own, the master suite goes for $250 a night.
Be warned: The ghost of a former owner is said to occupy the castle. So you might be joined by another guest.