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Fancy boutique hotel with spa and buzzy restaurants books stay in San Antonio

Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa offers 253 spacious guest rooms.

Photo courtesy of Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa

It may only be days into the new year, but San Antonio’s latest boutique hotel already promises languorous staycations. After months of anticipation, Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa will check in its first guests on January 18.

The luxe White Lodging property at the corner of South Alamo Street and East Cesar Chavez Boulevard bridges downtown and Southtown, offering convenient access to the former’s historical attractions and the latter’s surfeit of nightlife and dining.
According to a release, the property will raise the bar with 253 roomy guest rooms, a day spa, and a unique bungalow suite.

This hotel is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection, which places unique hotels in cities around the world. Only one can be in any city, and they are all designed for their specific locations.

“Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa is like nothing else in the city, offering luxury amenities in a garden oasis rooted in history,” said general manager Juan Flores via a release. “Guests will be awed by the sanctuary provided, outstanding cuisine, and convenient access to everything the city has to offer.”

As previously reported, the hotel boasts two hospitality concepts: a bar and a full-service restaurant. Corinne, led by executive chef Joseph Krauss, will focus on classic American fare with nods to South Texas and the Gulf Coast. Open weekdays for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the eatery will also showcase a weekend brunch and a daily happy hour from 4-6 pm.

Anaqua Garden Bar, named after a stately 42-foot-tall tree on the property, looks onto the hotel’s pool. In addition to serving original botanical-inspired cocktails, the watering hole offers Japanese-Latin fusion bites in a verdant setting. Regular operating hours will kick off in the spring, but Anaqua is open for the winter Wednesday through Thursday, 4-10 pm, and Friday and Saturday, 4 pm-midnight.

Although limited in-room services will be immediately available to guests, the general public will have to wait a few weeks to enjoy the spa at Plaza. However, The hotel will reward patience with a 24-percent discount for any March appointments booked between January 18 and January 25.

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Travel Tip

San Antonio declared best place to travel in 2025 by Travel + Leisure

Photo by Robert Lerma.

Pullman Market opens April 23.

San Antonians can now say they live in a destination city. Nationally recognized magazine Travel + Leisure has declared San Antonio one of the best places to travel in 2025.

The publication's annual "Where to Go" list reviews nearly 120 notable places around the globe and chooses only 50 for its collection of best destinations. Winners are then categorized into one of seven categories: cultural immersion, nature lovers, big-city thrills, moments on the water, food and drinks, beach vibes, and adventurous travelers.

"These are places that feel of the moment, whether that’s because they offer unparalleled access to the outdoors, a cultural immersion you can’t find anywhere else, a pulse-quickening hit of excitement, or the sort of blissful luxury only a true five-star property can deliver," Travel + Leisure editors wrote.

San Antonio was lauded as a must-visit destination for 2025 "For the Food and Drinks" by T+L. The Alamo City was specifically praised for being "on the cutting edge of culinary innovation" in part thanks to the 13 outstanding local restaurants that were recognized in the first-ever Texas Michelin Guide, and the numerous James-Beard Award-nominated local chefs and eateries.

"Elsewhere, chef and restaurateur Jason Dady will be opening Mexico Ceaty in early 2025, overhauling a food court to create a dining destination that highlights Mexican cuisine," T+L said.

Mexico Ceaty will bring several concepts to the Shops at Rivercenter. Rendering courtesy of SA Partnerships

The report also gives a shoutout to the increasingly popular dining complex Pullman Market, which opened earlier in 2024.

"Our market highlights the difference and value of truly fresh and truly local," said CEO Kevin Fink in the report. "Whether it’s whole fresh fish from the Gulf of Mexico, Berkshire pigs from down the road, or butter from a herd of cows whose milk tastes of the Texas landscape."

When it comes to finding a place to stay in San Antonio, there is no shortage of comfortable and lavish accommodations. T+L names two recently opened hotels in its report: Kimpton Santo, a boutique hotel that repurposed 19th century schoolhouses, and the fully renovated InterContinental San Antonio RiverWalk.

San Antonio was the only Texas city to be recognized in Travel + Leisure's "Where to Go" list for 2025. Fort Worth previously earned this unique recognition in the 2024 report. Earlier this year, San Antonio won national acclaim in the publication's annual "World's Best" reader's choice awards, and was named the No. 6 best U.S. city in 2024.

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