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Are you planning a vacation to San Antonio, Texas for your family? Looking for a great hotel to stay in? The Crockett Hotel is one of San Antonio’s oldest hotels. Keep reading to see if it is the perfect hotel for your family’s trip!
The History of the Crockett Hotel
The Crockett Hotel was named after frontiersman Davy Crockett. It was built in 1909 by the Three Link Fraternity. In 1927, the hotel was expanded to include a seventh story west wing.
In 1982, the hotel was bought by local John Blocker who renovated and restored the hotel’s original architecture. The hotel’s rooms were renovated most recently in 2007.
Today, the hotel is listed on the National Register of Historic Structures. It is also a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Historic Hotels of America.
The Location of the Hotel
The Crockett Hotel is located at 320 Bonham Street in downtown San Antonio, Texas. It is directly next door to the Alamo.
If you walk out the back door of the hotel, you can be standing in front of the Alamo in one minute or less. It is about a 3 minute walk to the Riverwalk.
There are many, many restaurants, bars, and entertainment options within a 10 minute walk of the hotel.
Hotel Amenities
Unfortunately, there are not many amenities offered at the Crockett Hotel. It has an outdoor swimming pool, free wifi, and same day laundry and dry cleaning. That’s about it, except for dining, which is discussed below.
Hotel Dining Options
There are two dining options at the Crockett Hotel: the Alamo Plaza Coffee Bar and the Crockett Tavern.
The Alamo Plaza Coffee Bar is a grab & go cafe, which serves Starbucks coffee. It also serves muffins, breakfast burritos, sandwiches, salads, and pastries. They have alcoholic beverages as well.
There are a few tables if you want to enjoy your food and coffee there.
The Crockett Tavern is a full service restaurant and bar. It is decorated with cowboy hats, saddles, wagon wheels, and other cowboy touches that you would expect to find in Texas.
They serve traditional Texas dishes, including barbecue, Tex-Mex, steaks, and Gulf Coast seafood.
We stopped in the Crockett Tavern for a drink one night, but did not eat here. So, unfortunately, I can’t speak to the food at either the tavern or coffee bar.
Parking at the Hotel
If you are driving to the Crockett Hotel, you have two options for parking.
First, you can valet at the hotel for $35/day. The second option is to self park at a nearby parking garage or surface lot.
While the prices of these lots vary, we found that paying to park for long periods will cost more than $35/day. So, I would recommend valeting during your stay.
Pricing and Rooms
There are 138 rooms and suites at the Crockett Hotel.
The Cozy Queen room has one queen bed and 125-175 square feet of space. At 175-225 square feet, the Superior Queen room is larger but still only has one queen bed. It features views of the Alamo or a tropical atrium.
As you might guess, the Deluxe Double room has two double beds, while the Deluxe King room offers one king bed, a fridge, and views of either the Alamo or the tropical atrium. The Deluxe King is 200-300 square feet.
The signature suite has a king bed, queen sleeper sofa, and 350 square feet of space. If you need more space and more than one bed, you can choose the Deluxe Double Queen room, which has two queen beds and 300 square feet.
The hotel also offers a room with two double beds and a sofa sleeper.
Prices range from $85-300+ per night, depending on the room type and dates of your stay.
Our Experience and Thoughts
The Rooms and Decor
My husband and I stayed at the Crockett Hotel in July 2022 while celebrating our anniversary. While I enjoyed our stay, I have mixed feelings about the hotel. All things considered, we won’t stay here again, especially if we have our son with us.
I love the history and character of the hotel. These were big reasons why I chose to stay here in the first place. This is not just another vanilla big box chain hotel. When you walk in the lobby, you can instantly tell that you are staying somewhere unique.
Everywhere you look in the lobby and throughout the public spaces on the ground floor, you see reminders that you are in a historic Texas location. There are leather chairs, cowboy artwork, and Texas flags and maps on the walls. There are even a couple of cannons sitting around.
Unfortunately, this all stops once you leave the public spaces. When we stepped off the elevator on the floor we were staying on, we felt like we were in a college dorm.
There were no decorations on the walls, no charm, and no pizzazz. It was all just bare bones and very basic.
Our room was as drab and disappointing as the hallway. It was tiny with an even smaller bathroom and cheap furniture. The only charming thing about our room was the wooden plantation shutters on the windows.
While it worked for a weekend couples getaway (minus any romantic touches), we would have been completely cramped if our son was with us.
Apparently, there is a wide variety of room sizes at this hotel. I’ve seen photos of large, luxurious rooms at the Crockett Hotel, but unfortunately, we didn’t get one of them. So, your experience and opinion of the hotel will depend in large part on which room you get.
I felt like I had been the victim of a classic bait and switch scheme after we left the main floor.
The Elevators
The elevators were also incredibly old and tiny. They worked fine, but they were just very small. It would be difficult for a family with two or three kids and multiple suitcases to all fit in the elevator at the same time.
This could cause big issues if you are traveling with several young children.
The Pool
The pool was also kinda weird. It is very small, but this is somewhat understandable given that it is in downtown San Antonio and space is limited.
The problem I have with the pool is its location. It is across the driveway from the entrance to the hotel. So, to reach it, you must walk through the lobby, out the main entrance, past the valet stand, and across the driveway to reach it.
This seems very awkward and uncomfortable to me. Luckily, there is landscaping around the pool to provide some privacy while swimming. But, you will be on full display while getting there.
Location
I did love the location of the hotel though. It was literally steps from the Alamo and only about a 2-3 minute walk to the Riverwalk. It was a very convenient place to stay for exploring downtown and the Riverwalk.
The Service
I was also disappointed in the service provided by the hotel staff.
I don’t have a problem with no housekeeping unless you specifically request it. But, I do expect staff working the front desk to at least make eye contact with me when I’m checking in.
When we checked in, there were two people working the front desk. Neither of them greeted us or the other guests checking in before or after us.
The lady that checked us in did not say one word more than absolutely necessary to complete the check-in process. She never told us about breakfast, the check out time, or anything else. She also never looked up from her screen the entire time.
Now, I’m not super chatty and don’t expect others to be. I also don’t expect front desk clerks to roll out the red carpet for me. But, she acted like she really didn’t care if we stayed there or not.
A different lady checked us out two days later, and she was just as bad.
Conclusion
The Crockett Hotel in downtown San Antonio, Texas is a historic hotel in a fantastic location. But, I don’t recommend staying here, especially with kids. Some of the rooms are too tiny to accommodate families. The staff is not friendly or welcoming. The pool is in an odd location. And the character and theming stops at the public spaces.
In short, there are several other hotels in San Antonio with equally great locations that are much better for families.
For more on things to do in Texas, see Guenther House, my tips for visiting San Antonio, my Texas bucket list, the best beaches in Texas, Babe’s Chicken House, Texas Sandfest, the best things to do with kids in Fort Worth, and the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo.
For help planning your trip, see my planning tips for Texas trips.
Happy travels!
P.S. Need help finding the best places to go on your family vacations? My Ultimate USA Bucket List for Families will instantly give you 60 of the best vacation destinations for families in the United States! Get it for FREE in the box below and start planning your next trip today! Plus, as a bonus, you will receive my weekly email newsletter full of family trip tips and inspiration!
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