#I’ve listened to other Latin American music too including Peruvian

[thesanantonian-blog]

Hotel Emma

I’d wanted to go Hotel Emma for quite some time. Despite being a frequent visitor to Southerleigh and spending a lovely part of my bachelorette party at Sternewirth, I’d never actually explored the hotel. 

Parking & Check-In

Since we had some good news to celebrate, and some bonuses in our pockets we decided to invest in a romantic night at Hotel Emma. We chose the King suite with a terrace overlooking the river, and even though close parking was absolutely available, we decided to valet the car per usual. Driving up to the hotel, and parking in the roundabout was a luxury. Maybe you’re a person who always drives on perfect black gravel driveways, I don’t know but we certainly aren’t. Driving up to this gorgeously appointed hotel, in that English feeling drive felt luxe as fuck. So help me God if we’re able to have a secluded driveway it WILL BE PAVED THIS WAY. Anyhoo, as we got out of our cars we were greeted by the perfectly trained valets, and we dropped off the car to their care as we rolled up into the hotel with our luggage. The reception area is actually really small compared to other hotels, or at least more out of the way than any of the ones we’ve been to so far. I can’t say that I hate that either. I like that there was just a courteous and professional front desk agent, and a quick check in. Our room key had an adorable little ice box key on it too, and while they do that at other hotels, this one had a little style to it. The front desk agent also informed us of a generous happy hour for guests of the hotel that was taking place in the library, from 5-9pm. There were free margaritas for those that drink, and really tasty lemonade for those who don’t drink, like myself. There were also cookies that were laid out for guests to enjoy while they read the books. At 5:30, when we arrived the library was packed, so we went up to our room. We needed the room key to access the elevator to the sixth floor, a detail that was either not listened to or left out at check in. Nevertheless, after cursing the button a few times for not working I figured it out, and off we whisked to our room.

The Bathroom

The room was beautiful, literally everything about it was expertly curated and obsessed over. The first thing I noticed when I walked in was the bathroom. Pictures online do NOT do it justice. It’s all charcoal and white tile, with clean yet perfectly aged looking brass fixtures. The shower was a large walk in, and it was such a luxurious shower that it MIGHT have turned me into a shower person. The water also made that gorgeous shower sound that only comes with a large tile shower. Am I the only one that notices things like that? Whatever, I don’t care it was one of the best parts of the room. The toiletries were varied in scent and by FAR my favorite so far. We liked the rum body wash so much we ended up buying it. Unlike literally everything else in the room it was moderately priced at $22. More on that later.

The Bedroom

As I walked into the bedroom area, I was greeted with a huge, super comfy looking bed, a masculine yet modern looking table with leather chairs, and an armoire that housed our adorable little icebox, filled with high end mixers, limes and other drinks. Absent was the usual complimentary Dasani or Nestle water. Hotel Emma doesn’t play like that. Instead, they had their own artisanal water that was bottled in recycled glass bottles. If you’ve gone to Revolucion or Juice Essentials you’ll know the kind of bottles I’m referring to. They also had actual snacks that people would want to eat. Not to downplay the Valencia or any of the hotels we’ve been at that had incidentals, but this hotel seemed to understand their clientele a little better. There were tiny plates, napkins and coasters (because their furniture is legit and you need to use coasters), as well as chocolate covered English toffee, cheese and cured meats, and other stuff that I honestly didn’t pay attention to because I was too focused on the chocolate. They even had a little bowl you could use for dips chilled in the icebox. I suppose you could use it as a piece of mixology equipment if that’s your thing, and I think there were more instruments to that end in the cupboard.

Inside the cupboard was also a menu for room service, and on the table was a compendium of information and history about the hotel and the surrounding area. I happened to see on the room service menu, a menu for items in the room, should you be inclined to take anything. The compendium was $300, the robe was around that price and the jute slippers were around $80. Almost everything was highly overpriced. I’m not sure if that’s to deter theft, or if it’s just the norm to take stuff from a hotel room that 1k people used before you, AND pay thru the nose for it.

The Patio  

  Next we trekked outside to our patio, and marveled at the gas fireplace. Yes I know it’s 100 degrees outside. Do you think that stopped me from firing it up? WELL IT SHOULD HAVE. I got blasted with air so hot it’s a miracle I still have eyebrows. Nevertheless after I turned it off and sat on the couch across from the fireplace I was pleasantly surprised at how absolutely relaxing it was to just sit there with the fan above me rotating back and forth, keeping the patio mostly cool-ish. We’re legit and rugged Texans though, so we grabbed our artisanal waters and watched the goings on of the river area and the pearl below us. The heat only nominally bothered us, and there was so much to watch. There were photo shoots going on, children playing, people enjoying the architecture around them, and just general fun.

The Pearl

After awhile we decided to join them and headed to Bakery Lorraine for a sandwhich, which I heartily regretted when I saw that Hotel Emma has a restaurant called The Larder. They had everything we actually wanted, and it was priced just like Bakery Lorraine. The sandwiches at Bakery Lorraine aren’t my favorite, so it was a damn shame we didn’t see that. I did pick up an eclair though because they really shine in the sweets area of baking. A lot of people really like their sandwiches though so don’t let my opinion of them ruin it for you. They’re absolutely worth trying out. Their breakfast is outstanding so check that out too. 

With the culinary school located at the Pearl, you shouldn’t be surprised that there are some truly stellar restaurants nearby. Botika is Peruvian-Asian, Boiler House is gourmet American, Nao is Latin American, and Southerleigh is magnificent. Can you tell which is my favorite? At the time the Bottling Department Food Hall wasn’t open yet, but you can bet we would have been there slurping ramen from Tenko Ramen. If you do have a sweet tooth but it’s after 8pm (when bakery Lorraine closes), check out the best gelato in the city at Lick. A little walk away from the hotel you’ll find some GREAT Mexican at La Gloria, and near there you’ll also find my favorite Italian restaurant - Il Songo. It’s literally the best Italian food I’ve ever had. 

Hotel Fun

As we headed back to the hotel, we decided to partake in happy hour. The library is closed off to random passers by, as you have to have a room key to access it. While I’m sure most people are there to soak up the ambiance and enjoy drinks, you can actually find some great books here. They’re mostly coffee table books because it’s not like you’re going to finish a novel in one or two nights. Nevertheless it’s definitely something to see. They even have real library tables outside of the library you can sit at. I’m a fan of this because I’m a history nerd and a romantic; so if you are too you’ll probably love this.

Next we visited the shop in the Hotel, where I found out that I couldn’t afford what I thought was a pretty little crystal necklace because it was a pretty little diamond necklace. Outside of that you can find candles, perfumes, and little curios, which is perfect because the shop is actually called Curios. If you've visited The Tiny Finch in the Pearl it's got similar items.

In general, there’s a lot of fun you can have around the hotel, even if you aren’t staying there. Including eating at the hotel’s renowned restaurant Supper. We got room service to try it out and we NOT disappointed. 

Late Night

We love to order room service, and if you’ve read any of our other blogs you’ll know that. We felt this time though that we had to order room service, if only to experience Supper without having a lot of people around us. We only ordered a burger at the time because we just weren’t that hungry. Even so, it was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had, and the French fries were so...perfect. 

We spent most of the evening people watching from our room window, and listening to the music floating in from La Gloria and other restaurants around us. It was a hot yet balmy evening, and people watching is great when the people are having fun. As fun as being downtown doing the same is, people aren’t really as happy late night as they are in the Pearl. Call it romantic, but it seems like people were truly happy to be walking around the river pavilion and holding hands.

Of course, we found the room service breakfast menu. Unlike other places, you actually order breakfast the evening before, and post it outside of your door. More on that in a second.

Morning and Breakfast

Waking up in this room was blissful. Everything is so clean and so bright that it really feels like you’re in a special place. This definitely isn’t the case in all hotel rooms, so it’s special when you can find one that makes you feel that way. We’d ordered our breakfast the night before to arrive directly at 10AM, and we were not surprised at all that it did actually arrive on time. 

We ordered eggs with crispy bacon ends, beignets, coffee and Oaxacan hot chocolate. The breakfast was so sumptuous and delicious that we luxuriated in the beauty of it for awhile before actually digging in. For whatever reason, the site isn’t letting me post more pictures, especially of the breakfast. I’ll post those next. 

Checking out was of course and easy and effortless process, like most everything at Hotel Emma. Before we left however, we HAD to buy the rum body wash we had loved in the shower, since it was honestly the best smelling shower gel we’ve smelled in awhile. It’s by Malin + Goetz, and it’s actual name is the Rum Body wash.

Bottom Line

Yes, this place is expensive. Yes, it’s a hot spot and it can be seen as a little hipster-y. We did not give one fuck about that though, and if we had an extra $650 or so laying around we’d definitely go back again. The service, food, atmosphere and amenities were all superb, and so far it is the BEST hotel we’ve been to in San Antonio. Since the good news we were celebrating was a new baby on the way, we’re probably going to chill on the hotel visits for the next few months. My next blog post will actually be on the Drury hotel, where we both actually drank to our heart’s content, and enjoyed the truly unexpected frescos in the lobby. After that we’ll probably focus on local eateries around our ever evolving city. See you soon!