Looking for a hotel in San Antonio Texas that offers an absolute 5-star experience? Check into the Hotel Emma.
Located in the Pearl District, just about 2 miles from the San Antonio River Walk, you’ll find the Emma. She’s tucked away in the newly repurposed Pear District, and is truly a gem of a hotel. I went for a girls weekend with my daughter and we can’t wait to get back to the Emma.
Driving up to the Hotel Emma, it’s so beautiful. Situated among a small posh neighborhood are stylish apartments, boutiques, restaurants and some small businesses and services. They’re all intermixed in this small historic district. This area has that nostalgic vibe, while also feeling modern and well kept.
The Hotel Emma was once the Pearl Brewery. They did a fabulous job with the upgrades and renovations to this property. The online photos just don’t do it justice. You have to see it to really appreciate the Emma.
**Want to see my video of the room? Click here to watch!
Our initial reason for choosing the Emma was to be close enough to the River Walk, but not in the middle of the touristy area. Also having so many things in walking distance to the Hotel Emma was an added bonus. We decided the best room for us was the “terrace king” and it didn’t disappoint! Our room felt fairly spacious (approx 350 sq ft) with an additional 80 sq ft terrace. Our view was beautiful. We could see the river from our room, had a view of the hotel pool area and the San Antonio downtown skyline. Since we weren’t directly in the Riverwalk area, we had a relaxing and quiet stay.
The hotel has comfortable bedding, linens and lavender scented toiletries. The Texas icebox was stocked with delicious salty and sweet snacks, beverages, and alcohol. Something that most hotels don’t do: FREE WATER. However the Emma’s staff brought fresh, cold water to the room every evening with turndown. A bonus was the nightly turndown service; macarons from the Bakery Lorraine, each evening a different flavor. We also really loved the goodies in the bedside drawers, the hotel’s signature scent pillow mist!
The Emma itself has such an interesting history. Much can be learned walking the halls and reading all the information on the walls. If feels like a mini museum. We also liked seeing some of the old brewery machinery throughout the complex. One of our favorite places to send time was the hotel’s library, bonus was the bartender stationed by the staircase. He was really knowledgeable about the hotel. The pool was small, but a great place to grab a snack and a drink, catch some sunshine, and people watch… and the attendants really did a great job taking care of a very full pool area. Everyone stayed hydrated! 🙂
All of the staff at the Hotel Emma were so friendly and helpful. They all seemed to really like working at the hotel, which was booked to capacity the weekend we stayed. They really made our stay that much better. It’s nice to have staff that are friendly.
ROOM SERVICE: I have only one thing to mention and that’s the millionaire bacon. Order it, it’s delicious! Room service was great. Food was delivered quickly and plated thoughtfully.
Another amenity we took advantage of was the house car service. We were able to schedule a drop off near the Riverwalk which saved us an Uber fee! Don’t worry, of course I tipped my driver!
If you’re in the Pearl District on a weekend, there’s a farmer’s market on Saturday and and artisan market on Sunday. The Emma also has different events you can sign up for like whiskey tastings or yoga classes. Their calendar is always being updated with different happenings.
After the past year and a half of staying home during Covid-19, we wanted to make sure that our first hotel experience was the best. We weren’t disappointed with anything during our stay. The Hotel Emma was practically perfect in every way!
Now if you’ve looked at the Emma and had a bit of sticker shock, that’s OK. Just remember that you’re getting a 5-star boutique hotel experience. If you can splurge, stay in the “Terrace King” room. We pretty much lived on the terrace during our entire weekend, it was well worth the price.
** Just so you know, we booked Emma and stayed on our own dime… so no affiliate link. I was just so impressed with the hotel and staff that I wanted to post this review. If you’re thinking about booking the Emma, just do it. I can’t wait to go back and stay there again. Maybe next time we’ll take Josh! LOL