When we were planning our trip to San Antonio, Texas, choosing which area to stay in and what hotel to pick was difficult. However one hotel kept ticking all the right boxes for what we were looking for from our stay in San Antonio and we definitely made the right choice.
La Cantera Resort & Spa is a luxury hotel geared toward families in every way – fantastic rooms, five swimming pools, amazing restaurants with child friendly menus, immaculate gardens, a world class spa and a great range of kids activities on offer.
It provided us with a luxury escape away from a busy city yet was still close enough by car to enjoy all of the attractions and sights that San Antonio had to offer. I can’t recommend this hotel highly enough – it was so impressive and perfect for a luxury family break.
Once we had checked in, we honestly didn’t want to check out 6 days later.
This is our review of the La Cantera Resort & Spa.
After driving from Austin as soon as we turned into the gated 500 acre resort, it was like entering an oasis of calm away from the busy roads of the city of San Antonio. As we drove through its expansive grounds leading to the hotel it certainly made a great first impression.
La Cantera is set in 550 acres of beautiful countryside of the hill country at one of the highest points in San Antonio providing sweeping views of the city below.
Our luggage was whisked away by the bell staff and this was the last we saw of it until we checked into our room, allowing us to start enjoying our holiday.
It was not just the stylish Instagrammable décor and ambience of the uniquely Texan lobby with its wood beams, roaring stone fireplace, eye catching artwork and grand chandeliers that was impressive as we first walked through its doors – the staff impressed us too as they were so friendly.
We were personally welcomed to the resort on check-in by the staff and instantly felt at home. Check-in was fast and efficient which was just what we needed after a busy day navigating the Texan roads and the hotel’s staff took us to our room – we were so excited.
It’s the staff at La Cantera that are one of the key elements that make this hotel so special, the level of personal service offered was fantastic and what is sometimes lacking at larger hotels, but not here. In particular, Joan, the hotel’s concierge really stood out, she was so friendly, knowledgeable and made us feel at home as soon as we arrived.
Family Rooms
We stayed in a deluxe room with a balcony, one of the 496 rooms on offer at the hotel. At 395 square feet it was large enough for a family of four but ideally two interconnecting rooms would have been ideal but as our visit was over Easter prices were at a premium and room availability was limited.
I loved the Texas inspired feel to the interiors which made for a warm and welcoming environment, plus having the added bonus of a small balcony, provided views over the stunning hotel grounds and the Hill Country.
Shortly after we arrived in our room, we were surprised with a lovely welcome amenity from the hotel with fresh nachos, dips and a bucket of local Texan beers and a bottle of champagne
The thoughtful extras continued for the children with fresh cookies and milk and the cutest cowgirl hats which made them feel so at home straight away. It’s these little extra touches that really make La Cantera stand out as such a family friendly hotel.
The sumptuous bathroom was well-equipped with a deep bathtub with rainfall shower, double sinks, plush towels and bathrobes but strangely no slippers. I loved the range of Nest New York toiletries, it’s not a brand I had heard of before this trip but they are gorgeous and later found them for sale at Nordstrom in Houston.
As you would expect from one of the leading luxury hotels in San Antonio, our room had facilities you would expect including a large flat screen TV with a wide selection of cable channels including the Disney Channel, Keurig coffee maker, complimentary daily water, mini-fridge so we could store our own drinks and snacks and a selection of magazines.
The hotel offers complimentary high speed WiFi throughout the hotel which typically is one of the first things the girls ask about when we check-in, so they can use their iPads – however at La Cantera there was so much to keep them occupied they rarely asked to use them.
Pools
The biggest attraction of the hotel (from the kids’ perspective) are its swimming pools, which was one of the main reasons we chose La Cantera.
Upon arrival, a friendly staff member welcomes you to the pool with fresh towels and there was an abundance of padded loungers around the inviting zero entry free form pool where we spent most of our time. Here staff were always on hand with pool towels or to take drinks or food orders from the delicious Vista Grille.
The girls would spend most of their time at the nearby kids pool with its two fun water slides, trying to coax Ian and I away from the peace of the main pool to try them out – which we did and they were super fun.
We lost count the amount of times the girls whizzed down these slides each day – they had such a great time. The adults only infinity pool (another one of the four pools to choose from) was my personal favourite with views over the Hill Country or just being able to chill in the hot tub.
We spent hours roaming between all of the pools at the resort. Even with the lure of the nearby waterparks you didn’t really have to leave the pool complex at La Cantera because it was that good.
Facilities
There was so much for all the family to do at La Cantera. The recreational facilities on offer really are extensive and it’s what sets this hotel apart from the majority of other hotels in San Antonio and the Hill Country.
There was so many activities to take part in you really didn’t need to leave the resort including tennis courts, kids arcade, shops, bars, golf course, gym and the Loma de Vida Spa at the hotel which looked amazing, but with a hectic schedule exploring the local area we didn’t get a chance to use this facility.
For children there was a full programme of events (although some these were at an additional cost) ranging from movies by the pool to bug hunts to an underwater Easter egg hunt.
One of the girls favourite activities that they took part in was the Easter egg hunt in the beautiful gardens of the hotel on Easter Sunday which was a really fun and memorable way to spend Easter.
Toasting marshmallows to make s’mores at the fire pit each evening is always one of our highlights of our American holidays. Holly in particular took particular pride in making sure she created the perfect s’smore. It’s these little memories and US traditions that make holidays like this so worthwhile.
We didn’t plan on visiting a rodeo, but the hotel’s concierge Joan convinced us that it wouldn’t be a visit to Texas without experiencing a rodeo and we are so glad we did. The hotel arranged our tickets and put on transport for us to the Tejas Rodeo (it really is a hidden gem that lots of tourists might miss) 18 miles north of the hotel.
We didn’t really know what to expect but we had such a great time here it certainly created lifelong memories for us all, especially dancing to the live country band at the end of the night.
Dining
One of the main reasons we tend to stay at luxury hotels around the world is because we spend a lot of time on property and the restaurants at La Cantera did not disappoint with great children’s menus. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all fabulous here.
There is a choice of 9 restaurants here offering something for everyone ranging from casual poolside dining to formal dining to grab and go options at Henrietta’s market which was a great little store.
I would highly recommend taking the kids to have some of Henry’s delicious craft ice cream here – we loved it and every Sunday they had a live cooking station for breakfast tacos – how Texan is that!
For breakfast each morning we went to Sweet Fire Kitchen at the hotel. At nearly $100 a day for a family of 4 including tax and tip it was expensive but it was worth every penny. The breakfast here is one of the very best we have had at any hotel across the United States – it reminded us of the Four Seasons in Orlando.
Breakfast was a buffet of everything imaginable you could ever want with omelettes and eggs being made to order – the fried eggs in particular were the best we have ever tasted.
Lots of the items on the breakfast menu such as the cakes and breads were homemade and we loved the fact that the majority of the food selection on offer was locally sourced and of the highest quality.
We returned for dinner at SweetFire and the wood fired ovens created delicious pizzas for Chloe and Holly and the steaks and burgers for Ian and I were just as impressive.
We also tried the Primero Cantina and their texmex menu – this restaurant was a hit as it offered delicious meals, the poolside setting kept the kids happy and the multiple TVs showing live sports kept Ian entertained.
All of the meals we had here were fantastic and it is testament to this quality of dining experiences offered at la Cantera that we chose to eat here especially with the lure of so many restaurants available just a short drive away.
Location
When we were planning our trip to San Antonio, Texas staying at a hotel close to the Riverwalk first came to mind, but we are so glad with our decision of the La Cantera Resort & Spa in the beautiful Hill Country.
The hotel is in a great location close to Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme park, as well as the shops and restaurants of La Cantera and the Rim – best of all if you didn’t want to drive, the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle.
Downtown San Antonio and Seaworld were also close by and less than a 20 minute drive away – so La Cantera ticked all the right boxes as a great base to explore San Antonio. You can read what we did in San Antonio here
Overall
Yes La Cantera is luxurious but with families at its heart, it really is the ideal destination for parents who not only want quality but a hotel that offers so much for children.
The level of service provided at La Cantera was exceptional from the housekeeping staff to the general manager, who made our stay so special and memorable. You certainly won’t hear the word “I’m bored” from your children during your stay at La Cantera, there is so much for them to see and do.
If you are looking for a luxury family friendly hotel in Texas that is close to everything that San Antonio has to offer, then La Centera Resort will be very hard to beat. We can’t wait to return.