san antonio riverwalk reunion {+Property highlight}

by Jess 

So recently my old college friends decided to have a weekend reunion and wanted to do it in downtown San Antonio on the Riverwalk.

I cringed.

If you haven’t learned this about me yet, you will now: I cannot do regular hotel rooms. Traveling solo or with my husband, sure. With kiddos? No way, Jose. My kids are super light sleepers and go to bed at like 5pm (overtired, cranky kiddos are not my idea of a fun vacation), so I am always looking for suites and vacation properties and other options to give everyone their own space to get the rest they need to be happy little travelers (or big travelers. Whatevs). 

Everyone else was coming sans kiddos, but my baby was still pretty young and nursing, so I found myself googling “San Antonio Riverwalk hotel suites,” and trying not to scream as I tried to weed through all the hotels that advertise “suites” that are nothing but rooms with dividing partitions. That frustration is honestly one of the things that inspired the creation of WanderLittles in the first place: If it doesn’t have a door that I can close to my sleeping child, it is NOT a suite. Parents should not have to be duped by hotels!

That frustration is honestly one of the things that inspired the creation of WanderLittles in the first place: Unless it has a door which I can close to my sleeping child, it is NOT a suite. Parents should not have to be duped by hotels!

So I found a couple of good options but they were outrageously expensive because it was pretty last-minute (I think I had put off booking something because I hoped if I put my head in the sand long enough everyone would decide to blow off going downtown and would go somewhere like, I don’t know, Hyatt Hill Country with its spacious suites and lazy river!). I honestly had not initially thought of checking VRBO for a Riverwalk property, but thought it might be worth a shot, and you guys, I found a total gem! A beautifully renovated historic 1858 caliche-walled house (in an area undergoing regentrification, but it is gated-- with even free gated parking!-- so I personally felt comfortable) with two bedrooms, a kitchen, living room. It was even perfect for hosting a little baby shower for one of the girls during the weekend (it really captured that San Antonio feel) and was only an 8-minute walk from the Alamo; it actually sits on land that used to be part of the Alamo’s farmlands. And did I mention that host Mona left us a bottle of wine as a welcome? In my world, wine is always welcome after a day of traveling with kiddos!

The StoneHaus wasn’t right on the Riverwalk, but it was either walkable (if you have lived or traveled in urban environments and feel comfortable with the accompanying, ahem, colorful characters) or a super cheap taxi drive away. Either way, you are saving money on ridiculous overnight parking charges, so I didn’t feel badly grabbing a taxi when needed. On our first night, I popped the baby in the Ergo and my 4-year old took her scooter and we worked up a perfect little sweat that totally earned us some margaritas and sangrias (and lemonades) at “HotMex, CoolBar” Acenar, one of my Riverwalk faves.

The rest of the weekend we spent enjoying the sights and tastes of downtown San Antonio while reconnecting with our dear friends. The only real hiccup was baby brother’s constipation, which I mentioned in my "Little Disasters" post when I was looking at how the most awful moments of a trip become some of the best memories. But the best moment and memory of this trip is clear: some of the “aunties” and I had taken my daughter to see where her dad and I were married. In the darkness and holiness of the chapel, under the stained glass and heavy chandeliers, my daughter started giggling and skipping around down the aisle and onto the altar. In the Ergo, baby brother started giggling at her antics, which then ignited her laughter and suddenly they were both laughing and screeching hysterically at each other as she hopped around. For a moment I wondered if it was sacrilege and we would get in trouble or something, but then I thought that God probably heard no sweeter chorus than the laughter of children in the place where their parents were married. I certainly never had. And that moment was brought to you by downtown San Antonio. I regretted ever cringing at the thought.

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Historic StoneHaus. So much more than the typical downtown hotel room; here you are staying in a true piece of San Antonio history. Two bedrooms (2 queens and a twin with trundle), 1 bathroom, kitchen and living room. Gated, in an area undergoing regentrification. Floor outlets so pack some outlet covers. Hard stone floor so probably not great for brand new walkers who might tumble and bump their heads. Adorable little bedroom right off the main bedroom that little ones will love. And a welcome bottle of wine. Did I mention that?

Thank you to host Mona for seeing WanderLittles' potential (and offering us an extra free night to check out her property) before we even had an actual website to show them!

This post contains affiliate links to VRBO, hotels.com, and Ergo. If you want to check these things out, use our links and support WanderLittles! Or not. It's all good. :)