Hotel Review: Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa

​​The 300-acre Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio has been in business for over a quarter century. But the land that it sits on, which is now home to 500 guest rooms, a full-service spa (when it’s not closed (more on that in a minute)), 27 holes of golf, and a five-acre water park, has a history that goes back much further than that.


A brief history of the Hyatt Hill Country
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"In 1887, D.G. Rogers owned a property in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin; a resort hotel, and he decided to sell it. And he sold it to a gentleman from Texas." Joe Hindsley, the GM of the resort, told the San Antonio Express News. "And for the sale, D.G. bought a large amount of acreage of hill country just outside of San Antonio, as well as some cattle and some cash and some buildings on the property."

Fast forward 100 years, and with the growth of San Antonio, in 1988 the family of the late D.G. Rogers sold part of their land to the land developers that built the Hyatt Hill Country.

The cool thing about staying there, is that the powers-that-be over at Hyatt have tied in the history of that property to the hotel. There are some knick-knacks in and around the property that remind you of its past. 

This was the place Crystal and I decided to stay during the little honeymoon/mini-moon/whatever-you-want-to-call-it we had the week after our wedding. And I’m glad we did.

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Check-In

View when you walk in the front door. Check-in desk is to the left.

View to the left when you walk in the front door.

View you get to the right when walking in the front door.

​We stayed at the property the week after Labor Day. We checked in on Tuesday. And let me tell you, the employees were probably happy to see us arrive, because we were told the occupancy rate that day was hovering right around 15%.

I used a combination of points and cash for the stay. With it being a category four hotel, it set me back 15,000 points a night, or with points and cash, 7,500 points and $100 in cash a night.

During check-in, we got our luggage taken to the room, were given one free beer each (they were doing a promotion with a San Antonio brewery), and given a map of the property explaining where certain points of interest were - like restaurants, pools, the spa, and more.


The room

As you can tell from the featured picture, this hotel is much wider than it is tall. The check-in desk is actually on the second floor. Our room happened to be on the second floor, too. Overall, a very nice, efficient, and clean room. ​
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The hallway leading to our room.

View of the room when you open the door

Room setup for a single king size bed.

Room setup for a single king size bed.

Entertainment center with mini fridge stored directly beneath the TV.

Bathroom area. If you look in the mirror, you can see the coffee maker, and dry bar area directly on the other side of the bathroom.

Toilet and shower.

The restaurants

My favorite restaurant was Antlers Lodge - which has a huge chandelier made up of 500 pairs of naturally shedded antlers.

There are five restaurants on the property. Several offer much of the same grub, with just different surroundings. And the food was actually pretty good. I had a burger one night, a sandwich another night, and one of the nights we had a very lovely six course meal during a wine tasting. That dinner was in the fine-dining restaurant they have on property called Antlers Lodge. Not surprisingly, that was also my favorite restaurant on premises.


The pools

Complete with a handful of pools, a lazy river, a waterslide, a FlowRider Wave Machine, and an adults only pool, there are obviously plenty of options for your enjoyment. If you are with the family, you can easily spend a couple days enjoying the pool area. And if you’re with your new bride, well, you can do the same.

Crystal and I spent just a day at the pool doing nothing but relaxing. Considering it was the day after we checked in, and the occupancy rate was still really low, the pool wasn’t very crowded. Because of that, we had plenty of lounge chairs to choose from and plenty tubes to use while relaxing in the lazy river.


The spa

Garden at the spa - courtesy Hyatt

The spa was amazing. If you make an appointment and go, you have the option of spending all day there. In addition to all the spa services they provide, they also have a pool, a garden you can relax in, hot tubs, saunas, and free drinks.

Crystal and I wanted to spend a day there, but unfortunately it was closed due to “maintenance” for all but the Friday and Saturday that we were there. We ended up booking a couples massage for Saturday before we left. And that was just what the doctor ordered before heading back into the real world.


Miscellaneous

During our stay, it wasn't just the spa that was closed due to "maintenance." Unfortunately, several things were. Just like there are many perks for staying at a resort where the occupancy rate is so low, I guess there are also some pitfalls.

There is also a fire pit on the property, which is a nice place to go relax at night. The hotel also offered S’mores by the fire pit, which I thought was a nice touch. It was extremely popular with the families who were staying at the resort. Speaking of, with all the resort has to offer, it would be a very family-friendly place to go to and stay without having to worry about leaving the property at all for a couple days.

I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the staff. They were absolutely splendid to deal with. Very friendly and professional, and many on the staff actually remembered who we were. They were also more than willing to give us several more of those beers we got at check-in!


Bottom line

I’d certainly go back to Hyatt Regency Hill Country. This resort is a great option to have on your list if you’re looking for a little getaway in Texas where you can not only see the sights of a city like San Antonio, but also explore the Texas Hill Country, and (most importantly) relax on a pretty reasonable budget.

Crystal and I did all of that. We even found a great tour company based out of San Antonio called Cottonwood Wine Tours that would take you up to the Fredericksburg area of Texas to tour several of the wineries and vineyards in the area. (Think of it as a less expensive Napa Valley.) 

Our stay at the Hyatt Hill Country wasn’t perfect, but it was very nice. The resort opened its doors to guests over 25 years ago. And if they continue with the standard they set in the first 25 years, they’ll certainly be welcoming plenty more guests for at least another 25 years.


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