Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites - Chef & Hotel Profile

The Historic Alamo, located steps from the Grand Hyatt San Antonio Riverwalk

As a long-time travel/lifestyle writer I have visited more hotel venues than I can count over the years, and some were exceptional in many ways and some were not, however, on a few occasions I have been totally shocked by the overall excellent experience in a hotel and by the beyond belief service being given by dedicated hotel employees. This was my unexpected pleasure during a recent business stay at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio River Walk property in Texas.

Although I was visiting the City of San Antonio to attend the Sister Cities International All Americas Summit, I was also collecting information on the city and the hotel in advance of my visit to create lifestyle stories on this location and venue for future publication. Prior to my visit a young man named Alfredo, a night manager, spent an hour on a phone call with me providing detailed information to assist me in answering questions and gathering all the data I would need to visit places that might provide interesting story information on why anyone would want to visit the City of San Antonio. I had so little time to prepare as I was representing my City of Santa Barbara's Sister Cities and overloaded getting printed materials and a new city banner created and shipped to the Grand Hyatt for pick-up upon my arrival that I know Alfredo's assistance saved my life, or at best kept me from having a very stressful visit.

This hotel in the heart of San Antonio was the official hotel for Sister Cities International Summit 2024 and is just steps from the beautiful Convention Center, where our events were held. The Riverwalk Hyatt is another large, flowing and beautiful Hyatt property with a private club room for special guests to dine and enjoy beverages throughout the day, but many guests, like myself, spend a quite time there over breakfast before a busy work day begins. These rooms are usually on upper floors and provide amazing views of the cities that they are located in. I loved watching the City of San Antonio wake up in the morning over a great cup of coffee.

The hotel restaurants, including a Ruth Chris operations, are nice and I had one of the best grilled cheese with avocado sandwiches ever in their Rojo lounge, as well as some amazing appetizers. A quick to go food depot off the lobby was a life-saver spot filled with delicious salads, sandwiches and selection of beverages, including small champaign's for all the guests who returned to the hotel late, but wanted something to take to the pool on floor 5 to enjoy after an evening swim.

The Grand Hyatt San Antonio is located next to the famous San Antonio RiverWalk and provides guest an opportunity to take cooling riverboat tour

rides, dine at one of the many popular restaurants, and just relax while people watching and enjoying a really fun atmosphere. The Alamo, a historic site loved by Texans, is also located quite near the hotel, and the tour given is very well done. The Pearl, an historic former brewery, is another hot spot for shopping and dining.

During my (SCI) Sister Cities International Summit participation it was necessary for me to transport my materials from the FedEx office in the Grand Hyatt to the Convention Center very early in the morning to set up our booth for greeting and meeting members from Latin America and around the world.

As I was recovering from two fractured ribs this became a concern, and when I went to the lobby and spoke to the night manager named BJ very

early in the morning, he asked me to sit down and got me a coffee. He then said "I am off duty in a few minutes and I will be happy to assist you." Within 15 minutes BJ had me in the designated place in the conference center, put together my new banner, and unloaded my materials to provide to Summit attendees. I tried to give this kind young man a tip for being so helpful, but he would not take it, and this story gets better, when I had to retrieve my banner on the morning we were departing, BJ again insisted on helping me box it and bring it back to the FedEx office in the hotel to be sent back to Santa Barbara. Ergo, this is the special reason I am so terribly impressed with the loyal and dedicated employees at the Hyatt Grand San Antonio RiverWalk Hotel. Yes, if you are wondering, I did send a note to the hotel general manager singing the praises of these two young men. Thank you and bravo Alfredo and BJ!

This is why I love being a travel and lifestyle writer, and why I will be delighted to visit the City of San Antonio and Grand Hyatt in the future. I guess you could say I got a double dose of true Texan hospitality on this trip, not only from these two Hyatt Grand employees, but also got a very warm personal welcome from Ron Nirenberg the Mayor of San Antonio at his Summit welcome party, and I certainly do look forward to returning soon!