We enjoyed our stay..

My wife, son and I stayed there for 3 days during the NBA finals. We wanted to stay on the Riverwalk and for $90 a night, it was at least half of all the hotels I checked on.

I will agree with another poster on a few things. The neighborhood around the hotel is a bit run down, but we never had any problems and never felt unsafe. It is a bit of a walk down the Riverwalk to the entertainment district, but the Riverwalk is very clean and we never felt threatened.

The nightly reception was nice, breakfast was good, and the pool was a bit small, but still enjoyable.

We got lucky and got a room with a large balcony overlooking the courtyard and Riverwalk. It was a bit small for a suite, but had a fridge, microwave and suited our needs.

If you're looking for a hotel in the middle of the action, you might look elsewhere, but if you're looking to save some $ and don't mind a bit of a walk, boat taix ride, or short cab ride, I would recommend this hotel to anybody.

Bad Hotel for a romantic getaway.

My wife and I have always loved San Antonio. I have been going since I was a kid. My wife is originally from Michigan and has been a few times, but loved every trip.

We wanted to pick the perfect get away for our annivesary. After browsing the internet for places to stay, we landed on Hawthorne Suites. The website made this place look like a palace. It said it was right on the riverwalk within minutes of all the shopping and restaurants. When we got there, we were very underwhelmed. The hotel looks like it was planted right smack in the middle of a demiliterized zone. There was bandonded businesses, homeless people walking around, and graffiti everywhere. While checking in, we got a bit of an attitude from the front desk person about possibly getting a balcony room which we tried to reserve a couple of weeks prior and never got. When we got to our room, we were expecting a bigger room than normal because that is what their website advertised. Instead, we got a room that was smaller than a normal room and we had a view of all the homeless people and dumpsters. Awesome!

After a bad start to our evening regarding the hotel, at least we had the riverwalk. They said they were right on the riverwalk just minutes from all the shopping and nightlife. After walking out the back gate of the hotel, nothing was around us at all! We walked the riverwalk for about 20 minutes before I just happened to see shops and food down a waterway had I not seen that, we would have been walking longer. Very deceiving. My wife and I were furiuos.

So to sum it up, if you are looking for a romantic get away, I would think twice about Hawthorne suites San Antonio. All is not what it seems with them at all. We had a terrible trip and will not go to their hotels again.

Hawthorne Suites Riverwalk

My wife and I stayed here with our 4 year old son. The room was clean but smaller than expected for a suite. The room was really a little bit more of an oversized hotel rrom. There was a wet bar with a small fridge, microwave and had a couch that made into a full size bed. The hotel says it has wireless internet, but I was unable to connect. The front desk offered an internet kit. The location of the hotel was too far to walk to all the action. However, it was only a 5 minute drive to the Rivercenter parking garage. Breakfast served daily was nice to get you started. Weekday evening managers special consisted of chips and hot sauce and guacomole along with draft beer and wine. Parking was across the street and had to pay an additional $5 to do so. My recomendation to someone looking for a real suite would to stay at Homewood Suites. I know I will next time, but only because I like walking along the riverwalk near the action.

Good option for buget trip

My girlfriend an I love to go to San Antonio anytime we can. We go there about twice a year.

The Hawthorn inn has become our low-budget option. It is located relatively close to the Riverwalk restaurants and clubs, but you have to walk for a little more than 20 minutes by the river side, which is pretty nice, by the way.

The rooms are clean and spacious, every time we stay there we'll order in food once and eat on the terrace of the room which is ok. The complimentary breakfast is very good and has a nice presentation.

The only thing I'd improve is the parking space, you have to walk across the street to get to it, which is not very practical, specially when you are like me that always forget something in the car and have to go back to get it.

Great hotel

We had a great time at the hawthorne. 20 minute walk to the action along a beautiful river walk. great path for a run or leisurely walk. the boat will pick you up for a ride on the river. the room was clean with kitchen area, table, refrigerator and microwave. two beds and a coach with lots of bed pillows. free newspaper in the morning, with an excellent breakfast. on a few evenings there even was a happy hour. the food servers were extremely nice. nice small pool and deck with tables and chairs. wish there was a hot tub. we did not get the courtyard room we requested because of room renovations. The river rooms had balconies. our view was of NBC peacock. we would return to this motel again.

Good Family Location

We went to San Antonio for the first time last June (2004), and were pleased with choice of Hawthorn. Room was adequate, and included microwave and small fridge. Bathroom is fairly roomy. Pool is smallish, and is not heated...night swims were a little chilly. Easy access to Riverwalk from hotel, with river taxi stop at bottom of stairway. Breakfast buffet was okay, but a bit crowded at times. On site convenience store came in handy for unexpected needs. Overall, good experience.

Beautiful hotel in a questionable area

We chose the Hawthorne Suites when attending our son's graduation from Basic Training at Lackland AFB. We wanted to stay on the Riverwalk vs. by the base and the location seemed perfect. Well, although the hotel is beautiful and the rooms are spacious (although not by suite standards), the location is just too far from the action. Walking alone in the area isn't appealing in the daytime, much less coming from the Riverwalk at night. Stay closer to the heart of things or be prepared to drive and pay for parking where you are going. One note, the breakfast buffet is really nice and changes everyday. Perhaps the area will become more appealing one day.

Great location and a great place (July 2004)

Okay, it did not receive 5 stars because of a pet peeve I have about hotels that advertise themselves as suites, yet have only one room instead of two. When traveling with children, a separate sleeping area is our number one priority. Nonetheless, we would stay here again because of its close proximity to the Alamo and because it accepts pets. We, a family of five, spent two nights here. The lobby is inviting and big and the hotel is clean. The morning breakfast buffet was one of the best with even a waffle maker shaped like Texas! Two thumbs up.

Good stay

I stayed there on the 4th of July of 2003. To be honest, we ended up there because we couldn't find another place, but now I'm glad to have stayed there.

The rooms are pretty good and spacious, the complimentary breakfast is ok, it's great that they have an entrance from the riverwalk, even though it's far (0.8 - 1.3 km) from the restaurants. The only drawback is that the floor on the bathroom can get pretty slippery (my girlfriend hit the deck once, but then again, it could have been the alcohol that made her slip).

I'm planning on visiting San Antonio again and I'll most likely stay there.

Great Surprise!

Our stay in early May was great. We had our grandchildren and they really enjoyed the plaza entrance, the pool and the Riverwalk area. The hotel is exceptionally clean and very friendly. It is on the Riverwalk but far enough away from the noise and pollution to really appreciate.

We will stay again.