Wonderful Hotel

We went to San Antonio for our first Wedding Anniversary and stayed at the O'Brien. It was wonderful. We loved the attentive service we received from the staff...you get more of that personalized attention since it is a smaller hotel.

Upon my husband's request, the staff was able to locate a florist to set up rose petals all over the room, champagne, and chocolates when we arrived. My husband LOVED the waffle maker available in the mornings.

So much so that he bought one when we got back home!

The hotel is within a half a block of the Riverwalk and other big attractions around the city. We will definately choose the O'Brien on our next San Antonio trip. Highly recommended if you like the personalized touch.

Great choice

We found the O'brien Historic Hotel to be an excellent choice, based on advice from TripAdvisor. Our room was small, but immaculately clean and nicely decorated. There was a some noise from the street, and the hotel management should consider replacing the old windows with double-paned windows. Parking was not a problem, although we visited on a holiday weekend. The continental breakfast was adequate, and we appreciated the 24-hour coffee machine in the lobby. I was very impressed with the friendly and helpful staff. When we told the desk clerk that our room was too hot, she went directly to our room to adjust the heater. We had not visited San Antonio before, and relied on the staff for advice regarding restaurants and transportation, and found the staff courteous and very helpful. I would happily stay at the O'brien again.

Quaint Hotel

We have been traveling to San Antonio for over 20 years to visit. This clean hotel which pays attention to the details such as turn down service certainly gets my vote. We stayed there last month and plan to stay again next month (Hopefully they will have openings). It is close to the riverwalk and most things we visit. Never had a problem parking.

Staff was very nice and helpful. Rooms were clean and tastefully decorated.

Cute Boutique Hotel With Excellent Service & Good Location

This 39 room three story independently owned inn, opened July 2003, is small in size and big on charm. Tastefully decorated in golden yellow, beige, and wood tones, the hotel exudes a bit of European flair that is comfortable and welcoming.I stayed here on a business trip from December 3-6, 2003, having booked this hotel after finding out most others on the Riverwalk were full. I was pleasantly surprised upon arrival, particularly after my taxi driver expressed concern that she'd never heard of it (and relied on my MapQuest directions to get there from the airport).Although there is no restaurant onsite, the hotel provides a continental breakfast each morning from 6-9 a.m. with muffins, yogurt, cereals, pastries, and fresh fruit. There's also a "make your own waffle" station, complete with pre-mixed cups of batter, that will let you cook up a Texas-shaped waffle. An additional bonus is the coffee maker in the lobby that brews up a quick cup of java for no charge.My room (207) was immaculately clean but quite small. The two double beds and TV armoire took up most of the space, and the only place to park the rather large desk chair was between the beds when I wanted to get up from the desk. I found the streetside room to be a noisy, due to the older single pane windows, but on the plus side I did not hear any noise from either the hallway nor adjoining rooms. The beds were extremely comfortable with padded mattress covers, velux blankets, and plenty of pillows. The bathroom was quite large for the overall room, and based on the size of the doorway and the shower configuration (no tub), the room is probably designed to be handicapped accessible.I would definitely return to this hotel, although I would request a room on the back side of the building as other reviewers have suggested. Not only are the rooms quieter, they are much larger in size. Room 107, for example, was twice as large as mine, with a king size bed and a whirlpool tub. Some of the other second floor rooms also offer balconies.The hotel is conveniently located just two blocks from the Riverwalk and two blocks from the Convention Center in Hemisfair Park so I was able to walk just about anywhere I wanted to go. For slightly longer outings to the Alamo and Market Square, I took one of the city sreetcars since the stop was just around the corner from the hotel (50 cents fare, one way). Since I didn't have a car, parking wasn't an issue but for those with a vehicle, parking is $8 per night and close to the hotel.Last but not least, the hotel staff persons are truly an asset to this property. They were friendly and helpful, and extremely accomodating when I requested an extended checkout time on the weekend.Overall, I would definitely recommend this hotel if you'd like to be close to downtown San Antonio attractions but away from the crowds. It's a cozy welcoming place to stay and a good value for the money. Kudos to the owners and staff for a job well done!

A throwback to yesteryear ( a great hotel)

looking for a change of pace from the typical hotel chain I decided upon the o'brien hotel.I was not disappointed in my choice.Parking was a mere $8.00 at the provided parking lot for guests 15 feet from the front door. The hotel was clean and seemed to be a throwback to years gone bye.Beautifully furnished the lobby and hallways, the front desk clerk opened up my room to a clean and comfortable room.It was not the Omni or Westin but for the price it was darn close! I loved the claw iron bath tub and the old wooden payned windows. This will be my hotel of choce when i am back in San Antonio,

Nice Hotel with Room for improvements

My wife and I stayed at the O'Brien the weekend of 11/14 - 11/16. The hotel offers nicely furnished rooms with pillow top mattresses and comfortable pillows. The rooms are small but for 2 people it was very comfortable. The breakfast was very good and featured fruit, yogurt, cereal, fresh juice, make your waffle, rolls and coffee/tea. While you cannot eat the breakfast in the lobby, trays are provided to take the food to your room. The hotel staff was very friendly and open to helping make dinner, taxi and other reservations/suggestions. I would request a room on the backside of the hotel away from the noise of the street. The hotel is only one block from the heart of the riverwalk and many fine restaurants. As a new hotel, they still have a few bugs to work out such as a latter end to the breakfast on weekend (currently open 6-9am) but overall I would head back to the O'Brien

A wonderful secret in San Antonio!

I stayed here over the Labor Day weekend. A wonderful hotel located within walking distance of the riverwalk. I received great service including turndown service each evening. The rooms were spotless and very well decorated. I will definitely be back!

Worst hotel in San Antonio

My husband and I were incredibly disappointed with this hotel. It actually seemed as if it would be very nice, based on the description on several websites, but when we got there, we realized how deceptive a website description could be. First of all, we couldn't find any parking. When we complained to the manager, he didn't care. He told us that it was our problem, so we had to park 3 blocks away. The rooms are extremely small. We couldn't even open the bathroom door all the way because it kept hitting the toilet. The sheets on the bed were dirty and stained, with a pungent smell. The hotel claims to offer a complimentary Continental breakfast, but it was nothing more than stale bagels and weak coffee. Worst of all, the staff, especially the manager, had no customer service skills. After the first night, we just couldn't take it anymore, so we checked into the Marriott, which was excellent.

Super Nice Hotel

My wife & I stayed at the O'Brien Hotel while celebrating our 45th wedding aniversary in June, 2003. The hotel is indeed a true classic; the staff, rooms, morning Continental(free)breakfast, and the low rates combined to make our visit one we will happily remember. The Riverwalk is just two blocks away. We intend to make the O'Brien our hotel on future visits to San Antonio.Dr. Russell & Grace Coleman

Beautiful Hotel

Very friendly staff even showed us up to the room. Very pristine rooms. Some of the rooms had shared balconey which was nice. The hotel was in walking distance from the Rivercenter Mall and close to the Hard Rock Cafe.