I know how overwhelming it can be when you visit a new city for only a few days or just for a couple of hours. I am the type of person who wakes up early in the morning and tries to do as many things as possible. However, I sometimes end up wasting time looking for a good place to stay, restaurants with delicious food and fun things to do. If you are planning on visiting San Antonio anytime soon, I got you covered. I want to save you some time and give you my one-day trip itinerary for San Antonio, TX. I will be posting 2 more itineraries so you can have more options to choose from. 

A place to Stay: Hotel Emma

Price Range: 1 room & 2 Adults  $302 – $613
Location: On the River at The Pearl (The Nothern area of downtown San Antonio)

The moment I walked into this hotel I  immediately fell in love with its unique architecture and ambiance. This hotel is definitely not your typical cookie-cutter hotel/resort and more than a hotel is a piece of history. Hotel Emma was once a 19th-century Brewhouse and was named after Emma Koehler’s, a woman who kept the brewing business afloat during prohibition. When remodeling the Brewhouse and making into an entire district various of the brewing machinery was kept. For instance, the fermentation Vessels, pipelines, and ammonia-driven engines. The mixture of antique and modern elements is what makes the architecture so astonishing, making Emma standout from any other hotel.  Besides having everything that a luxury hotel has to offer (endless food options, spa, pool,  party venues and more) it has something that not many hotels generally offered, a library. This library, it is simply dreamy. It reminded me of the library of the Beauty and the Beast. They have a good selection of books ranging from history to traveling and art. This is not your typical library, so you are allowed to have a drink while you enjoy your favorite book. It is the perfect spot for any intellectual who loves literature. I must confess that I didn’t stay a hotel Emma when I was in San Antonio, but it is definitely on my list of hotels I dream of staying at and I wanted to share it with you because I thought this could be a place you would enjoy staying at. If you don’t believe me when I say this hotel is fantastic, go check it out at TripAdvisor where 90% of the reviewers gave Hotel Emma 5 starts. 

Antique Brewing Vessels 
Hotel Emma’s Lobby 

Hotel Emma’s Library

A place to Visit: The Pearl

I  visited the pearl with a group of friends about a month and I loved it so much that I went back with my parents a couple of weeks ago. The Pearl which it is the brewery that we were previously talking about. The pearl brewery is out of order and now transformed into this hip and modern district full of boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants and Hotel Emma. The pearl is a great area to shop and eat out. During the weekend local farmers and artisans get to sell their produce and art at the Pearl Weekend Market. I was so surprised to see the variety of products that you can find at this Farmer’s Market, from vegan body soaps to homemade goat cheese and freshly grown carrots. Carrots are not the only veggies you will find, the farmers have a big selection of organic vegetables and fruits. And in my opinion, there is nothing better than buying organic since the produce has lower pesticide exposure and higher nutritional value than conventionally farmed produce. Besides food, I could say that one of the main attractions at the market are the doggies. You will find a doggie in every corner of the Pearl and most owners would allow you to pet them!
If you are staying at Hotel Emma you would have easy access to everything that the Pearl has to offer. All the good restaurants and coffee shops are within walking distance from the Hotel’s main entrance. 

Places I loved at The Pearl:
Adelante – Boutique
The Twin- Book Shop
Local Coffee- Coffee Shop

A place to Dine: Lorraine Bakery

As you probably know already, I am obsessed with coffee and there’s no better way to accompany a good cup of coffee than with a tasty dessert or pastry. I can have coffee at any time of the day and there’s not a day that I don’t drink a cup of coffee. So, when my friends decided to go to the Lorraine Bakery for a cup of coffee and something to eat I was so excited. When we walked in the place was crowded, which for me is always a good sign. The line wasn’t too long, but when I got to the registered I  didn’t know what to order. I was somehow overwhelmed by all the lovely looking pastries. I wanted to try them all haha. When I don’t know what to order I always ask for the most popular item on the menu and that’s why I ended up getting a fruit tart. One of the servers told me that besides the fruit tart, the cheesecake and macaroons are other popular items. I was so pleased with the tart, the crust was crispy, the filling wasn’t overly sweet and the fruit was fresh. I give the fruit tart a 100!My friends had the cheesecake and the red velvet cake. They let me tried them and I thought they were delicious. As I mentioned before, I was craving coffee, so I had a cappuccino with my tart and it was really good. I wish I had something more “exotic” to give you all a more descriptive review, but when it comes to coffee I rather keep it simple and even more if I am having a dessert. Overall the Lorraine Bakery excited all my expectations and I will recommend it to anyone that is planning on visiting San Antonio. 

Photo Credits: My lovely friend Mariana Barahona

I hope this travel guide has been of help to plan your future trip to San Antonio. Stay tuned for the other two one-day trip itineraries and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact me.

Thanks for reading,