Tag: #texas

Grand Hyatt San Antonio

Grand Hyatt 2

During a recent business trip I had the pleasure of staying at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio.  While there are many options of hotels on the river in San Antonio, the Grand Hyatt was an excellent choice.  Located right on the river this was one of the best Hyatt hotels I have visited.

The hotel itself is enormous.  From most places in the general vicinity, the Grand Hyatt, literally stands out above other hotels.  Located directly on the San Antonio Riverwalk and practically inside of the convention center the Grand Hyatt is the perfect location for small and large events alike.  Hotel staff were friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating.  They were helpful, always smiling and ready to assist as needed.

Grand Hyatt 5

Not only is the hotel enormous, the décor is spectacular.  From the glass chandeliers in the lobby to the wonderful paintings found throughout the hotel, the Grand Hyatt does not disappoint.  In the meeting room there are ample outlets and also the ability to pipe in music through the speakers located in each of the meeting rooms.  The hotel was well equipped to handle all size groups, large and small without making the guest feel crowded or too isolated.

Grand Hyatt 3

If you need your morning coffee, there was the 24 hour coffee bar that served Starbucks products, so they had you covered.  The coffee shop also had a variety of food items to accommodate, breakfast, lunch, or the occasional snack.  If heavy breakfast is not your thing, the hotel provided fresh water, juice and donut holes during the day.  However with Ruth Chris located on the lower level and Bar Rojo on the main level dining options were not a problem.

Overall, my stay at the Grand Hyatt San Antonio was great.  Our group too an early morning walk along the river and around the immediate area of the hotel.  There was beautiful scenery as well as an unobstructed path for us to walk.  The area along the river was simply beautiful with the lush greenery and calm water.  I will be returning to San Antonio again soon for another business trip and I hope that the Grand Hyatt will again be the choice.  I would love to stay there again.

 

Be Blessed, Be Fabulous!

pink-lips

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My trip to Austin

AUSTIN.jpg

So last week I had the pleasure of visiting Austin, Texas, my first trip ever to Austin.  I was in town for BlogHer16, and went in a day early in order to have some time to explore the city as well as catch up with an old friend.  Before leaving for Austin, I did some research and was interested in the fact that the airport only has local vendors, there are no chain restaurants in the airport (what a great way to support locals).  What a great way to invest in local businesses and what a great way to showcase a few of the things that Austin has to offer.

So I was interested and excited to see the Austin airport.  While, I was a little sleepy, I had a 6am flight and had been up since 4:00am, I did have the opportunity to see a little of the airport.  I was also happy to see that the airport was not a huge airport, but a quant, clean quiet airport, compared to other airports I have experienced. By the time I landed, I was more interested in a nap, but as I walked out of the airport I did have the opportunity to see the restaurants and shops that were in the airport.

Mural in lobby of Hotel Indigo
Hotel Indigo Room

Once I got to my first hotel, Hotel Indigo, I was sleepy and hungry and went for a walk around the neighborhood to see what was in the immediate area, but most importantly to find some food. After dealing with a few hiccups at the hotel, I went in search of some food.  I had seen several people online bragging about the food and live music at Stubb’s, so I decided to head there for lunch, and since it was right across the street from the hotel it was the perfect pick.  Let me say that the smoked turkey at Stubb’s was the type of food that makes you feel like everything is moving in slow motion because you just want to enjoy it. It was a great welcome to Austin.

Eating in Austin
My Stubbs Meal

The portions at Stubbs were enough for lunch and dinner, so I did not have to think about what I was going to eat later, however my friend and I went to happy hour at Takoba, another local restaurant to catch up and for appetizers and drinks.  The ceviche at Takoba was the best ceviche I have had to date.  There was just enough of everything for you to experience the powerful flavors without one flavor overpowering any other favor.  I do not like cilantro (yeah, I don’t) and I often forget to tell people to not put any in my food.  But even the cilantro did not make this ceviche bad.  And the frozen margarita to wash it down was the perfect compliment.  It was truly a happy hour!

Takoba Ceviche photo courtesy of MadBetty
Takoba
Takoba Margarita

The remainder of the first day was pretty much uneventful, but I will say that at the Indigo, if you need quiet place to sleep, that may not be your best choice.  Austin is a music town, and there was music going until 5am.  Now I can pretty much sleep through anything, I did wake up a few times throughout the night and the music was still going.  It think it was probably about 5am before I woke up and didn’t hear any music.

Overall, Austin is on my list of places to go back to.  While I was able to do a few things, I had lunch on 6th street, saw a lot of the food trucks, and was able to see just a little of the city, I would love to go back to really get a better tourist perspective of the city.  I did have the opportunity to have a short sight seeing expedition of some historical civil rights locations but I would have loved to have learned more.  Austin has a lot see and do and my next visit I will do, see and eat more.

 

Stay Blessed…….Stay Fabulous!

pink-lips