InterContinental San Antonio Riverwalk by IHG

Reviews

• GB

  Gopikrishna B

  Jan 6, 2026
  2.0
  I stayed here for 2 nights over NYE. The only positive aspect of this stay was that the room and bed were actually comfortable. Unfortunately, physical comfort doesn't make up for the atrocious service and misleading advertising. This was easily the worst InterContinental property I have ever visited. As a Platinum member, I expected some level of recognition. Instead, I received zero upgrades at check-in. Worse, I was denied a late checkout on Jan 1st (a Thursday!), despite the hotel likely having low occupancy. The $25 resort fee is a complete rip-off. • Transportation: They advertise a free one-way drop-off service, but when I inquired, it was "not available." • NYE Party: At other IC properties, guests often get curated events. Here, they hosted a party but charged guests the same $125 ticket price as outsiders. • Rooftop Access: The worst part was being denied access to the rooftop to watch fireworks—an amenity supposedly covered by the resort fee. Despite the room being comfortable, housekeeping was poor; used cups were not replaced, and trash was not emptied. I tried to use my dining credit for a cheese dip and tiramisu (everything else was sold out), and both were inedible and had to be thrown away. Breakfast was no better; the host forgot we had checked in, leaving us sitting and waiting for 30 mins. They market this as "River Walk," but it is far away from where the actual action happens. Tip: Do not pay the atrocious $60+ valet fee; park next door at the St. Mary’s garage for $10. Save your money. A comfortable bed isn't worth the poor treatment and hidden costs.
• RW

  Rosalind White

  Dec 30, 2025
  3.0
  We booked this hotel under the Fine Hotel Collection through Amex therefore this rating is based on the Intercontinental Hotel within the “fine hotel” category. As we have stayed at other fine hotels, I believe that this one misses the mark in comparison to others. Upon arrival hotel lobby is beautiful. We were able to check into our room early and upgraded to a preferred floor. Our room was nicely cleaned and the bed was comfortable. However, our mini bar was not stocked at all and if we wanted anything to drink we had to scan a QR code and place an order and wait. Not convenient as most fine hotels provide a fully stocked mini bar and hotel staff arrival was fairly slow anywhere between 45-50 minutes. Amex card holders are given an automatic $100 food and beverage credit which is why this also comes as a big inconvenience. Our main issue arose on our next day. We left early that morning and came back that afternoon and our room had not been cleaned. We left back out early afternoon and informed the front desk that our room was not clean and that we would like it cleaned. We were informed someone would clean it right away. We came back late that night and our room was not cleaned. In addition, when ordering room service the trays were never picked up even when we pressed the button for collection. The only time the tray was picked up was when we ordered room service the next day and gave it to the individual delivering. In addition, since the staff failed to clean our room we had a heaping mountain of towels and wash cloths that they failed to retrieve when bringing new ones. Our room was finally cleaned after our second complaint to the front desk the following day. However when they cleaned the room they left dirty glasses in the mini bar section that we did not use. Valet was very convenient as you can request your vehicle through text and provide a tip through text as well. It is A bit pricey at $65/night. Front desk was helpful once we informed them of our issue the second time and they ensured that our room was cleaned and stocked. Guest service via the phone is not helpful at all. The individual responsible for answering during our stay seemed as if they could not understand me, I found myself repeating myself constantly and just decided to request anything I needed online. Experience here was very underwhelming for this to be considered a fine hotel.
• SX

  Simple as X

  Dec 29, 2025
  3.0
  While the hotel has the physical hardware of a high-end property, it lacks the service and attention to detail required to achieve its luxury ambitions. It feels as though they built an InterContinental but forgot the operational excellence that defines the brand. Design Flaws: The lack of attention to detail in the design is glaring. Just a few examples: in my twin room, the bathroom door wouldn't slide fully shut, offering little privacy from my roommate. The towel rack is inexplicably placed directly over the toilet paper, and the doors throughout the property (including the Club Lounge) lack a 'soft-close' feature, leading to loud, disruptive slamming. The Club InterContinental Failure: this lounge is an embarrassment to the brand, and the most disappointing part of my stay. It was untidy, offered no food beyond basic snacks, no breakfast, and had no concierge or service staff present. My access wasn't even programmed correctly the first time and I had to go back to the front desk to fix it. I’ve seen consistently better lounge offerings at 3-star Sheratons. Service & Elite Recognition: there was no status recognition. I had to remind the fronk desk staff of my ambassador benefits at check-in to ensure credits were applied. No room service during my stay at all. While the staff were nice and friendly, the service level was simply not commensurate with the price point or the brand's reputation. The only saving grace was the restaurant, where the food was good and the staff were genuinely friendly. Overall, this was the most disappointing InterContinental stay I've had to date. Beautiful hardware can't save poor management.
• CC

  Chris C

  Dec 29, 2025
  1.0
  1.If you are staying for only one night, the $25 credit can only be used on the check-in date; otherwise it will expire. 2.Even if you book a river-view room, you may not actually see the river, as the hotel is not located near the main attractions or the river itself. 3.We had a very disappointing breakfast experience. We arrived at the restaurant at 8:30 AM and did not receive our food until around 10:40 AM. At first, we were told the wait time would be about 20 minutes, but after waiting nearly an hour, we still had not been seated. We then switched to a to-go order and were advised to return in about 30 minutes, so we went back to our room and came back as instructed. However, we were asked to wait yet again. After another 30 minutes, we eventually discovered that our food had already been prepared and was sitting at the reception desk. The lack of clear communication and coordination was extremely frustrating. The restaurant clearly does not have the capacity to handle the number of guests it is accepting, and the estimated wait times provided were highly unrealistic. This experience was disappointing and completely disrupted our plans for the entire morning.
• AH

  Ahsan Hameed

  Dec 23, 2025
  1.0
  I had a very disappointing experience regarding the billing practices at this property. I booked a rate that included specific credits (Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts), yet upon checkout, the hotel attempted to charge me for items that should have been complimentary. Specifically, they failed to apply the $29.06 breakfast credit and the full Food & Beverage amenity credit ($14.65) until I caught the "errors" myself. I had to spend 30 minutes of my final morning standing in the lobby, effectively auditing their work and arguing for benefits that were clearly part of my booking. Only after challenging the charges and expressing my frustration did they finally lower the balance from $132.21 down to $88.50. It felt like "slippage"—hoping I wouldn’t notice the extra charges. Having to fight for your own benefits at a luxury brand like InterContinental is insulting and completely ruins the guest experience. Really bad experience. The service here is non-existent. I had to beg for water, was kept waiting, and eventually had to go down to the front desk myself because they didn't have enough staff to bring it up—which they didn't bother telling me until they called my room loudly late at night. The restaurant is just as disorganized; they forgot half my breakfast order and never checked on me. Late-night access is also a pain as they lock the front doors without clear signage, forcing you to wander around to find the valet entrance. Staff offers plenty of apologies but no solutions. They just say "sorry" and move on without trying to make it right. I definitely won't stay here again.

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