I booked a couple nights at the Emma where I plan to take my wife and celebrate her birthday. We haven't been to the Pearl or the Emma, but I'm told it's awesome. My wife is super low maintenance but I like to splurge from time to time. Is this worth it? What all can we do there? I hear the food is great and there are lots of choices. I also suspect shopping is good but expensive. We love live music and dancing; can we do this at the Pearl? Any other recommendations or comments are welcomed.

Everything you suggested can be done at the Emma or at places in the Pearl area. Can also take boat ride into downtown unless covid put that on hold.

Jazz, Texas is really fun for live music. There are a few shops but they are on the expensive side. So many restaurants to choose from- Cured is award winning and delicious. There's a new place called Best Quality Daughter that's really fun and has yummy food. The bar inside Emma, Sternwerth, is one of my favorite places in San Antonio and we go as often as we can. (I live in SA.)

Bakery Lorraine is great for breakfast or afternoon dessert and coffee. (The owners trained under Thomas Keller.) You really can't go wrong with Emma or The Pearl, but if you get bored you can definitely walk down the river towards downtown and see the sights (or take a river taxi).

The pearl is a cute area but the people IMO are snooty to the max. Bunch of people trying to flaunt their affluence. I live here and hardly ever go. Bakery Lorraine is good but there's one at the Rim. Hotel Emma restaurant is very good. The hotel is horribly overpriced IMO. Farmers market is kinda fun on the weekend.

Thank you all.

The live music recommendations sound great. I looked at their websites and I think we will definitely hit both. Sam's Burger Joint may be a little more our style on the nights we will be there. Also, while we've stayed is some super nice hotels around the world, we struggle justifying spending amounts like the Emma wants for a room. This is mostly because we are active and get out and go do things. So, I think I may cancel and book a room at the Menger or something. I suppose I can enjoy the Pearl District (and even feel better about spending more shopping) from there. Heck, we would probably walk back and forth along the River if it's nice all the way.

The Emma is very nice and the Pearl is a great area. I wouldn't hesitate to spend the money to stay there.

It is a nice walk if you are in for a bit of a haul, you walk by the locks which is interesting. I'd prefer the Menger just because of the history and having some pops at the bar. I'm also on the low end scale, Pearl and Emma is a bit upper crust.

Great restaurants at the Pearl. La Gloria for Mexican. Best Quality Daughter and Botika for Asian. Cured is great too.

Thanks. We will check out all these if we have enough time.

Hit up Southerleigh (it's part of the same building the Emma is in) for brunch on Saturday or Sun. Reserve it now. It fills up quickly.

I know what you mean about Sam's being more your style. It's a cool venue and we go to shows there all the time and it's generally more our style, too. But you should definitely check out Jazz TX. It's a really fun time and a unique experience. Definitely has a Texas swing flair to it.

Brasserie Mon Chou Chou is a good French restaurant at the Pearl that would be a good option for a lunch date - inside can get a little loud, but its also nice to sit outside there.

Supper at Hotel Emma is really good food for a nicer dinner.

Cured and Botika are both good, and have heard good things about Best Quality Daughter but haven't been yet - looks like a cool place.

I wouldnt recommend La Gloria over any of the places above unless youre deadset on Mexican food and dont want to leave the Pearl. Its an alright place to go to hang out and sit outside and have some drinks (their drinks are pretty average in my opinion though).

If you want better Mexican food and drinks, go to La Fonda on Main, which is only like 1.5 miles away - definitely a place you'd want to sit outside. Has a great patio area.

Down on Grayson is another nice spot to sit outside and have some drinks.

Like already mentioned, definitely Jazz, TX for live music.

Catag94 said:

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Also, while we've stayed is some super nice hotels around the world, we struggle justifying spending amounts like the Emma wants for a room. This is mostly because we are active and get out and go do things. So, I think I may cancel and book a room at the Menger or something. I suppose I can enjoy the Pearl District (and even feel better about spending more shopping)

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I agree with you here. As nice as Hotel Emma looks and despite how great of reviews it gets, I'm not sure I could ever justify spending $625-$850 a night there. My wife was going to book for us to stay there earlier this year and to me it just didnt seem worth it.

Awesome. Thank you.

Yeah. We just don't hang out in the room. The best hotel
I've ever stay was in Switzerland and part of that was location and part was the food and the rest was the history. We loved it, and it was fairly expensive (about Emma prices). I'll probably go back sometime. But my wife more than I is just frugal about the rooms. She will way sooner justify splurging on activities or shopping.

Catag94 said:

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Yeah. We just don't hang out in the room. The best hotel
I've ever stay was in Switzerland and part of that was location and part was the food and the rest was the history. We loved it, and it was fairly expensive (about Emma prices). I'll probably go back sometime. But my wife more than I is just frugal about the rooms. She will way sooner justify splurging on activities or shopping.

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This is what we do, we usually are a destination focus and the hotel room is way down the list since we are not there much. Best room that I remember was a converted house in the Garden District in New Orleans so very small. The bed swallowed you whole and I guess the timing was just right if felt like a million bucks after walking around all day, eating until your are stuffed, and climbing in. The room was vintage decorations and New Orleans style in tune with the history of the house.

I like to go kill some time in the Pearl, but prefer to spend my money elsewhere. It's very expensive, and often you're not really getting what you pay for. For example, I would skip Cured… it used to be really good, but the prices have gone up and the food/experience has gone down. I've heard great things about Hotel Emma, and Sternewerths is a cool bar. Shopping is better a lot of other place.

There are some cool bookstores on Broadway, great breweries in south town, resort style hotels around, awesome food all over the place. For shopping I would look at La Cantera / The Rim first. If you want to go to the Alamo I think you have to buy tickets now, so do that online and try to get there early, it's a train wreck getting in these days.

Great advice guys. I didn't think about the Alamo being so packed.
Thanks.

Tony Franklins Other Shoe said:

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You only need tickets for the Alamo if you are going to see the basement.

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Tried to go a couple weeks ago and we couldn't get in without waiting in a long ticket line and then another long line to actually get in the door.

p_bubel said:

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You could also see who's playing at Sam's Burger Joint that weekend.

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This!

Catag94 said:

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I booked a couple nights at the Emma where I plan to take my wife and celebrate her birthday. We haven't been to the Pearl or the Emma, but I'm told it's awesome. My wife is super low maintenance but I like to splurge from time to time. Is this worth it? What all can we do there? I hear the food is great and there are lots of choices. I also suspect shopping is good but expensive. We love live music and dancing; can we do this at the Pearl? Any other recommendations or comments are welcomed.

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There are guest only areas in the bar and at the restaurant Supper. My wife and I like to sit on the balcony in the bar and watch all the goings on in the bar while we enjoy our drinks.

Don't forget free margaritas in the library!

Pearl IMO is definitely worth what you pay