O´Brien Historic Hotel

7.6

Very Good

945 Guest reviews

7.6

Very Good

945 Verified Reviews

Read all reviews

Cleanliness7.8/10

Service8.4/10

Comfort7.8/10

Condition7.4/10

Amenities6.8/10

I told my husband “Historic” means OLD, this hotel is definitely old but for the price, it’s a good deal. Room was kinda dark & had a smell but didn’t take long to adjust. TV is Roku only, no local channels available. Old tub with T-plumbing added for shower but there is the BEST water pressure we’ve ever had! Bed was creaky but comfortable, air conditioning (yes, in December we needed air conditioning) was cold air. The balcony was nice but as in pictures, there’s only a small chain separating from next room. Neighbors were smoking out there (even though there’s NO SMOKING) so we couldn’t enjoy balcony. Very happy there was no smoke smell coming in to our room! The lobby outside our room (2nd floor) was cute with seating & small tables, like for visitors to hang out! Front staff was very cold & unwelcoming! We were NEVER greeted coming in or out. We tried to make small talk but received no response. One late night “laundry” gentleman gave us extra toilet paper & tissue & he was the only friendly staff we saw. Parking was shady so we used the garage next door for $25/night (great price for area) Hotel is within walking distance to just about everything. Overall we were satisfied with our stay. We’d probably stay again if we couldn’t find another hotel around the same price.

Loved location and balcony

We got what we wanted. The hotel had historic feel but could have improved amenities & cleaning. We were pleased & would do again. Loved the location & walked most everywhere we wanted to go.

They were very expensive, No breakfast. Plus there's No soap or shampoo and conditioner in the room.

We were a little leary about staying here due to some reviews. However, we were pleasantly surprised. Small lobby, found the front desk to be knowledgeable. Breakfast for sale every morning, I think $10. Stayed in a King, Balcony, pretty quiet. There's a big sitting area outside the rooms. The bathroom could use an update, but worked well. Only complaint, our bed was very springy when you sat down on it. The covered parking lot has very sharp turns. Was difficult with my husbands large truck. Overall, we will stay here again. The price is right and the location is great. Be sure to walk to the King Williams district and look at the pretty houses.

I had a great experience

Don’t stay here

Don’t stay here. The pictures online have to be from long ago and misleading. This place is old, dirty, and grimy. The room smelled so strongly of mildew, the elevator was broken several times over several days, the ceiling fan in the room was broken and there was a stand fan to replace it, and everything had a layer of grime on it. Very simple cleanliness issues like just wiping things down. The hairdryer and light switch in the bathroom had someone else’s hair on it along with a layer of dust. The customer service experience was subpar except Jesse who was helpful and polite.

This place needs to be renovated. Bed was uncomfortable.

I liked the walking distance to the river walk.

Awesome

Classic Hotel

We enjoyed one night at this classic hotel. It was a block from the Riverwalk. The room was large and comfortable. We will definitely stay again.

Don't Stay Unless You Have No Choice.

I just wouldn't stay again, there were seats outside the window where people could relax, but they weren't for our room, and just everything was a disaster.

Easily walkable to the riverwalk. Parking was convenient. Room was clean.

Excessive charges

The hotel was nice, but the extra charges for late check out and parking were I feel excessive. We stayed on a Saturday night due to my husband running a marathon Sunday. We arrived around 4:30. We were told checkout was 11 and parking ends at the same time. Charge was $70 to stay until 2 and $12 to park until then. The hotel was not busy at all- I feel some discounts could have been given. We would not stay again

Location was convenient easy to access Parking was a little awkward -25 a night

Riverwalk visit.

Phone in room didn’t work, he said been like that for while. Hair dryer was taken from wall, had to ask for one. Checkin in at 3 and not a minute before. Very close to Riverwalk. Very quiet.

This is a boutique hotel so I wasn’t expecting a large lobby, food service, or fancy amenities. However, the limited staff is personable and responsive. Try to get a room with a balcony. It faces the Tower of Americas.

Bad all around

Nice place and affordable. Staff was friendly only downside is multiple outlets not working in the room.

It’s an older hotel, with the type of problems associated with older hotels. The staff were nice and the hotel clean. Fixtures were dated, but they worked.

Clean room, AC was noisy and walls are then, was able go hear other guest/staff as they walked by.

The location is perfect. Half a block from the Riverwalk and close to everything. We always stay here. We park our car and walk the whole weekend. The car moves again when we head back home. We will always stay here.

I understand it's a historic hotel but looked too run down. The employees aren't too friendly or informative. Their service is pretty low. The only thing i liked is that it's close to many attractions.

Fun place to stay close to the Riverwalk

The hotel is historic which is a fun experience. If you are looking for something that is up to date and modern, this historic hotel is probably not for you. If you are looking for something with character, great customer service, and awesome value, extremely close to the Riverwalk, you'll really enjoy your stay here! Front desk staff were accommodating and helpful, timely with any requests, I never had to ask twice for anything (and I always end up needing something extra in a hotel stay). Parking was convenient but I did have trouble using the parking permit from the hotel, it took me several tries but it was able to work out. I felt safe the whole time also.

Play smells like mildew needs to be renovated. Has a bunch of weird rules. Cool historic building but needs some attention to detail

Good location and relatively reasonable price

Cute boutique hotel.

Great place to stay.

Loved it! Everyone was friendly, it was clean and quiet! Will definitely be back!

Close to river walk, convenient, nice staff. I would definitely stay there again!

I’m from houston and I had booked a night with O’Biien Historic Hotel. 45 minutes away they call me to tell me the room I had booked had a problem and that they would refund me my money back. So I did have nowhere to stay and I had to drive back to Houston. I have never had this happen to me. I wouldn’t never want someone to have to go through this. 👎👎👎👎👎

The evening staff was friendly and helpful. I was excited to stay in one of the historic hotels, but there was quite a bit of deferred maintenance that the hotel needs to attend to. The beds are not very comfortable and we were put in a downgraded room from what we booked and paid for

Amazing

Amazing staff. Friendly and accommodating

Amigable staff, clean rooms. Centric, you can walk everywhere. Everything is closed.

Do not expect alot of amenities, but this is a great little boutique with perfect access to anything you want on the riverwalk (walkable within a block )

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Great stay for a get away

Ian was very friendly and helpful. Great big smiles that was needed after a long day of traveling. The hotel was very cute. I really liked how they had the bar tables in the middle of the rooms. Great if you have a family event. The room was quaint and we had a balcony. Very nice to sit on the balcony in the morning with a hot cup of coffee. The hotel is right off the river walk. Nice location. We were able to walk everywhere including to the Alamodome.

Loved the view and cozy environment!!

This property is old and tired. It has tons of potential though. Needs paint and removal of carpeting and a good deep clean. The water pressure in the shower was excellent and there was lots of hot water. The bedding and towels were clean. Our patio provided a great view of La Villita and the location provides access to the Riverwalk at several locations.

To old of a hotel

Quaint Gem Near the Action

Felt safe and very close to downtown events. It is older but I really enjoyed the charm of the decor.

Nicer old property! Right next to the riverwalk

One thing I didn’t like is there is no public restroom in the lobby so if more than one person has to go to the bathroom at the same time then you’re screwed. Other than that it was a very quick walk to the riverwalk (1 block) and that was good. Kinda sketchy during the walk but if you don’t go too late then you’re fine. Also didn’t like how the hotel tried to charge $25 for parking when you can park for 24 hrs directly across the street for $7.50. They should tell the guests about that. I was ok cuz I figured it out on my own. But I would stay there again because it’s pretty cheap for so close to the riverwalk. Balcony didn’t offer much of a view (the parking lot) but it was nice to have a place to go outside

Needs severe redecoration

The hotel rooms are in bad condition and in severe need of closing down and redecorating the rooms. Doors do not close properly and look like someone has done a bad job of a repair. The folks in reception need to keep the promise to make up the room as agreed.

the staff were some of the friendliest, most helpful people and they made the stay more enjoyable. without them, i would rank my stay much lower. positives: close to the riverwalk. it’s not even 3 minutes to get to everything which pretty much makes this hotel worth the value. once again, the staff was super friendly and professional. negatives: the hotel has a very strong mildew smell. the common areas are clean, but our room had an overwhelming odor of mildew and maybe even mold honestly. the door to our bathroom was basically broken. the sheets on one of our two beds were stained so we only slept in the one bed (which was fine because only two of us were staying in the room). the toilet wouldn’t function properly unless holding onto the handle for awhile. i had to fix it no less than 4 times. the pictures of the hotel on their website made the rooms look a lot nicer than they actually were. while the hotel is historic, it is in desperate need of renovation. once again, the staff was WONDERFUL and they were the most positive aspect of our stay. we would definitely come back if renovations were made based on the location and staff alone.

Only good thing about it was it was close to river walk other then that the room has a strong mildew smell to it they have a floor fan in the room cause it gets hot there they have a tv but no cable services you have to get Roku services on your phone and add a credit card payment there’s no local channels either customer service tried to fix the tv but couldn’t so he said he would wave my parking fee when I check out they said they don’t know anything about it it also says there’s free breakfast but that’s not so you have to pay for breakfast this was a bad stayed I would recommend no one to stay here I would of stayed at motel 6 for half the price they said they said they give out parking pass at was there at 3:00 check in time and they said they didn’t have any seem like a lie to me he said they had some then he said he is out of them

The last "boutique" hotel i stayed in nefore this was run-down and just terrible overall. But the O'Brien was clean and well-maintained. I also liked its location, with many of downtown San Antonio's attractions being within walking distance. The staff was friendly and helpful.

The room was in bad shape for example a lot of dust in many places. The shower didn’t have any soap / body wash. For the price I paid, I’m certain it could have been a lot better.

It was Downtown San Antonio Texas

Nice staff, interesting hotel.

Neat place to stay

Stayed for Oktoberfest at la villita. Very cool place to stay. Very comfortable and clean. Friendly service. And perfect walking distance to the Riverwalk and other festivities. Only drawback for me was it felt very tight. Rooms are small. But would stay here again, just never as more than 2 ppl in a room.

Trashy hotel

This place is a dump. The picture on the website did not truly represent the condition of the property. Dirty carpets , old mattress, old stain sheets. We checked in and then checked out would not stay in this dumpster. Do not stay here

Location

No kleenex in bathroom and they were “out” so never got any

Parking is convenient

Greta location for a Great Price

I hotel was nice and perfect for our needs. The staff was friendly as well. The beds were a little springy, but not terrible. I know the hotel is historic, but there were some cosmetic issues that could be fixed. Overall it was a great price for being so close to the Riverwalk!

Pillows were stained and dirty. Water pressure was nonexistent as well as hot water. The floor left your feet black from dirt. Parking was a nightmare due to the hotel crowding as many paid parking spaces in a tiny space behind the hotel.

My first time at O'Brien historic hotel, very different in my own opinion of a hotel, but it was good thanks O'Brien historic hotel.

Poorly maintained property Toilet did not flush Bathroom door would not close Balcony door would not open Hotel door lock busted

Would have given a five star rating across the board except for the fact that the hot water takes forever to get heated up.

Satisfactory, but not what expected

The hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The room itself had a musty smell to it. Since we had a balcony room, we could open the door and had fresh air until retiring for the night. We didn't ask for another room since we were only there for two nights and gone most of the day. It is an old historic hotel, trying to do their best. More thorough cleaning could be accomplished by just taking a duster to pictures, bed frames, and lamps. A stronger vacuum on old carpeting might help also. The bed was comfortable. We didn't accommodate ourselves to the breakfast offered, because there are too many other options locally with better options, one of those being La Villita Cafe, just a 4 minute walk away! The location is excellent as we could walk to the Alamo and River Walk. So for the price we paid, it was satisfactory but not what we expected. You can do a lot with pictures.

Loading and unloading luggage wasn't really smooth. I will say i had alot with my family for our 3 night stay, so we had to load and unload on the street out front. I was lucky enough to access a luggage cart and from what i could see there was only 1 available overall. I like the seating in the lobby; however it does take up alot of space so when checking in, you kind of have a maze of furniture and people to go through. The room we had was good, comfortable and conviently long so my kids enjoyed playing in the room. The room did have a lot of noise coming from the street, but understandable when in downtown over the weekend and when the building is as old as this. We didn't have too much trouble sleeping through the noise since we were so active during the day. The lady that checked us in was wonderful, very nice and informative. The other two we experienced during the rest of our stay were more off putting and didn't seem to care whether we were there or not. I would recommend staying at the hotel for its location, its price, and the experience. I dont think i would stay again unless i was in a pinch or a "spur of the moment" vacation. As a note, i would recommend expanding a little on breakfast options and adding milk to the drinks that are offered.

Rooms were dark had a smell to them , toilet was constantly running nobody fixed it after they were told , staff was very friendly and helpful.

Super clean!

We thought there was a restaurant but there was no restaurant we traveled from out of state and they did not accommodate an 1/2 hour earlier check in at 2:30 good location to all the local spots parking lot across the street 7 dollars compared to there 20 dollar charge has fridge and microwave good toilet was wobbly old dated inside but comfortable for a nights sleep we were outside of elevator so heard other guests

Old yet cute

Its very dark which we love. Parking is perfect across the hotel. This place is vintage but that's our thing.

The property was not as advertised. Felt very frustrating walking into an unclean room that looked like it hasn’t been cleaned in weeks . Looked like it hasn’t been updated in decades . The online listing stated free parking ,free breakfast and a fitness center . None of these are true . AC looked moldy , the ceiling paint had a large spot that looked like it was full of water . The bathroom has areas ontop the shower where the Sheetrock was busted

Customer service great

We stay at many historic boutique hotels, however this should not be considered a “boutique” if you typically stay at a motel 6 then this is the place for you! The staff is very friendly and that’s the only positive I can say. They have no signs telling you where to park to check in, they are located directly on the street on a bus path. I parked in the parking lot across from them to run in and ask and came back out to an orange sticker stuck to my window and a $50 ticket! All in maybe 5 minutes. All in all it was just a let down from the minute we arrived.

Was clean and quiet, close to the river walk. Great atmosphere.

The staff were nice and it was easy to find the hotel. I enjoyed the boutique style and homeliness of the hotel.

Whoever the gentleman was at the front( I forgot his name) was amazing. Coming to stay in the future due to excellent customer service

Rooms lost Internet and I had to use my hotspot to watch their Smart TV. The AC leaked water All over my luggage. Told the front desk and they said okay. Horrible service.

Rooms were ok. However they did not honor the price quoted for parking 24 hrs prior in an email. Also would not allow an early checkin without an additional charge. Eventhough they said the room was ready.

Front desk female was wonderful and very kind

Service at the desk not good at all

The bed was very springy and was not comfortable at all. Room service never came in to empty trash or give new towels. There is also limited breakfast options that you pay for. Parking was very pricey as well. We paid and a friend staying at the same place got free parking for the 3 days we were there.

Old

I absolutely loves this place. Clean, comfortable rooms great location.

Had the best birthday staying here! My daughter and i celebrated together for the first time and the staff were just amazing and very friendly! Will definitely stay here again! Brian and Emma Lewis

The room was clean and nice enough especially for being an old hotel. Location was great and parking ok. What I didn't like was that my elderly father walked out, got keys from the front desk guy and he lied about not seeing him leave. Thankfully we found him right away but did not appreciate the misinformation, could have turned out much worse.

The location is right where the riverwalk and Alamo.

We loved it. We couldn’t use their parking because we have a normal truck and it was too high for the entrance. But there was a parking lot just in front of the hotel was actually cheaper and more convenient. Also just across the street was a parking area for the scooters. We were so close to everything! It was a great convenience all the way around!

Parking gets tight. Other than that, great stay.

Good 😊

Laura at front desk very welcoming and very pleasant.

really great staff everyone is so friendly and nice

Property was SUPER cute and 2 blocks from the Riverwalk entrance. Definitely not luxury by any means, but a very cozy stay with access to a great night out! 10/10 Riverwalk experience.

The hotel is an old hotel but very convenient locations, reasonable quality for the price.

I like that it's right downtown and everything is so close to my stay, but the rooms don't look like the images in the advertisement. It felt like a motel. Parking was right next door, but you have to pay for it, so it wasn't ideal. I guess if you're staying here, you're paying for the convenience rather than the amenities.

Nice hospitality

Location and the balcony to sit out on in the evening.

Beautiful place to spend the night!

Nice!

It’s a nice alternative to big box hotels.

Is been more than a week since my stays, and the haven’t redounded my $50 dollars deposit, to much time to do that

This hotel was not what was advertised. It had a balcony but overlooking a parking lot and wall of the next building. Bed needed replacing it was so worn out you couldn’t sit on it let alone sleep. Cleaning was not done on a daily. Only stayed because I couldn’t change due to the time frame. My opinion they did not earn there cut of the fees

Parking instructions not clear

The hotel, billed as a historic boutique hotel, offers a good cost for the area. As expected from an older building, the hotel has an aged ambiance. I appreciated that the hotel does not clean rooms daily but provides clean towels and garbage removal upon request. Some updates have been made, such as changing the locks on doors, but the craftsmanship on these updates leaves much to be desired. The room itself was clean, though there were grimy spots in the bathroom corners. The most significant downside for me was the pillows, which were flat, hard, and in need of replacement. Modern hotels typically ensure that all bedding is freshly cleaned for each guest; while the sheets seemed clean, I was less confident about the comforter. On a positive note, the mini-split air conditioner in my room worked great. Overall, the hotel maintains its historic charm but is somewhat run down and could benefit from some refreshing updates and attention to detail.

Laura at the front desk went above and beyond to make our stay wonderful.

Lovely spot