Sometimes all it takes to relax is a short escape from reality. Located in northern San Antonio, La Cantera offers a lovely backdrop for relaxation. La Cantera Resort & Spa might just be that ideal weekend getaway. The property covers quite the expanse offering everything you need for entertainment in the immediate area. If you are looking for a child free zone, Seven at La Cantera is the way to go. Seven is the name given to the adults only floor at La Cantera that comes with a number of fantastic perks. That is what I want to focus on for this particular post.
The resort starts by making you feel special as soon as you check in. One of the members from the Seven team greets you to to finish the check in process. They escort you to the seventh floor in the main building and start by offering you a glass of champagne. They outline all of the perks that you will enjoy during your stay including complimentary valet parking, a concierge available for your needs, access to the lounge on the 7th floor, day spa passes, and complimentary happy hour daily from 5-7pm.
The room includes some additional benefits such as upgraded bath products and a glass walk in shower. Seven rooms also include Nespresso machines. You can pay an additional fee to add on certain extras. For example, for an additional $75 per night you can have a balcony. This is not something included with the room. My room had a King bed and the standard finds in a hotel room like a lounge chair in the corner and small table with two chairs. It was well appointed but certainly nothing unique. The view looked over the main entrance and south back into San Antonio proper. I believe that a room facing the other direction would have provided a more interesting view if this is of importance to you.
The Seven Lounge provides drinks and small snacks throughout most of the day. You can walk in and grab a soda or sparkling water at your leisure. In the morning, there are pastries, granola, yogurt, and an option for a slice of quiche served warm. At the evening happy hour, they put out a charcuterie and cheese board with many additional snacks like chips and popcorn. It is during this time that they offer a selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages. They have about 10 bottles of wine to choose from along with beer and seltzers. I tried a sparkling rose from a winery in the area that was a great option for those that like sparkling wines. The food interests you, arrive early. Once the charcuterie is gone, they do not replenish the board.
Outside of the complimentary happy hour, I think the biggest perk of Seven has to be the day pass access to the spa. If you just stay at the resort, you would not have access to the spa unless you booked a treatment. If you did, you would only have access the day of your treatment. In advance, call the spa to book your day passes. I called a week in advance. See my post on Loma de Vida for all of the details about what the spa has to offer. For a brief rundown, I think the infinity pool, mineral pool/sauna/steam, and the exercise facility were some of the highlights.
The resort’s strengths have to be its beautiful backdrop with gorgeous landscapes, abundance of pools, number of restaurant choices, popular golf course, and amazing spa. Looking from the lobby out the back of the hotel through the large glass windows, you will see a long water feature running down into a larger fountain. When I first walked into the resort, I thought this was stunning. It surprised and impressed me immediately. It is worth the time to walk the entire grounds as they clearly put thought and routine maintenance into keeping the area beautiful. Walking out the back and off to the left, you will start to see the many pools. One of the infinity pools at the bottom of the stairs is adult only. Just above this is another large pool with some of the lounge chairs sitting in the water. In the middle of the week in September, the temperatures were great and the resort was relatively empty. It seemed like the perfect time to visit.
Many of the restaurants are located in the area immediately adjacent to the hotel. The furthest is Signature by Andrew Weissman. This is the crown jewel of restaurants at La Cantera and well known throughout San Antonio. The hotel will offer you a shuttle over to the restaurant, and they provide service on the bus back to the hotel up until 11pm. This restaurant was phenomenal, and I believe it lived up to the hype. Although I thought their oyster appetizer was a little uninspiring, their main course of ricotta and spinach gnudi was remarkable. It was such a unique dish. Also, they had an after dinner drink called Peanut Butter Cup that was well named. I highly recommend this to those that enjoy a Reeses. The other restaurant I tried was the Sweet Fire Kitchen. This food was good, but it wasn’t memorable like Signature. They also have a Mexican restaurant, coffee & snack shop, grill at the golf course, lobby bar, and even more.
Living in San Antonio, I feel like sometimes I am overly critical of what the city has to offer. I found La Cantera Resort to be a pleasant surprise. Their adults only experience offers some fantastic perks. The best have to be the spa day passes and daily happy hour. If you are traveling to San Antonio, I wouldn’t hesitate to book a stay at this property. And quite frankly, you don’t need to leave the resort during your stay.
