Riverwalk Views, Clawfoot Tubs, and a Ghost Story With a Love Quadrangle Make This One of the Most Interesting Hotels in Texas

Travel + Leisure

24-05-2025

Hotel Emma The old brewery that houses Hotel Emma was built in 1894 but has been tastefully renovated—think industrial chic with an elegant Texas twist.
The Artesian guest rooms have large bathrooms with clawfoot soaking tubs.
Staying here puts you within walking distance of downtown San Antonio as well as the hip St. Mary's Strip.
Hotel Emma has two fantastic food and beverage venues, but there's an incredible wealth of award-winning dining options in the Pearl district.
Out of all the major Texas cities—Austin, Dallas, and Houston—San Antonio has long been the underdog. I'm a born-and-raised San Antonio native, and I admittedly have a soft spot for the city. But, I will concede, besides the Alamo and the Riverwalk, there wasn't much reason for travelers to visit, and for a long stretch of my childhood, the fanciest place to eat in town was Olive Garden. But all that changed when The Pearl opened in 2008.
Located off a quiet leg of the San Antonio River, the Pearl is a culinary, dining, culture, and living megacomplex built from the bones of the original Pearl Brewing Company. And its crown jewel is the hospitality powerhouse Hotel Emma, which sits centrally within the district.
The hotel's interior design makes clever use of vintage factory equipment, featuring fun details like exposed ducts, cast iron pipes, faithfully recreated tiles, and refrigeration compressors with speckled patinas. And sure, every historic hotel has that wall dedicated to its illustrious past, but here, you may actually want to take a closer look.
The Pearl Brewery was founded in 1883, and a few years later, it was purchased by local German-American businessman Otto Koehler. In 1910, his wife Emma Koehler got into a bad car accident, rendering her housebound. So, Otto hired a nurse, named Emma Dumpke, to take care of his wife, and shortly afterward, had an affair with her. Dumpke soon introduced Otto to her friend and fellow nurse, Emma Burgermeister, and (you guessed it) he had an affair with her, too. Nobody knows quite what happened, but in 1914, Burgermeister shot Otto Koehler dead in the home that he bought for her. Burgermeister would later be tried for murder, but acquitted. Adding to the daytime soap-worthy narrative, she later married one of the men on the jury.
However, Emma Koehler took over the brewery's operations and saw the business through Prohibition, building it into the Texan beer icon it became. Nowadays, you can toast to the Pearl's steamy past upon check-in with a complimentary welcome cocktail, a delicious concoction of gin, Amontillado sherry, beer, and rose cordial, aptly named the Three Emmas.
It's rare for hotels to hold the public's attention after 10 years of business, but Hotel Emma has managed to do just that thanks to a solid dose of Southern hospitality, thoughtful interior design, and a fantastic location.
Here's what it's like to stay at San Antonio's most luxurious hotel.
The Rooms
There are 146 guest rooms spread across seven floors. The 12 room categories range from a 350-square-foot Classic—take your pick between a queen or king bed—to the downright dazzling, two-story Emma Koehler suite, which is kitted out with floor-to-ceiling windows, a fireplace, a grand piano, and a 718-square-foot terrace with downtown views.
During my visit, I stayed in one of the hotel's Artesian Rooms, named after the natural springs that bubble up throughout the state. The bedroom had all a San Antonio traveler could desire: plush bedding, ranch-inspired furnishings, a separate sitting area, River Walk views, and an icebox full of locally made goodies. But the real highlight of this room type is the large and spacious bathroom with a separate shower and cast iron tub, perfect for soaking in after a long day of exploring the city.
Food and Drink
There are two restaurants at Hotel Emma: Supper and Sternewirth.
Helmed by executive chef Geronimo Lopez, Supper serves new American, farm-to-table cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The morning menu offers the usual classics—pancakes, steak and eggs, and French toast, but there are a few creative surprises, such as the breakfast burger with chorizo and a sunny side up egg, and the crispy hill country quail and biscuits. I recommend visiting for dinner when Supper's heavy hitters are available to order. Start with half a dozen grilled oysters seasoned with spicy mezcal and lime butter or the scallops au gratin. Then, opt for an entree with a classic Texas spin, such as the double-bone pork chop, served with an apple and pear succotash and maple butter, or a steak. For a splurge, spring for a cut of the Akaushi wagyu, which melts in the mouth.
For an after-dinner tipple, head to Sternewirth, where guests can order from a robust cocktail menu with classic options, as well as inventive concoctions like the Dreamsicle, featuring a healthy dose of orange sherbet syrup, and The Elvis, a fun blend of peanut-infused whiskey, banana liqueur, and simple syrup. If you're not quite full yet, there are small bites available to order, ranging from a dish of marinated olives to a foie gras-topped burger and desserts such as a rich, seven-layer chocolate cake.
There are plenty of other award-winning restaurants and bars within easy walking distance, all located in the Pearl. Some of my favorites include the elevated Southern comfort food outpost Southerleigh Fine Food & Brewery, which earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand in 2024, Ladino, also Michelin-recognized, and Brasserie Mon Chou Chou, which is perhaps the best French restaurant in the state, in my opinion.
Activities and Amenities
Guests can enjoy a complimentary La Babia margarita in the Library.
Jason Risner/Courtesy of Hotel Emma
Regardless of their room category, guests at Hotel Emma enjoy a bevy of luxe amenities. Upon check-in, everyone is given a wooden token for a free welcome cocktail. Take the wooden nickel-like coin down to the Library, where you'll find the 3,700-volume collection of local historian Sherry Wagner. The books primarily focus on anthropological pursuits, but you can find classics like Mark Twain's 'Huckleberry Finn' and 'As I Lay Dying' by William Faulkner. Give your wooden nickel to the mixologist, take your pick between La Babia, an excellent margarita, or Three Emmas, grab a book off the shelf, and take a seat. You can also enjoy complimentary coffee in the library every morning.
Hotel guests can soak up the sun by the rooftop pool, where a beer van serves drinks and food. Other highlights include a 24/7 fitness center with downtown views, a culinary concierge that can help arrange dining and cultural experiences around town, free cruiser bikes for wheeling around, and a complimentary house car that can take you anywhere within a five-mile radius.
There's no shortage of things to do in the area with places like the San Antonio Botanical Garden, the San Antonio Museum of Art, and Ruby City nearby, but if you happen to be staying over the weekend, make sure to visit the Pearl Farmers Market, which takes place every Saturday and Sunday. And if you don't feel like venturing out, you can catch a live music show at Sternewirth three times a week.
The Spa
Hotel Emma doesn't have an independent spa, but there are two Hiatus Day Spa & Med Spa locations on the Pearl campus. Here, guests will find nail therapy rooms with zero-gravity chairs, ​​a hydro therapy room, a med-spa room, and a relaxation room. You can pick among treatments such as the Emma series of massages (ranging from a traditional Swedish massage to a hot-stone massage) to body wraps and facials. Best of all, you can even order an in-room massage.
Accessibility and sustainability
The hotel lobby is filled with vintage machinery.
Jason Risner/Courtesy of Hotel Emma
Hotel Emma has six guest room types with accessible options: the Classic King, Landmark Double Queen, Landmark King, Terrace King, Terrace Double Queen, and River Suite. All of the accessible units come with features such as roll-in showers or accessible bathtubs, visual fire alarms, visual telephone notification devices, portable tub seats, text telephone devices, and televisions with closed captioning.
Needless to say, building Hotel Emma out of the old Pearl Brewery was a massive undertaking, and its owner, Silver Ventures, made several sustainable choices during construction. The company planned for the Pearl area to be accessible on foot, by bike, or by public transportation. Many construction materials were made from recycled materials, and low-water landscaping was planted around the area. The building has energy-efficient lighting and low-flow water fixtures, and its on-site dining venues emphasize the use of locally grown ingredients. Water refill stations are also available on every floor, and guests are provided with reusable water bottles in their in-room ice box.
Location
Hotel Emma is about seven miles (approximately a 15-minute drive) from San Antonio International Airport (SAT). It's a good idea to rent a car if you plan on exploring the city, but if you are staying near the Pearl and the surrounding areas, the neighborhood is fairly walkable.
Hotel Emma is located in the heart of the Pearl, giving you easy access to some of the best restaurants, cafés, and shops in San Antonio without ever having to cross an intersection. To get to downtown San Antonio, simply follow the River Walk, and you should reach major attractions like the Alamo in half an hour.
However, as any San Antonio native knows, the city is so much more than its most famous mission, and the hotel puts you within walking distance to the hip St. Mary's strip, home to lively restaurants and bars like Texas barbecue, Thai fusion-knockout Curry Boys BBQ as well as upscale fried chicken joint Cullum's Attaboy.
How to Get the Most Value Out of Your Stay
Hotel Emma is part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, a brand representing luxury independent hotels that allows travelers to earn points on their stays.
The hotel also participates in American Express's Fine Hotels + Resorts (FHR) program. If you have a premium travel card with the company, such as the Platinum Card by American Express, and you book through the FHR portal, you can earn points and get access to perks such as early check-in, a room upgrade (when available), and a $100 food and beverage credit.
Nightly rates at Hotel Emma start from $455.
Every T+L hotel review is written by an editor or reporter who has stayed at the property, and each hotel selected aligns with our core values.