The Ranch Motel & Leisure Club

Worth getting out of bed for

The hotel is being styled as a hip leisure hub, so when it’s fully formed you can swim, play pickleball and ping-pong, while away time in the games room, and discover new music in the listening room. But, San Antonio is the oldest city in Texas, which gives it a touch more character than some of its more skyscraper-y hubs, and with the hotel set between Alamo Heights and artistic billion-dollar development the Pearl, you’re well placed to dig into its past and present. You must, of course, remember the Alamo, the legendary fortress compound where a handful of American soldiers (including Davy Crockett) secured Texas’s independence during a short brutal battle in the war against Mexico. Take a tour to discover its turbulent history (or visit at night for a ghost tour), then celebrate the city’s now peaceful nature along the San Antonio River Walk or cruise. It’s delightful at night when it’s lit up. There are five other colonial Spanish Missions still standing to explore, four located in the picturesque Missions National Historical Park. But you needn’t go far for greenery, since the expanse of Brackenridge Park is right outside the motel, with its trails and mini train, sunken theater, Japanese tea garden, musical club each Tuesday, and San Antonio Zoo. It’s also home to two museums, the Witte, which has artefacts from prehistory forward, and the DoSeum, which offers interactive fun for families. Hopscotch with its cocktails and immersive art installations is the more adult take on this. The Botanical Gardens are close by too. See the whole city at once from the 750-foot-high observation deck atop the Tower of the Americas, built for the 1968 World’s Fair and surrounded by the revamped fun park HemisFair. Or go underground to the grottoes of the Natural Bridge Caverns. And, if you visit in April, be sure to witness the neon-flecked parades and parties of the annual Fiesta celebration.

Local restaurants

The Ranch Motel has future plans to join forces with restaurant group Empty Stomach, but until then why not try some of its many outposts in San Antonio. Barbaro is Italian leaning with inventive pizza toppings such as hash browns with taleggio, kale and honey; or clams, chilli, bacon, and pecorino with white-wine sauce. Hot Joy skews East with a weekly changing ‘mystery ramen’, dumplings, wok-seared eats, and Thai Tuesdays; while Double Standard specialises in burgers and po’boys. In Southtown, order the famed fish tacos and enchiladas at long-standing Mexican Rosario’s, and in the Pearl, Asian-American eatery Best Quality Daughter offers delicious culture-clashes: mochi cheddar hush puppies, skirt steak in orange-chicken gravy, and milk oolong ice-cream sandwiches. 

Local cafés

In the Pearl, ice-cream parlor Lick’s everyday flavors aren’t what you’d expect, with goat’s cheese, thyme and honey or roasted beets and fresh mint on the menu. And its seasonal picks can be even more out there. Wash it down with something hot from Local Coffee Founders, which works with roasts from Proud Mary, Tag Coffee Co and more.

Local bars

Go on a crawl through the Pearl’s drinkeries: Southerleigh for craft brews on tap, chilled-out wines at Park Bar, and imaginative cocktails at Blue Box (go for the ‘trust your bartender’ option if the choice overwhelms). Paper Tiger might not have much elbow room, but its roster of pretty much up-and-come acts makes up for that; hit up Rumble for fruity cocktails, frozen ‘mangonadas’, and shots under glitter balls; and Little Death is a cosy and cool graffiti-scribbled wine bar.