Menger Hotel: History and elegance in San Antonio
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
I stayed at the Menger Hotel this weekend for the first time.
ABOUT THE PLACE: Constructed in 1859, the hotel is across the street from the Alamo.Such diverse personalities as Theodore Roosevelt, Sidney Lanier, Babe Ruth, Mae West, Robert E. Lee, and Ulysses S. Grant stayed at the Menger.
While it has the feel of a boutique hotel, there are actually 316 rooms. The lobby is elegantly furnished with many antiques. The many historical artifacts give the place a somewhat "museum" feel.
The Menger Bar was built in 1887 and is a replica of House of Lords Pub in London. The architect, who was sent to England to examine the pub, installed a paneled ceiling of cherry wood, booths and beveled mirrors from France, and decorated glass cabinets. It was in this bar that Teddy Roosevelt recruited many of his Rough Riders, volunteers for the American volunteer Cavalry in the Spanish-American war.
ABOUT THE STAY: Check-in was efficient. My room was rather small but adequately clean and adequately equipped with a desk and Ethernet connection. Unfortunately the Ethernet connection did not work but I was able to repair the problem (lack of power to the router) before the engineer arrived. Even though the room overlooked a street, it was not noisy at night. Checkout was as easy as check-in. Staff were polite and helpful.
OVERALL: An interesting alternative to typical business hotels. I would stay there again.