A Hotel Years in the Making Opens its Doors in San Antonio

How long does it take for a luxury hotel to go from initial planning to groundbreaking to hosting its first guests? In the case of the Monarch San Antonio, that process of gestation took over 10 years. Late last year, Hotel Management‘s Dennis Nessler reported that the hotel had been “[i]n planning and development for more than a decade,” and that owner/operator Zachry Hospitality estimated the cost at close to $1 million per room.

On March 3, the Monarch San Antonio (full name: The Monarch San Antonio, Curio Collection by Hilton) opened its doors to its first paying guests. The building itself measures up at 17 stories tall and is home to 200 rooms; on the 17th floor, guests and visitors can dine at Aleto, a restaurant with a menu centered around Yucatán fare. That isn’t the only restaurant on the premisis; Oak & Amber, described in a news release as “the hotel’s signature restaurant,” is situated near the hotel’s lobby.

As Hotel Management reported last year, the Zachry family has a long connection to this site; in 1968, the family was also involved in a building on the site for HemisFair, the 1968 World’s Fair.

“This site carries deep significance for the family, and we approached it with a sense of responsibility to honor what has stood here before while contributing something lasting to the city’s next chapter,” Zachry Hospitality managing director Rick Slutter said in a statement. “The Monarch is an investment in downtown’s continued evolution and a place designed for how people want to gather, stay and experience San Antonio today.”

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As for the hotel’s name, it draws inspiration from the sight of migrating monarch butterflies that are an annual sight in the city. San Antonio is home to an annual festival dedicated to the insects’ presence there, and the role that they play in pollinating local plants. A work of public art, La Mariposa, evokes the form of a butterfly and is located outside of the hotel.

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Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…