FOR MORE INFORMATION: Dee Dee Poteete Director of Communications deedeepoteete@visitsanantonio.com 210/207-6708

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Oct 07, 2009

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San Antonio's Accolades & Rankings of Note

Here are just a few of San Antonio’s accolades and rankings of note: 

 

AAA Four Diamond Award Winners 2009
(AAA evaluates hotels based on exterior grounds, public areas, room décor and ambiance, guest room amenities, bathrooms, housekeeping, management and guest services.)

Crowne Plaza San Antonio Riverwalk
Emily Morgan Hotel
Grand Hyatt San Antonio
Hilton Palacio del Rio
Hotel Contessa
Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa
Hyatt Regency San Antonio
Marriott Plaza San Antonio
Noble Inns-The Jackson House
Noble Inns-The Oge House Riverwalk
Omni La Mansión del Rio
Omni San Antonio Hotel
San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter
San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk
Sheraton Gunter
The Westin La Cantera Resort
The Westin Riverwalk
Watermark Hotel & Spa

 

Meetings and Conventions magazine awarded the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau with the prestigious 2009 Gold Service Award. The Gold Service Award recognizes convention and visitors bureaus that have excelled in serving meeting professionals. 2009 marks the 25th consecutive year that the SACVB has received the Gold Service Award, exemplifying unwavering consistency in providing an exceptional convention experience. 2009.

Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2010
Omni La Mansion Del Rio
Watermark Hotel & Spa

Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2010
Omni La Mansion Del Rio
Watermark Hotel & Spa

 About.com: Gay & Lesbian Travel named San Antonio as one of America's Best Bargain Towns & Cities. January, 2010.

 Brookings Institution ranked San Antonio nation's best-performing city in recession. July, 2009.

 Group Travel Leader named Fiesta as top U.S. event for groups in 2010. October, 2009.

 BusinessWeek ranked San Antonio the strongest U.S. metropolitan economy based on job growth, employment, economic growth and home prices. October, 2009.

Successful Meetings magazine has awarded the San Antonio CVB with the 2009 Pinnacle Award. This marks the 19th year the CVB earned the Pinnacle Award by going above and beyond to impress meeting, convention and incentive planners with unwavering commitment to hospitality. August, 2009.

Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2009
Emily Morgan Hotel
Hotel Contessa
Watermark Hotel & Spa 

Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2009
Omni La Mansion Del Rio
Watermark Hotel & Spa
 

Travel + Leisure magazine has named San Antonio as one of America’s favorite cities for the third year in a row. September, 2009. Online.

American Bus Association names Fiesta San Antonio “Top Event” in the U.S. for 2010. September, 2009.

Facilities & Destinations named San Antonio as a 2009 Top Destination Award Winner. July, 2009.

shopacrosstexas.com named San Antonio’s The Violet Hour, Anniegogglyn and Lee Lee Shoes among the best stores in Texas. July, 2009.

Brookings Institution  ranked San Antonio nation's best-performing city in recession. July, 2009.

American Style magazine names San Antonio among nation's top 25 arts destinations. April, 2009.

ForbesTraveler.com names San Antonio one of nation's top 10 golf cities. March, 2009. Online. 

 Southern Living Readers’ Choice Award, San Antonio among top ten southern cities. January, 2009. Online. 

Travel + Leisure magazine's List of the World's Top 500 Hotels, 2009
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa

Association Meetings awarded San Antonio The Inner Circle Award. 2008

GAYOT.com, an internationally-read dining and travel resource, listed Le Rêve as one of the top 40 U.S. restaurants for 2008; an honor also received in 2007, 2006 and 2004. 2007. Online.

AutoVantage, a leading car membership club, named San Antonio as one of the “Top 20 Destinations for Motorists.” 2008.

Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards for Top 100 U.S. Hotels
Hotel Contessa
Watermark Hotel & Spa
Emily Morgan Hotel 

Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards for Top 100 Hotels in the World
Hotel Contessa
Watermark Hotel & Spa

 Expedia: named San Antonio as the nation's third fastest-growing leisure destination according to a new report released by Expedia Travel Trendwatch. 2008.

Travel + Leisure magazine has named San Antonio as one of America’s favorite cities for the second year in a row. San Antonio maintained its ranking as the most affordable of America’s cities and was also noted as the number two city for ethnic food and cheap eats and as the number five for family vacations. September, 2008. Online.                   

National Geographic Adventure magazine named San Antonio as one of the nation’s “next great adventure towns,” noting the upcoming River Walk extension which will add 460 acres of parkland, Government Canyon State Natural Area and the city's diversity of attractions. September, 2008. 

Meetings and Conventions magazine awarded the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau with the prestigious 2008 Gold Service Award. The Gold Service Award recognizes convention and visitors bureaus that have excelled in serving meeting professionals. 2008 marks the 24th consecutive year that the SACVB has received the Gold Service Award, exemplifying unwavering consistency in providing an exceptional convention experience. August, 2008.

Successful Meetings magazine has awarded San Antonio with the 2008 Pinnacle Award. This marks the 18th year the CVB earned the Pinnacle Award by going above and beyond to impress meeting, convention and incentive planners with unwavering commitment to hospitality. June, 2008.

 American Style Magazine named San Antonio one of America’s “Top 25 Arts Destinations” in the big city category. June, 2008.

American Heritage magazine’s readers' pole ranked the Alamo among  America’s top 25 heritage sites. June, 2008.

NBC's Today Show ranked San Antonio as one of the five friendliest cities in the U.S. The city was judged on safety, diversity, the amount of parks and public spaces, civic celebrations (can you say fiesta?) and personal stories of friendliness. Various statistics were also taken into consideration, such as does the city offer a large enough hotel inventory to welcome visitors (over 36,000 hotel rooms); how many tourists does the city attract (26 million each year) and the median cost of a single-family home ($150,000). May, 2008.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the San Antonio International Airport as one of the nation's top in customer service. Outstanding performance was noted in airport accessibility, check-in and baggage check. May, 2008.

Golf Magazine ranked San Antonio as the 13th best golf destination in the U.S. February, 2008

Meeting South  Best of the South Award, 2008
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa
• La Mansion Del Rio
• The Westin Riverwalk

Expedia Insiders Select, 2008
• Watermark Hotel & Spa
• Hotel Contessa
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa
• Hyatt Regency San Antonio
• Hilton Palacio Del Rio
• Hotel Valencia Riverwalk

Successful Meetings Pinnacle Award 2008
• Hyatt Regency Hill country Resprt & Spa
• Hyatt Regency San Antonio

Travel + Leisure magazine's List of the World's Top 500 Hotels, 2008
• Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
• Omni La Mansión del Rio
• Watermark Hotel & Spa

 Condé Nast Traveler Gold List 2008
• Watermark Hotel & Spa
• Westin Riverwalk

Condé Nast Traveler Golf Poll 2008 Top 100 Golf Resorts
• Westin La Cantera Resort

AAA Four Diamond Award Winners 2008
(AAA evaluates hotels based on exterior grounds, public areas, room décor and ambiance, guest room amenities, bathrooms, housekeeping, management and guest services.)
• Crowne Plaza San Antonio Riverwalk
• Emily Morgan Hotel
• Hilton Palacio del Rio
• Hotel Contessa
• Hotel Valencia Riverwalk
• Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa
• Hyatt Regency San Antonio
• Marriott Plaza San Antonio
• Noble Inns - The Jackson House
• Omni La Mansion del Rio
• Omni San Antonio Hotel
• San Antonio Marriott Rivercenter
• San Antonio Marriott Riverwalk
• Sheraton Gunter
• The Columns on Alamo Bed and Breakfast
• The St. Anthony Hotel
• The Westin La Cantera Resort
• Westin Riverwalk Hotel
• Watermark Hotel & Spa

USA Today named San Antonio as one of five top destinations for off-peak travel. 2008.

Priceline Inc. named San Antonio as one of the nation's top 4th of July destinations. June, 2008.

Priceline Inc. found San Antonio was No. 8 in the list of top 50 most popular destinations for Memorial Day travel. 2008.

Relocate-American named San Antonio as one of the top ten best places to live in America. 2008.

Forbes magazine named San Antonio as the No. 2 most recession-proof city in America. 2008.

The Orbitz Insider Index found San Antonio to rank No.5 in their top 10 list of destinations for Spring break alternatives. 2008.

The Orbitz Insider Index named the Texas Hill Country as the second fastest growing destination for wine and culinary enthusiasts. 2007.

Travel + Leisure named San Antonio as one of America’s favorite cities. Among those featured, San Antonio was considered the most affordable by residents and visitors. The city’s overall ranking was 11th out of the top 25, as San Antonio also fared well in the categories of distinguished architecture, historic sites, safety, weather, dining, shopping and cultural diversity. October, 2007. Online.

Association Meetings recognized the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau with the 2007 Inner Circle Award for meeting service excellence.

TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community named San Antonio’s Six Flags Fiesta Texas as one of the 10 best amusement parks outside of Orlando. According to TripAdvisor, Six Flags Fiesta Texas is a standout theme park because they have something for every kind of visitor. August, 2007.

D.K. Shifflet & Associates Ltd. identified San Antonio as one of the top ten destinations for family summer vacations. This is based on the number of “person days” family vacation visitors spend in each city. “Person days” are calculated by multiplying the number of people in the travel party by the number of days spent in the destination. August, 2007.

Parents Magazine says that being able to “introduce your kids to the Mexican culture—without having to convert pennies into pesos,” is one of the top ten reasons to visit San Antonio. June, 2007.

GAYOT.com, an internationally-read dining and travel resource, listed Le Rêve as one of the top 40 U.S. restaurants for 2007; an honor also received in 2006 and 2004. 2007. Online.

Gourmet magazine names Le Rêve restaurant among the best in the nation for 2007. Once a year, Gourmet magazine lists its editors’ choices for the top 50 restaurants across the country and San Antonio’s Le Rêve came in at number six! Chef Andrew Weissman was also recently nominated for the James Beard Award as best chef in the Southwest and featured in a lengthy New York Times profile (June, 2006) and in Food & Wine magazine (November, 2006; July, 2005).

Meetings & Conventions Gold Tee Award, 2007 
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa

ConventionSouth Magazine presented the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center with its prestigious annual readers’ choice award. December, 2006.

Expansion Management named San Antonio one of America’s hottest cities for company executives looking to relocate or expand their businesses within the next three years. San Antonio ranked fifth of the top 50 metropolitan markets in which to expand or relocate. February, 2006.

Travel & Leisure’s World’s Best Awards 2006
Top 100 Hotels in Continental U.S. and Canada
• Watermark Hotel & Spa

Meetings & Conventions Gold Tee Award, 2007
• Westin La Cantera Resort, 2006


For a complimentary San Antonio Travel & Leisure Guide, contact the San Antonio Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-ALAMO-07 or visitsanantonio.com.