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The Westin La CanteraLegends and luxury lure guests to this San Antonio resortBy Angela Fox
For the latest in exercise therapy, I spent an afternoon working out at the Castle Rock Health Club, a 7,600 square-foot, state-of-the-art fitness facility for cardio and weight training. The club is adjacent to the spa, which offers a full range of massages and other body treatments, and also overlooks the Lost Quarry Pools. The latter are five lagoon-style swimming pools designed to reflect the water holes that were left behind in quarry sites after rainstorms. We aren’t golfers but we did manage to eat at La Cantera’s two golf course restaurants during our stay. We had an exceptionally delicious lunch of fresh grilled salmon at the Palmer Grille overlooking The Palmer Course at La Cantera, designed by Arnold Palmer. The 6926-yard, par-71 course offers dramatic elevation changes (from our table we watched golfers skillfully swing their way down what seemed to us a small mountain). The Resort Course at La Cantera, home of the PGA Tour’s Valero Texas Open, is equally scenic and challenging. This 7,001-yard, par-72 course is consistently ranked by Golf Digest and Golf Magazine as one of the country’s top courses. We dined one evening at La Cantera Grille, overlooking the Resort Course, on first-rate filet and striped bass, topped off with an super-sized hot fudge brownie sundae. The resort also boasts The Golf Academy at La Cantera, south Texas’ only golf academy, including The Mindset Academy with Dr. David Cook, a leading Sport Psychology Consultant.
Not only is La Cantera perfectly positioned to enjoy all of San Antonio’s attractions, it’s also the ideal headquarters for a day trip to Texas Hill county, just a scenic one hour’s drive north of the resort. We spent the day in Fredericksburg, a postcard charmer of a small town that was settled in 1846 by German immigrants.
Back at the resort that evening, we had a farewell dinner at Francesca’s. As the sun went down and the twinkling lights of San Antonio came on, we enjoyed the breathtaking view, feasted on fire roasted chile rellenos with squash blossoms – and toasted the beginning of the holiday season. As you might imagine La Cantera celebrates Christmas in a big Texan way, with decorations and lights and a free family event held each of the 12 evenings prior to and including Christmas Eve. The resort is lavishly decorated with wreaths and lights, a cowboy storyteller/singer regales visitors with tales and tunes around a huge outdoor campfire, a snow machine creates real flurries and everyone troops back to enjoy cookies and hot chocolate before a roaring fire in the lobby afterwards. Families in the area have made it something of a tradition, according to La Cantera general manager Anthony Cherone. “We’ve been doing this ever since we opened and many families have been coming to the celebration every year,” he says. Westin La Cantera PHOTOS BY VIRGIL FOX |
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Just
as it carved itself into the vast stone outcroppings high above northern San
Antonio nearly a decade ago, the Westin La Cantera (Spanish for “the quarry”)
today has carved out a niche as the premiere destination resort in central
Texas. You can stay and play on the property for days on end and never exhaust
the attractions just outside your room. Grab your clubs and play the resort’s
two golf courses, indulge in a massage or facial at the spa, work out at the
health club, swim in the outdoor pools, hike the nature trail, browse the resort
shops and enjoy delectable dining at the resort’s four restaurants.
You
can even take a mini-tour of Texas history just by touring the public areas of
the resort, all named for legendary Texans and events. Take Tio's Lobby Lounge
for example. Inspired by the Texas Colonial design of the famous King Ranch and
named for fifth generation King descendant Tio Kleberg, it’s a place where JR
Ewing would be right at home. Sip a glass of wine or cold beer as you sink into
an overstuffed chair, flanked by coffee tables substantial enough to rest a pair
of boots on. In the cooler months, flames flicker from the two enormous
fireplaces on either end of the enormous room. In the warmer months, the
floor-to-ceiling glass doors on either side of the lobby are flung open to catch
the invigorating Texas breezes and views of the rugged surrounding hills and
landscaped courtyard.
The
lounge was the launching point during our late October visit for a special
celebration – the kind of themed event La Cantera stages so expertly for groups.
Since our group was there just a few days before Halloween, our evening was
inspired by Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday. Despite its grim-sounding name,
it’s a festive, Mardi Gras-like event that honors dearly departed relatives and
ancestors. So, to the rhythmic beat of drums, we welcomed skeleton-masked
revelers (from the talented Urban-15 Group of drummers and dancers, based in San
Antonio) to our party and danced with them through the lobby to the ballroom.
Dimly lit with candles set on tables adorned with skull centerpieces, the room
was the perfect setting for the dancers exuberant finale. As we watched, the
resort’s wait staff offered us delicious hors d’oeuvres, wine and specialty
margaritas.
Next,
we entered the adjacent room, where we were tutored by restaurant chefs in
tamale making and the subtleties of chocolate and chiles. Then our group took
seats at what seemed to be the largest table in Texas. Around this table, which
boasted an elaborate Day of the Dead centerpiece, we enjoyed a meal orchestrated
and hosted by celebrity Chef Mark Miller, the consulting chef for Westin La
Cantera’s signature restaurant, Francesca’s. Chef Miller is perhaps best known
for his own flagship restaurant Coyote Café in Santa Fe and was lauded by Life
Magazine as “The Most Influential Chef of the Decade” in 1989. Miller has also
been honored with Esquire magazine’s “Best New Restaurant in America” award, as
well as the James Beard “Best American Chef: Southwest” award. A gifted
raconteur to boot, Miller guided us through a meal that included a trio of
gourmet tamales, succulent lamb chops and a pot de crème made with
cinnamon-infused Mexican chocolate. Excellent wines accompanied the meal and a
tequila as fine as any top shelf brandy finished the meal with a special
flourish.
We
enjoyed a truly heavenly rest that night since all of the resort’s 508 guest
rooms and suites feature the incredibly plush yet supportive Heavenly Bed and
all baths boast a Heavenly Bath with an oversized, dual-headed shower. While we
could have indulged in breakfast at Brannon’s Café the next morning, we opted
for the continental buffet afforded guests on the seventh floor Royal Hacienda
concierge level. Guests on this level also enjoy complimentary hor d’oeuvres and
cocktails each afternoon, amidst panoramic views that included a spectacular
rainbow during our visit. After breakfast we caught the free resort shuttle to
the newest and most upscale retail complex in the region, The Shops at La
Cantera. The architecturally striking open-air mall debuted in September 2005
and is anchored by San Antonio’s first Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom stores. With
150 other upscale retail shops, restaurants and entertainment venues, this
really is the ultimate in retail therapy.
Since
it’s just a 20-minute drive from La Cantera to San Antonio’s famed Riverwalk and
historic Alamo, we took off one afternoon to reacquaint ourselves with this
fascinating city, which we had last visited over 10 years ago. We highly
recommend taking a Rio San Antonio cruise on the River Walk, where knowledgeable
guides offer fascinating tidbits of history concerning the development of
downtown San Antonio and the river that runs through it. Next, we explored
Market Square, including the 32 shops at El Mercado (San Antonio’s authentic
Mexican market), and 80 specialty shops in Farmers Market Plaza. The latter
featured a seasonal treat – Day of the Dead displays created by area high
schools and other groups. We also made the obligatory stop at Mi Tierra, a
24-hour bakery offering traditional Mexican pastries, which still lives up to
all the publicity it’s received over the years.
Since
my father and father-in-law both served in the Pacific in World War II, I was
most interested in visiting the National Museum of the Pacific War, a facility
dedicated to those who served under Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (a Fredericksburg
native) in the Pacific during World War II. The thoughtfully designed exhibits
trace the war from start to finish, yet the effect isn’t overwhelming or
academic. Rare items like a midget 2-man Japanese submarine recovered from Pearl
Harbor and a real B-25 add impact. Outside, a Memorial Wall with 300 plaques
honoring WWII veterans leads to the Japanese Garden of Peace, donated by the
people of Japan to the U.S. as a symbol of good will between the two countries.
A short stroll away is the Pacific Combat Zone, a 3-acre living history park.
Next we explored historic Main Street’s shops and galleries before enjoying
lunch at the Peach Tree Tea Room, located in a historic German limestone
building and serving homemade breads, soups, salads, quiches, sandwiches and
desserts.
Other
Fredericksburg attractions we recommend include tours and tastings at local
wineries (the Hill Country was featured in the June 2005 issue of Wine Spectator
magazine) like Grape Creek, Torre di Pietra and Becker Vineyards; a visit to
Wildseed Farms, the largest working wildflower farm in the U.S.; and a stop at
the Fredericksburg Herb Farm, where you can buy pots of herbs and flowers from
the nursery, enjoy lunch at the tea room and purchase soaps, sachets and other
products made onsite.