CBORD UGC 2008 - Activities in San Antonio

No charge for guests staying at the Grand Hyatt

• Twenty-four-hour Hyatt Stay Fit Gym on the fifth floor featuring state-of-the-art Life Fitness® cardio and strength machines complete with flat-screen TVs
• Outdoor pool and spa treatment rooms
• Fitness accessories, including resistance bands, balls, and stretching mats to help make your workout complete
• Fitness concierge on call to assist you with workout or equipment needs
• Workout gear, such as apparel, shoes, or swimming goggles, delivered to your room, if needed
• Advice on running, walking, or biking paths nearby
• Fitness GPS Forerunner Armband preprogrammed with the hotel’s coordinates so you can easily find your way back to the hotel

(three blocks from Grand Hyatt)
214 East Travis Street
San Antonio, TX 78205
Day Passes $20.00

• Over thirty group fitness classes weekly (yoga, cycling, and more)
• Luxurious locker rooms and amenities
• Knowledgeable customer service staff
• Free-weight area
• Unlimited towel service

There are hundreds of restaurants within walking distance of the Grand Hyatt San Antonio, including everything from little bistros to steak houses. Below are some recommended restaurants for you to consider during your stay in San Antonio. You can also click here to sort area restaurants by cuisine and location.

Located in La Villita on the River Walk since 1967, the Little Rhein Steak House is recognized for its prime USDA steaks, superior wine list, and rustic charm.

Boudro's is an experience to savor, embracing all the flavors of the regional heritage with a distinctive menu of Texas and Southwestern specialties. Relax in the cool, comfortable interior or take a sidewalk table right on San Antonio's renowned River Walk. Then it's time for some of the best food on the river, from smoked shrimp enchiladas and blackened prime rib to seafood straight from the Gulf.

Paesanos continues to be a local favorite for over thirty-nine years. Paesanos River Walk breaks the boundaries of traditional Italian cuisine to explore modern Mediterranean specialties. Enjoy the legendary shrimp Paesano, or oven-baked pizzas piled high with grilled chicken and artichokes, or venture forth to lemon-peppered salmon. Choose from inside or terrace seating and enjoy views of the famed San Antonio River Walk.

Craving food with a view of the River Walk? Head to Biga on the Banks, named one of “America's Best Restaurants” by Gourmet magazine. Chef/Owner Bruce Auden presides over the innovative menu, an Asian-Southwest fusion of eclectic dishes sure to please the palate. An extensive wine list features selections chosen to complement the menu. The menu changes frequently but a sampling includes sautéed Maine lobster, mustard-crusted Australian lamb rack, crab-stuffed and baked mahi-mahi, and smoke-roasted pork tenderloin.

Ranked as one of the best zoos in the nation, exhibiting over 3,500 animals of 750 species. At the headwaters of the San Antonio River, the zoo encompasses thirty-five landscaped acres. Includes one of the largest bird collections in the world. The zoo has a magnificent mini-zoo designed specifically for children under five, Kronkosky’s Tiny Tot Nature Spot. Open 365 days a year.

Explore the pride of San Antonio, the famed River Walk (Paseo del Rio), offering three miles of retail shopping, restaurants, and night clubs. Enjoy a river cruise along this horseshoe-shaped river bend and experience the peaceful, historic San Antonio River.

 In the heart of the city you can experience the most famous spot in Texas, where 189 defenders fell in 1836 after repeated attacks by Mexican General Santa Anna’s army. Nearby is Long Barracks Museum and Library, where you can view relics and hear a narration on the fall of the Alamo.

Experience the history and culture of San Antonio’s early settlers in a variety of historic districts near downtown. Explore the King William Historic Area, settled in the 1800s by prominent German merchants, or La Villita, a unique arts and crafts community of working artists, restaurants, and museums.

Discover Missions National Historic Park and explore the chain of missions along the San Antonio River that formed the foundation of San Antonio. The visitor center next to Mission San Jose contains a theater showing a depiction of early life.

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This thirty-three-acre living museum entices visitors with seasonal floral displays, a serene native forest walk, exotic plant specimens from around the world, modernistic glass pyramids, and even an authentic log cabin. Highlights include the Old-Fashioned Perennial Garden, Rose Garden, Sacred Garden, Garden for the Blind, Kuamoto En (an authentic Japanese garden), and extensive native collections representing the Hill Country and east and southwest Texas. The futuristic Lucile Halsell Conservatory features plants from around the world displayed in the Exhibit Room, Desert Pavilion, Tropical Forest Room, Palm House, and Fern Grotto. The Aquatic Garden Pool is the central feature of the Conservatory Courtyard. The historic Carriage House, your entry point to the Garden, also includes the gift shop and restaurant.

The University of Texas at San Antonio’s Institute of Texan Cultures is San Antonio’s cultural experience museum, dedicated to enhancing the understanding of cultural history and its influence on the people of Texas. The museum develops exhibits, programs, and special events that encourage acceptance and appreciation of our differences as well as our common humanity. The museum strives to provide a forum for diversity and a showcase for the dynamics of cultural history.

Explore the paranormal side of San Antonio with the Alamo City Ghost Tours. Offering day or night tours, the Ghost Tours take you through graveyards, a Spanish palace, battlefields, old hotels, and much more. The tour guides bring ghost-hunting equipment for people to use and share stories about why San Antonio is known as “one of the most haunted cities.”

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! allows you to discover one-of-a-kind oddities, curiosities, and illusions gathered from all over the world by the famed cartoonist Robert Ripley. There are over 500 exhibits—one of the largest in the world! Louis Tussaud’s Wax Works features a collection of wax figures displayed within themed sections of Hollywood, Children’s Land of Make-Believe, Freedom’s Journey (contains a sixty-six-foot hand-painted wall mural dedicated to our country’s history), Horror (optional section), History, Religion, and much more!

A multistory building with a vibrant cityscape inside, The San Antonio Children’s Museum provides engaging hands-on experiences where children and adults actively learn through creative play. Some of the permanent exhibits include the Texas Treasure Cave Wild Texas Spring, the kid-sized Holt Front-End Loader, an imaginary plane flight, the Tooth Booth, and a kid-powered elevator.

From Shamu to dolphins, sharks, seals, sea lions, and much more, SeaWorld San Antonio is the world’s largest marine-life park. After hanging out with Shamu or watching one of SeaWorld’s shows, head over to the roller-coaster action with the Great White, Texas’s first inverted steel roller coaster, or the Steel Eel for a bout of weightlessness. To cool off, ride Journey to Atlantis, which is part roller coaster, part water ride, or dip into the Lost Lagoon. For general information, please call (800) 700-7786.

For more than thirty-five years, the 750-foot-tall Tower of the Americas has offered residents and tourists of San Antonio, Texas, the most breathtaking view of the Alamo City—visitors dine at the Tower’s revolving restaurant or enjoy the scenery from the observation deck. Now, Landry’s Restaurants, Inc., has taken the experience to a whole new level. Among the improvements are an upscale eatery, banquet facility, and a Texas-themed 4-D multisensory theater. Chart House treats guests to pure dining pleasure with a delectable menu and sophisticated atmosphere. The Skies Over Texas is a sophisticated ride that takes visitors on a high-flying trip across the Lone Star State: the 4-D theater zooms in on such scenes as a Friday-night high-school football game, working up close and personal with a space shuttle at NASA, and more. A ground-level café and retail shop give visitors more ways to enjoy their day. Additional amusements, attractions, and food vendors greet guests at the base of the Tower. Built in honor of the 1968 World’s Fair celebrating San Antonio’s 250th anniversary and owned by the citizens of San Antonio, the Tower is operated by Landry’s Restaurants, Inc.