Sítio El Tropicano

Closed since 2020, San Antonio's original River Walk hotel is reopening as Sítio El Tropicano, a full reimagining with 315 rooms, a members' club, and the river's largest pool deck, targeted for late 2026.

The place

110 Lexington Avenue, on San Antonio's River Walk, with roughly 400 feet of river frontage. The original El Tropicano, built in 1962, was the first hotel constructed directly on the River Walk; the property has been closed since 2020.

The concept

Alamo Equity and Phoenix Hospitality Group acquired the shuttered midcentury hotel in 2018 and are now completing a reported $100 million-plus, full gut renovation under a new name and identity rather than a simple refresh — new architecture, new interiors, and a members' club (Sítio Club) layered on top of the hotel program. The team, Trestle Studio and Michael Hsu Office of Architecture, previously worked together on The Line Austin; here they're preserving the building's 1960s bones — including reviving the old Flamingo Bar space — while repositioning it as a design-led urban resort rather than a legacy River Walk hotel.

Dining & wellness

Three dining and drinking concepts are planned: a lobby café and provisions shop, a signature all-day restaurant, and a poolside bar and grill, plus the members-only Flamingo Bar. The hotel will also have a 5,000-square-foot spa with infrared sauna and cold plunge, a fitness center, San Antonio's largest pool deck, and 16,000 square feet of event space.