Hotel at a Glance: AAA Four Diamond La Cantera Hill Country Resort

To the designers of La Cantera Hill Country Resort, it was as important to incorporate native textiles, artwork, and color palettes into the hotel as it was to weave storytelling into the decor. The hillside resort contains many homages to local lore, perhaps best displayed on the ceiling of Steinheimer's Lounge, which comprises a hand-painted map showing the location of a legendary treasure of buried gold. With a name inspired by a famous Texas love story, the AAA Four Diamond Francesca's at Sunset restaurant presents a lauded wine list, racks of lamb, and line-caught seafood amid views of Texas Hill Country.

• Take a dip: Six pools and three hot tubs weave along the property's Lost Quarry Pools complex, with a water slide and areas dedicated to lap swimming, volleyball, and adults only.
• Poolside dining at The Gantry, where you can have a sandwich and a tropical cocktail
• Freshen up inside guest rooms, whose bathrooms feature dual showerheads, plush towels and bathrobes, and double-basin sinks.
• Tee off on two golf courses—one of which was a PGA Tour stop for 15 years.
• Say cheers with resort-organized wine tastings and jaunts about the surrounding Texas wine country.
• Indulge at the onsite spa with massages, facials, and body treatments administered with holistic, certified natural and organic products.
• Keep up the pace along self-guided 3- and 5-mile running routes or inside the 7,600-square-foot fitness center.

San Antonio, Texas: Historic Missions near Picturesque Riverwalk

In the late 1920s, architect Robert H. H. Hugman designed an urban park around the San Antonio River—a space he envisioned as an American version of Venice, where people could shop and dine along the waterfront. Completed in 1941, the 2.5-mile riverwalk still serves as a vital artery in the heart of San Antonio as it wends its way past cafés, hotels, bars, and shops.

Located one story below street level, the waterway is flanked on either side by stone pathways, quiet waterfalls, and towering cypress trees. The winding river-walk path reveals little surprises along the way, such as picturesque restaurants, public art installations, and cardboard cutouts of Davy Crockett. A new extension connects the riverwalk to the four-story San Antonio Museum of Art, where you'll find more than 25,000 sculptures and paintings that range from Roman antiquities to contemporary art.

Also neighboring the riverwalk is the Alamo. Thanks to the 1836 battle that made it a symbol of Texas independence, the Alamo has become the most visited tourist site in the state. It's actually one of five historic Spanish missions clustered around the San Antonio River. The largest, Mission San José, lies just 5 miles south of downtown. Its famed rose window is once again on display following an extensive renovation.

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