Behind an eye-catching contemporary art installation doubling as a barrier to road construction is a historic neighborhood with a trendy new resident.
The row of bronze-colored, reflective spheres along the sidewalk of South Alamo Street, designed by Alexander Hilmy, Richard Tobin and Robert Amerman of Valence, sits in front of where the revolving doors of the new Kimpton Santo Hotel opened in La Villita on Aug. 29.
The stylish, 10-story luxury hotel at 431 S. Alamo St. is situated on a 1-acre parcel in the former surface parking lot of the 251-room Marriott Plaza San Antonio Hotel and across the street from Hemisfair.
The 360-room hotel is also attached to a Texas Historic Landmark, the German-English School built in 1858, and it envelops a peaceful courtyard where leaders from three nations signed the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1992.
Designed by the Dallas-based architecture firm HKS, the Kimpton Santo Hotel is the latest project by Indiana-based hotel development firm White Lodging.
Lead designer for the project, KTGY Principal Gina Deary, told the Report on a recent visit to the hotel that designing the interiors for a development that blends the old and new is her favorite kind of project.
“You have to have the right developer that’s willing to invest because a lot of the money that goes into this is something people won’t see,” Deary said of bringing the building up to code.
Deary developed the interior designs for the Bauhaus-inspired hotel in the year before the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the nation and brought projects like the Santo to a screeching halt.
“It was a long process,” she said, and while the hotel is open for business and furnishings and artwork are in place, some of the design work is still in progress, she said.
In the coming weeks, a large mural by the artist DAAS will be installed in a light-filled courtyard visible through floor-to-ceiling windows behind the reception desk.
But in most of the hotel, the interiors are complete and just what White Lodging Vice Chairman Conner White had in mind, even if there’s work to be done.
“I feel like it turned out fantastic,” he said while checking in on a recent afternoon, suitcase by his side. “With any hotel, it takes probably three months to dial it in design and feel wise how we really want it.”
Blending the old and new was the goal, he agreed.
When it came to the historic buildings, the design team worked to maintain every aspect of the architecture to show it off, including exposing beams originally hidden.
“We want to see how the buildings were constructed because these are very honest buildings,” Deary said.
Each space within the hotel is defined and unique, she said.
“You’re going to see a lot of references to kind of that cultural joy that you get in San Antonio,” she said, with a sophisticated flair.
To the right of the lobby is a contemporary and casual dining room, the bar topped with a colorful weaving by fiber artist Doerte Weber and one entire wall the exposed limestone of the German-English School.
“They wanted to make sure that the German school was a highlight in this design, even though it’s a very small part of it,” Deary said.
The school building is now a cozy Dean’s Steak and Seafood Restaurant featuring comfortable seating, private dining rooms and an oyster bar stocked every evening with fresh seafood. A courtyard between the school buildings, its massive oak trees providing a scenic canopy, offers outdoor seating for the restaurant.
In a two-story German-English school building flanking the courtyard is The Study at Dean’s, a speakeasy-style cocktail bar, and upstairs, carefully remodeled and spacious hotel suites.
Also on the main level of the hotel are several ballrooms and conference rooms. To the left of the lobby is an inviting “living room,” with a massive black marble fireplace and framed artwork by photographer Ansen Seale.
The 10th floor of the Santo is where guests and visitors can access the hotel’s amenities.
“Tenfold Rooftop” is open to the public, reservations recommended, for drinks and lighter fare and panoramic views of the city. The terra-cotta-tiled 10th floor is where guests will find a fully-equipped fitness center and a swimming pool featuring cabanas positioned in sight of the Tower Life Building.
The hotel rooms feature tall windows that take advantage of the views and interiors that are modern, fresh and cool in design.
Though the hotel is not located on the San Antonio River Walk, Deary said she wanted to create that connection to one of the city’s top tourist destinations and borrowed from its color palette when designing the bathrooms.
Deary said the project gave her the opportunity to get to know San Antonio in a way that she probably wouldn’t have had as a tourist.
“Every time I’m here, I learn something new, so it’s a cool city, and I feel like it’s in a rebirth,” she said. “There’s a lot of interesting things happening — off the River Walk, too.”
Correction: The row of bronze-colored, reflective spheres along the sidewalk of South Alamo Street was designed by Alexander Hilmy, Richard Tobin and Robert Amerman of Valence. The Kimpton Santo Hotel is 10-story luxury hotel at 431 S. Alamo St. This information was incorrect in a previous version of this article.
