Absolutely awful hotel room. Old, dirty, hair dryer positioned next to the sink, worn out furniture and stained bedding, smelled unpleasant - all made worse by the fact that we had booked a newly refurbished room. Incredibly expensive and when I wrote to the hotel to complain - twice -they didn't have the courtesy to respond - not even an acknowledgement. One definitely to be avoided!

this hotel would have gotten a full 4-5 stars for me, but when i booked the room they stated that the valet parking was free for bookings in the presidential suite (which i booked in part to take advantage of that amenity). when we were checking out, they refused to honor what the staff had said and i ended up being charged $84 extra for valet. it's really a shame when businesses refuse to honor these kinds of statements, implying that the customer fabricated it somehow. it ruined an otherwise wonderful trip.

The title says it all. I knew the Fairmount had a great reputation, having lived in San Antonio previously. We booked three rooms for a business stay. First, they lost our reservation, which wasn't an issue because they booked other rooms at the same rate. It was just the first of many disappointing surprises. While the hotel has loads of charm, it is in desperate need of renovation. The room smelled very musty. I stayed in a junior suite which was decorated with antiques. Paint on the walls was peeling, the vents were completely covered in dust and/or mold, the carpet was very worn and dirty. The tiny bathroom had a toilet seat that looked like it hadn't been switched out in years and the water pressure was terrible. The shampoo and soap provided by the hotel had a very flowery, 'grandmother' smell to them, which stuck with me all day. Yuck! The floors of the entire room were slanted, which can add to the charm, but in this case, it just added to the overall nastiness of the stay. My business associates and I noticed that upon checkout, no one really asked how the room was, or how our stay was...I'm sure they don't want to open that can of worms! This is a shame, because the Fairmount is charming and quaint. Hopefully, they can get it together and renovate at some point. Until then, avoid at all cost.

My friend and I went to San Antonio for a three-day girls' getaway weekend and stayed at the Fairmount. We both agreed we would happily stay there again. I will be returning in February and fully intend to make my reservations there. We were graciously allowed to check in two hours earlier than the stated 3:00 check in time. We had a double queen with a sitting area and a large bathroom. Our room overlooked the courtyard. The room was very comfortable and did not have the sterile feeling of some larger hotel chains. I have read other reviews and have seen a variety of experiences reported. I can only report our experience, and that is: our room was clean and smelled completely fresh for the entire three day stay. There were some stains on the carpet, but the carpet was light-colored, whereas most hotels have a darker carpet so you don't see stains. **If you go to the hotel website, you will see that this is a pet friendly hotel, so let that factor into your expectations. We very much enjoyed the historical building and the personal, small-hotel charm. That said, this is indeed a small hotel with a small staff. Most employees perform multiple duties. The person checking you in may also valet your car, and bring up your ice. If you are looking for a full service, uber efficient, multi-amenity hotel you might want to look at a more expensive hotel, of which there are plenty in this area from which to choose. If you are looking for a location with historical ambiance and a relaxed, low-key elegance, you'll enjoy the Fairmount. For our purposes, it was perfect. My friend and I are writers, so we enjoyed sitting in the courtyard with our laptops. We loved Luke the resident dog, and a special thanks to Abel the bellhop. As far as location, the hotel is right next to La Villita and the Riverwalk. If you want to avoid the Riverwalk restaurants, there is a trattoria in the hotel, a wonderful cantina a block away, with very reasonable prices, or you can go south on S. Alamo and find numerous wondeful Mexican restaurants that have been featured in Texas Monthly. The Alamo is a short distance away. We used our room coffee maker, but also made our way a few blocks over to a Starbucks several times. If you are looking for an ATM, there is one off the lobby of a neighboring hotel about one block south. Regarding parking, we used the valet parking, but there are a number of open lots very close by. We never felt that there was an expectation that we should use the hotel's valet services, it was presented as completely optional.