Bluegreen Vacations Eilan Hotel and Spa, an Ascend Collection Resort in San Antonio, TX

When we checked in there was a line. When it was our turn, the person did not thank us for our patience, apologize for the wait, etc. She already had an attitude and when I handed her my license and credit card, she was unable to find our reservation. She took both my license and credit card around the back behind a partition for several minutes. While she was gone, I searched my email to find the confirmation. Upon her return, she handed me back my id and cc and said that the person behind the partition needed to make our reservation by hand. When I tried to show her my reservation confirmation from RCI, she finally offered an explanation that the reservation was not pushed through. Still, no apology - just told us to take a seat and it would be another 10 minutes wait. She never offered water, asked if we needed anything, etc. It was at least a 15-minute wait and had we not already paid the RCI fees we would have just found a nearby hotel. She called to us across the lobby and again did not offer an apology or a thank you for our patience which was gone at this point. When we got to our room, it was one of the worst rooms at the "resort" - no view unless you count the roof and staff only access, and one door down from the VERY loud ice machine. They sent a "welcome" text to which I let them know we did not feel welcome and that we were given one of the worst rooms. The front desk director Shelby responded but given our short trip and we were already pressed for time to attend what we were in town for, I did not further elaborate. The next day, we were sent a text asking to rate our stay on a 1-5 scale. I generously replied with a 3 because of the valet staff and the sales desk. The front desk supervisor said they were glad to hear that!? In what industry is 3 acceptable unless you are striving for mediocrity. I replied that we would wait until check out the next day to tell them about our poor experience. Shelby replied again with a text that started off “Hello Ms. Staley – as I said…”. I found her tone to be very condescending and she had no clue why we were there, what we were doing, etc that we didn’t want to discuss it – not that it was ANY of her business. I told her AGAIN that we’d make our grievances known at check out. She said she would be there and happy to help when we liked. We checked out at 10am per the resort policy. When we asked for Shelby, the staff said that she would not be in until AFTER 10. It was clear that she had no interest or intention of speaking with us. And we have no interest or intention of returning or becoming members.

We were in a hotel room at the Elian; there were 3 empty parking lots within a few feet that they would not allow guests to park in- only mandatory valet $45 day. They charged for Internet in the room- after our stay I found out it was free if you were in the lobby; when we checked out they charged us another $100 to clean the tiny hotel room! A complete rip off- save your $ this place is horrible; p.s. I thought it was weird that no one ewas at the hotel- now I know why!

This hotel is listed as a 4.5 star luxury resort. We were extremely disappointed with our experience. We paid extra to book a one bedroom suite, which according to the hotel’s website, has a separate seating area. We did not have a seating area and our premium room had a stunning view of the windows to the room across the arch from us from one window and the roof of the entrance porch from the other. It seems odd that the hotel was completed in 2012 because the interiors were dated (1995 called and wants its sepia paint effects, burgundy velvet curtains , and black gilt furniture back). So much for the muted earth tones advertised. On the second day of our stay, we had the shock of our lives; the hotel has zero housekeeping service. We were told that if we wanted our sheets changed or our room cleaned we had to pay an extra $60. This charge is on top of the $39/ night mandatory valet and the $35/night resort fee. To add insult to injury, we were horrified at being asked to attend a sales presentation for their “vacation club”. The TV situation is tragic with a zillion sports channels and nothing much else. The TVs are not smart TVs so forget streaming any content or casting content from your phone. We also had to sanitize the remote control as it had crusty dirt all over the buttons. Location is ok and restaurant and bar were priced very reasonably and the quality was good.

Nice enough hotel - ludicrous mandatory valet of $39 per night. La Cantera area convenient. The staff were surly at best.

Is a beautiful resort. We like the inside swimming pool. We like the gym. The valet parking staff were very nice. The front desk staff were nice.