We took advantage of the Hill Country Holidays open to the public. My 3-year-old daughter couldn't wait to ice skate. Having never done it before, David went above and beyond to help out, making sure she could skate like a princess even though mom couldn't. After that we enjoyed a cookie in the lobby and then did a few crafts at the North Pole. Everyone was super friendly even though we weren't staying at the hotel.

We have attended three beer-tasting dinners at the Grill in the Club House hosted by Neil Butler, lead food and beverage supervisor, and a staff of servers and chefs, plus reps from various beer distributors. All three have been real pleasures. And, the views out over the Hill Country are spectacular.

When my husband called to make reservations for the most recent dinner on Dec. 13, 2012, Mr. Butler immediately recalled that only one of us would be drinking, as the other had make the 60-mile drive home. A designated driver is highly recommended as they are most generous with the beer! The chefs always come out to greet the diners and the wait staff remains superlative.

They work hard to pair the beers with appropriate courses that are delicious as well as beautifully presented. And the beer just keeps getting poured. Each beer that is poured is accompanied by a short informative talk by the beer rep offering background on how the beer came about and where it originated.

Here is the latest five-course menu along with paired beer: 1.) Fig Glazed Pork Belly Confit with Beluga Lentils and quail egg (Chimay Premiere); 2) Green Lip Mussels with saffron Chimay soup and sage confetti (Chimay Cinq Cents); 3) Duck Confit Cassoulet alongside herb-crusted lamb loin (Chimay Grand Reserve); 4) Chimay Cheese Platter (Schneider Weisse); 5) Applie Ginger Bread (Schneider Aventinus).

Get on the email list for the dinners if you enjoy premium brews. Beer snobs welcome!

We've been going to the Beer Dinners that Neil hosts for a while. Last night's was so fantastic, I wanted to leave a review. It was a Chimay/Schneider Weisse dinner, so the beer was great. But the food was also top notch. Pork belly w/ a quail egg, mussels, lamb, and the Chimay cheese platter, all were delicious. It was one of the best meals I've had in a while. Neil and his team always take good care of us. If you live in San Antonio or are coming to visit, you should call and see when the next one is. They'll put you on an email list so you can get invites if you like. It is a great date night and the people there are always fun. Thanks Neil, Haley, Kourtney, Jennifer, Justina, Dirk, Vince, Adrianna and Stephen. We are looking forward to the next one!

Francesca's is fabulous, we love it. The food was great, Texan with a twist, and service there was fantastic. The rest of the hotel, not so good. The service certainly does not match the cost. We had to ask repeatedly for an extra robe to go to the whirlpool ( which closes at dusk - why? Surely 6pm is not too late to go for a per-dinner soak?) . Turn down in the room consisted of dumping a plastic bag with two chocolates in it on the bed and nothing more! If this was a $49.95 per night motel we'd understand but it is supposed to be a classy up-market resort. Go for dinner but stay elsewhere.