Worth staying close to Alamo & Riverwalk in San Antonio?

I go in February most years for a professional convention. My preference is to stay downtown but not on the Riverwalk, which can be very noisy (perhaps less so when there are not several thousand high school and college students plus a bunch of music teachers pretending they're back in college - IDK). Many years I've stayed at the Fairfield Inn or the Holiday Inn Express on the far west side of downtown near UTSA, and I either take the downtown tram or an Uber over to the convention center. If the weather is nice, sometimes I walk - I think it's about a mile and a half. I like those two hotels not only because they are cheaper and quieter, but because they have free onsite parking. Most of the Riverwalk hotels make you pay for parking.

I've also stayed just east of the freeway outside of downtown before. There's a Holiday Inn I think on Commerce St. that is decent and an easy walk to the Riverwalk area without being on top of it.

You should not plan to drive in and park in the Riverwalk area, IMO. It's a giant traffic/parking catastrophe, particularly if there is any large conference taking place at the convention center. Take an Uber or stay close enough to walk.

This year I've actually reserved an AirBnB a bit north of the Riverwalk/Alamo area. We'll see how that goes.

Have fun! When will you be there?

I have only been there once.. we didn't stay by the riverfront but had no problems getting there by car (and the Alamo)

I have good memories of the place.. it was neat to walk around and we took one of those boats around.. it was so fun. I wouldn't say it would be somewhere I would go over and over again.. but it was enjoyable. It wasn't smelly when we were there but it was during the fall and a little chilly out.. not horrible jacket weather.

We enjoyed our stay there. It was close to the Riverwalk but slightly off the path so it was quieter.  I think this was once a historical building but I can't remember exactly what the building was before it was a hotel. 

Yes, even for someone who has never been.

The Riverwalk is a dirty (opaque brown water that gets super stinky in summer, but might not smell in winter) man made canal with a sidewalk next to it that connects a bunch of big chain businesses like Chili’s and Fuddruckers and a mall. It is below street level, so you don’t really see any cool views. You just walk along the sidewalk and look at the hostess stands of all the restaurants. I don’t get it.

The Alamo is an excellent museum and is well worth a visit. The Mission Trail is beautiful and interesting. Your time would be far better spent at those places.

Eat at Mi Tierra (walking distance of the Alamo), walk around the Mexican Marketplace (far more enjoyable that walking around the Riverwalk). Find one of the many places you can see the Riverwalk from street level and look down on it just to say you’ve seen it.

If you will be here the first or second week of January, that is when they drain the river for annual cleaning, so it will be stinky and not pretty. It's awesome right now, all lit up for Christmas.

There are some really nice B&Bs in King William, which is south of downtown. Some of them even back up to the river, but it's not the "Riverwalk" down there per se. The Museum Reach part of the Riverwalk is really nice, street art, lit up, near the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA).

I don't know where to tell you to stay that's reasonably priced outside of downtown. Hotel Emma at the Pearl is supposed to be SUPER AMAZING, but it is not near the riverwalk itself. And I think it's pretty pricey. I do recommend going over there, though, there are some great restaurants, and going into the hotel is fun, it's neat to see.

It depends upon what you want to do, where I'd tell you to stay. If you are planning on doing the touristy things, near or close to downtown is best. I do recommend the Missions, the Alamo is just one of them, the main one down south is a National Park, it has a park center etc. I don't know if it's been opened, though, it's been a while since we went and COVID did change some of their hours etc. But any of the missions along the Mission Trail are neat to see.

Enjoy your stay here!

ETA: I'm slightly offended, the Riverwalk isn't that bad, and this time of year is the absolute best to see it. 

I stayed on the Riverwalk when I went several years ago. It was nice because there were restaurants and shopping just outside the lobby.

My favorite things on that trip was a night time walking ghost tour we did and the Historic Market District. The restaurant in the Mercado was GOOD and loved all the little shops in there.

If you are into ghosts and haunted hotels, then consider staying at The Menger Hotel. It is 1 minute walk to The Alamo and a 4 minute walk to The Riverwalk. Supposedly it's one of the top 5 haunted spots in Texas. We spent a weekend there once but did not have any ghostly encounters. Location was fantastic though.

Many years ago I stayed in the Hilton Palacio Del Rio, which is on the riverwalk. I was in a room high up, so the
noise was no problem.

I love San Antonio. Last time I was there for a convention, we stayed in a B&B about 8 blocks away from the convention center. That was great also. I could walk to the events and not fight traffic or parking.
I felt like I was in a foreign nation--Spanish language everywhere, walking to my destination.......