ADMIRALTY RV RESORT, SAN ANTONIO TEXAS
By Harold Merton
When RVers head for a large city with multiple tourist attractions they
like to know ahead of time where they will park their rig for the duration
of their stay. We were in the same position when we decided to head to
San Antonio, Texas last year. We did some campground guide and internet
checks and came up with a number of possibilities.
One however stood out from the rest because of the excellent facilities.
That was Admiralty RV Resort on the northwest side of San Antonio. Advertising
for this and other parks in Texas refers to "Winter Texans".
Some of us might call them "Snowbirds" but the idea is the same.
They are the RVers from the northern U.S. states and Canada who head south
for the winter season. A great many Canadians head to Texas to escape
the winter woes and a number of them make this resort their winter home.
When you camp
there you can understand why! Admiralty RV Resort caters to Winter Texans
and we decided to stay with them for a few days so that we could share
the experience of their fine park with our readers. When we pulled into
their well-landscape grounds we were immediately impressed by how beautiful
the resort was.
An attractive garden area greets you as you step out of the RV or vehicle to go inside and register. I am sure the beautiful sunny day we were having had something to do with the really positive feelings we had when we arrived and the staff easily added to this with their friendly welcome. We were assigned a site and then slowly pulled the trailer down the paved streets to our spot.
Sites were among the best we have had at any campground and the utilities were easy to access during hookup. The site also had cable TV which we hooked up to the connection on the outside of our Palomino. There were over 50 channels available so we had a wonderful choice for the times we were able to turn the TV on in spite of our busy schedule. Washrooms are of extreme importance and we found them to be second to none. There are three washroom buildings and we found plenty of hot water in the satellite building just a short distance from our site. They were always spotlessly clean as were the entire grounds. Grounds maintenance is obviously very important here and we were so impressed that in our year-end awards announcement we game them the nod for the best landscaped park during our 2005 travels.
The swimming pool and hot tub are adjacent to the office, store and recreation
room. On the other side of the pool a washroom building also houses the
laundry and reading room. The seasonal residents have an excellent social
program with a number of activities and they made visitors very welcome.
Admiralty has 250 sites over 15 acres. They have been in business about
15 years. The resort now sits in the middle of a residential area which
has blossomed in the past two years. Prior to that they were in a rural
area. They are ideally located in an area that gives you easy access to
a number of the attractions in the San
Antonio area. The office staff advised us of a special daily pass offered
by San Antonio's public transportation system. For just $3 per adult per
day you
can ride any of the buses or trolley cars (in the downtown area). The
bus stop is a half block down the road and we took this transportation
downtown when we went to visit the sights because we would not have to
worry about parking.
Sea World is right next door to the park and Admiralty offers a free
shuttle to the attraction at specific times. We decided with Sea World
being that close we had better report on it and you will find a story
in this
issue. Kids love this park because the pool and playground keep them busy
for hours. The paved streets and concrete slab sites also help keep them
clean. We found the Admiralty very quiet even though there were quite
a number of campers there. It has a refined clientele of people who enjoy
their excellent facilities and the beautiful weather that abounds. For
those who want to keep in touch they have an internet station and the
store stocks quite a variety of necessities you will require should you
decide to stay longer than you planned. It is just a block or so off Hwy
151 which connects with 410, a major route around the city. If you want
a good restaurant meal, supplies or a local big box store they are just
down the road at the next exit. We can recommend The Coyote Canyon for
a fabulous steak buffet at a very reasonable price. When we ventured downtown
by bus it took us a little over a half-hour for the trip but once there
we could visit the Riverwalk,
the Alamo, The Buckhorn Museum and other downtown sights. It was a
great way to get there without any driving or parking hassles ... and
all for $3 a person!
We met our friends Marcelle and Jacques Terrault from Montreal at this
park and ended up making a number of day trips to local towns in the area
from our base camp at the Admiralty. It was very convenient and had everything
we needed for a beautiful experience in Texas. We now know why those Winter
Texans love the place! If I was returning to Texas for a vacation again
I think I would just head for Admiralty and spend the entire time there.
It certainly was relaxing and you can't find much better anywhere else.
They have truly earned the slogan they use "San Antonio's Premier
RV Resort!"
Photos by Harold Merton
Admiralty RV Resort
1485 N. Ellison Drive
San Antonio, TX 78251
210.647.7878
Reservations & Info: 1.800.999.7872
www.admiraltyrvresort.com
Email: stay@admiraltyrvresort.com
The Alamo
The Buckhorn Museum
Sea World