LISTENING IN – SWEET HOME SAN ANTONIO: Texas hotel celebrates blues legend

By MICHAEL BAGINSKI/ The Gunter hotel in San Antonio, Texas, wears its musical heritage on its sleeve. So much so that every room in the 116-year-old property (part of the Marriott portfolio since 2018) is furnished with its own turntable and copy of a record album by Robert Johnson, “King of the Delta Blues.”

That’s because Johnson – considered one of the most influential Blues artists of all time – stayed at the Gunter in 1936 and composed some of his limited repertoire of only 29 songs there (before he was murdered in mysterious circumstances), including the now classic “Sweet Home Chicago” (see video below).

Specifically, the singer, who is said to have notoriously sold his soul to the devil at the Crossroads (in what is now Clarksdale, Mississippi), stayed in room 414 at the Gunter, now remembered as the Robert Johnson “artist” suite.

A favourite of music aficionados, the suite should be booked ahead, say hotel staff, who cite rocker John Mellencamp as one of its famous guests.

Johnson is also remembered in the 311-room hotel’s Bar 414 Speakeasy, found behind a secret door off the lobby; and he will also be celebrated at a birthday party in the hotel on May 8. Live music is played Thursday through Saturday nights at the Bar.

If guests don’t care for the Blues, records of other persuasions can be borrowed from the hotel’s vinyl library, but don’t expect to find any Taylor Swift albums on the shelves (we did see a U2 disc).

Two staff vinyl ambassadors are available to help guests navigate the eclectic choices available if desired.

Barber shop

Unrelated to music, the hotel – located a short distance from the Alamo – also boasts a historic working barber’s shop on the lower level. The vintage venue has traditional swirling barber poles, chairs, sinks, and other related accessories. The only thing not the same as when the shop opened in 1909 is the price.

Here’s one of our favourite versions of “Sweet Home Chicago,” courtesy of Bonnie Raitt, and friends, suitably including Texas blues artist Gary Clark, Jr.