Haunted hotel guide · San Antonio, Texas

Plaza San Antonio Hotel (Former Marriott Plaza): The Lady in White and Her Cat

A garden hotel near La Villita, formerly the Marriott Plaza, where local ghost lore tells of a widow in a long white gown who still walks the grounds stroking her cat.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

2.2/5Haunted Rooms Score
4.5 acresOf gardens and historic houses
The gardensWhere the Lady is seen

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The Plaza San Antonio Hotel and Spa sits on four and a half acres at the corner of South Alamo Street and César Chávez Boulevard, where downtown meets the Southtown neighborhood. Many longtime visitors still know it as the Marriott Plaza, and for a short spell it was called the Otis. Since January 2024 it has been the Plaza San Antonio, San Antonio’s first Autograph Collection hotel, with 253 rooms, a spa and a garden bar beneath a 42-foot anaqua tree.

Its ghost story belongs to the garden. Three 19th-century houses stand on the grounds, and local ghost writers say one of them was home to a widow now known only as the Lady. She is described in a long white gown, holding a cat and stroking its head. The hotel itself does not talk about her, and the story rests on regional ghost books and guest reports rather than national coverage, so it sits lower in our guide to haunted hotels in San Antonio. It is still a lovely, quiet place to stay with a story attached.

Plaza San Antonio at a glance

2.2/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation2
History4
Ghost hunter access1
$$ · $150 to $300Pet friendly
  • Address 555 S Alamo St, San Antonio, TX 78205
  • Opened As the Plaza Nacional in 1979; later the Marriott Plaza and the Otis; reopened as the Plaza San Antonio in January 2024. The three houses on the grounds date from the 19th century.
  • Most haunted spots The gardens, the historic houses and the former fitness area
  • Best-known ghosts The Lady, a widow in a long white gown holding a cat
  • Booking the haunted room No specific room is linked to the Lady. Ask for a garden-view room, or the bungalow suite in one of the historic buildings.
  • Good to know 253 rooms. Pets up to 70 pounds, one per room. Valet parking only (about $61 to $70 a night). Corinne restaurant, Anaqua Garden Bar and a spa in the historic buildings.

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The ghosts of Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa

The Lady and her cat

The hotel’s ghost story centers on a woman remembered only as the Lady. According to Michael O. Varhola’s book Ghosthunting San Antonio, Austin, and Texas Hill Country, as summarized by America’s Haunted Roadtrip, she was a widow who lived in one of the historic houses that is now part of the hotel. She is usually seen in a long white dress or gown, holding her cat and gently stroking its head.

The darker part of the legend, as Varhola tells it, says she hanged herself and her cat in a room that was once her parlor and later became the hotel’s exercise room. No public record we could find confirms who she was or that any such death happened, so treat this as a ghost story told about the house rather than a piece of its history.

Where she has been seen

Sightings of the Lady are not limited to one room. The same accounts place her on the upper floors of the main hotel building, in employee-only areas of the basement and among the trees in the garden. The garden is the setting people return to most: a pale figure under the old trees at night, cat in her arms.

The grounds have changed since those stories were collected. The historic buildings now house the spa and a bungalow suite, so the room once described as her parlor may no longer be a gym.

Lights, drawers and a restless front desk

Staff stories from the Marriott Plaza years describe lights turning on and off by themselves and front-desk drawers sliding open as if pulled by an unseen hand. Stories about passengers getting on and off old, out-of-service elevators belong to the nearby Hotel Indigo, not this hotel, so be wary of tellings that mix the two.

None of these reports has been investigated publicly, and the hotel does not promote them. They are part of the property’s local reputation, collected mainly in Varhola’s regional ghost book.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • The gardens: Four and a half acres of lawns and old trees, including the 42-foot anaqua tree beside the Tyler House, where the hotel holds its 6 p.m. Anaqua Ritual. This is where the Lady is most often described. The Anaqua Garden Bar sits in the middle of it.
  • The historic houses: Three 19th-century buildings, all listed on the National Register of Historic Places according to the hotel. One is said to have been the Lady’s home. They now hold the spa and a bungalow suite.
  • Upper floors of the main building: Another place the Lady has been reported. Garden-view rooms look down over the old houses.
  • The former fitness area: The legend’s darkest spot, said to have been the Lady’s parlor. The layout has changed in recent renovations, so ask staff where the old gym was.

History of Plaza San Antonio Hotel & Spa

The hotel stands where downtown San Antonio meets Southtown, a few minutes’ walk from La Villita, Hemisfair and the Henry B. González Convention Center. The land around it holds some of the city’s 19th-century history, and the hotel was built around three historic houses rather than clearing them. According to the hotel, all three are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The hotel does not name them all on its site, but it does mention the Tyler House beside the anaqua tree, where a complimentary tea and cocktail ritual is held each evening at 6 p.m.

The modern hotel opened in 1979 as the Plaza Nacional, and the word plaza has been part of its name ever since. For many years it was the Marriott Plaza San Antonio, and it was briefly branded the Otis Hotel before owner and operator White Lodging announced a new identity in 2023.

After a full renovation it reopened on January 18, 2024, as the Plaza San Antonio Hotel and Spa, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection and the first hotel of that brand in the city. The renovation won Marriott’s 2024 Renovation Excellence Award. The historic buildings were repurposed for a day spa and a one-of-a-kind bungalow suite.

The anaqua tree that gives the garden bar its name was once listed in the American Forestry Association’s National Register of Big Trees. The hotel also keeps a pair of tandem bikes that guests can borrow during the day. Today it has 253 rooms, a resort-style pool, the restaurant Corinne and more than 21,000 square feet of event space.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Walk the gardens after dark. That is where the Lady is said to appear, and the grounds are at their most peaceful once the day visitors leave.
  • Ask for a garden-view room on an upper floor to look down over the old houses.
  • Book a treatment at the spa if you want to spend time inside one of the historic buildings.
  • The hotel is walking distance from La Villita and the River Walk, and 10 to 15 minutes on foot from the Alamo and the Menger.
  • If you are bringing a dog, the hotel allows one pet per room up to 70 pounds; check the current fee when you book.

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Frequently asked questions

Is the Plaza San Antonio Hotel haunted?

Local ghost lore says so. Regional ghost books tell of the Lady, a widow in a long white gown who holds a cat and is seen in the gardens and the upper floors, along with lights and drawers that move on their own. The hotel does not promote these stories.

Was the Plaza San Antonio the Marriott Plaza?

Yes. The hotel at 555 South Alamo Street opened in 1979 as the Plaza Nacional, was long known as the Marriott Plaza San Antonio and briefly as the Otis, and reopened as the Plaza San Antonio Hotel and Spa, Autograph Collection, in January 2024.

Who is the Lady at the Plaza San Antonio?

She is described as a widow who lived in one of the 19th-century houses now on the hotel grounds. The legend says she died in her parlor, later the gym. Nobody has identified her in historical records, so treat her as a ghost story.

Does the Plaza San Antonio allow pets?

Yes. The hotel allows one pet per room up to 70 pounds. Check the current pet fee when you book.

How far is the Plaza San Antonio from the Alamo?

It is about half a mile south of Alamo Plaza along South Alamo Street, a 10 to 15 minute walk, and even closer to La Villita and Hemisfair.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

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About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

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