Hyatt Vacation Club’s Wild Oak Ranch in San Antonio, Texas, offers a secluded, nature-focused escape that feels authentically Texan. It sits on a sprawling 39-acre property, roughly 15 miles from both the airport and tourist attractions like the Alamo, and features a restaurant, lazy river and nature trail.
Even though it’s far from the hustle and bustle of downtown, there’s no shortage of things to do. As a homesick Texan, I felt like the property’s laid-back charm and fun activities were a warm welcome back.
Wild Oak Ranch covered my stay and meals, but the opinions expressed in my review are my own and not influenced by the resort.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
Not officially Hyatt, but bookable with Hyatt points
Although Hyatt Vacation Club carries the Hyatt name, it’s a separate entity from Hyatt Hotels and Resorts that offers timeshare ownership. If you don’t own a timeshare, you can also pay for a stay with cash or use World of Hyatt points.
Hyatt hotels fall into one of eight categories. The higher the category, the more points it will cost to stay there. Wild Oak Ranch is a category 4 hotel, so rooms will normally start at 15,000 points, though you might be able to snag a 12,000-point night with an off-peak rate. A peak night will cost 18,000 points. Between June and September 2025, I found nightly rates between $160 for an off-peak night and $222 for a peak night.
World of Hyatt Credit Card
Rates & Fees
Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card
Rates & Fees
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Rates & Fees
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
Rates & Fees
Sign-up bonus
Earn up to 60,000 Bonus Points. Earn 30,000 Bonus Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases in your first 3 months from account opening. Plus, up to 30,000 more Bonus Points by earning 2 Bonus Points total per $1 spent in the first 6 months from account opening on purchases that normally earn 1 Bonus Point, on up to $15,000 spent.
Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $5,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Sign-up bonus
• 4 points per $1 at Hyatt hotels and resorts.
• 2 points per $1 on dining, airline tickets purchased directly from the airline, gym memberships, and local transit and commuting.
• 1 point per $1 on all other eligible purchases.
• 3 points per $1 on dining.
• 2 points per $1 on travel.
• 1 point per $1 on rent payments up to 100,000 points per calendar year.
Note: You must use the card 5 times each statement period to earn points. If you do not make at least 5 transactions in a statement period you’ll earn a flat 250 points when you use your Bilt World Elite Mastercard® Credit Card to pay rent through the Bilt app or website.
• 5 points per $1 on travel booked through Chase.
• 3 points per $1 on dining (including eligible delivery services and takeout), select streaming services and online grocery purchases (not including Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs).
• 2 points per $1 on other travel.
• 1 point per $1 on other purchases.
• 10 points per $1 on Chase Dining, hotels and car rentals purchased through Chase.
• 5 points per $1 on flights purchased through Chase.
• 3 points per $1 on other travel and dining not booked with Chase.
• 1 point per $1 on other purchases.
🤓Nerdy Tip
SS values Hyatt points at 2.2 cents, so Wild Oak Ranch isn’t the best value you can get out of Hyatt points. But if you need to offload some points, or paying cash just isn’t in the budget, this isn’t a bad deal either. For instance, if you have the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card, you can book travel through Chase at a rate of 1.25 cents. If you transfer those points to Hyatt instead and book an off-peak room that normally costs $160, your points would be worth over 1.3 cents.
Location
Wild Oak Ranch is well within city limits, but the resort feels pretty secluded and provides a nice escape from the crowds in downtown San Antonio.
The nature trail at the hotel. (Photo by Caitlin Mims)
While you won’t have quite the same experience at a resort in a city as you would in smaller Texas Hill Country towns, the location just can’t be beat. It’s quite incredible to have a large hotel property with so many outdoor activities this close to an airport and only a 10-minute drive to the nearest HEB, a popular grocery chain based in the city.
Rooms
Wild Oak Ranch rooms range in size from studios to three-bedroom suites. All the suites have a full kitchen and a balcony and most also have a washer and dryer. The studio rooms have a kitchenette.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
I stayed in a one-bedroom suite and was pleasantly surprised how spacious it was. Depending on when you book, nightly rates can range from around $200 to $300. Cash will likely be a better option for this room, since you’ll need to shell out 21,000 to 27,000 Hyatt points to stay here.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
The kitchen is also very large for a hotel suite, and it would be easy to cook a full meal here.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
The bathroom is massive, with a shower, tub and long vanity that would easily hold everyone’s toiletries. I also appreciated that there were entrances to the bathroom from both the bedroom and the common area.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
Dining
Since most rooms have full kitchens, this hotel is definitely geared towards cooking more than dining out. But there is one restaurant on the property, J.B.’s Poolside Restaurant, which has a casual, pub-like vibe and offers southwestern cuisine. There’s nothing particularly unique about the restaurant’s fare, but I did enjoy the tacos I ordered.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
The Grounds
The resort’s 39 acres feature a nature trail, a firepit area, an indoor/outdoor pool, a lazy river and lawn games.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
Even though you can swim outside in an unheated pool for a lot of the year in San Antonio, I love that the pool is both heated and partially indoors. Even if it’s unseasonably cold when you visit, you’ll still be able to swim.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
Kids will also enjoy the slide.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
But my favorite feature, by far, is the lazy river. Even though it was a man-made pool, the trees lining the path reminded me of floating the Guadalupe River 45 miles north in New Braunfels.
(Photo by Caitlin Mims)
Sure, you won’t get quite as spectacular a view at the lazy river, but you also can’t order a cocktail while floating the Guadalupe. My only complaint: It was a little hard to snag an adult-sized tube.
🤓Nerdy Tip
You can order drinks at the pool and lazy river directly from your phone. I ordered a margarita and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the ingredients and overall taste. It’s rare to have a poolside drink that could rival something from a fancy cocktail bar.
Activities
Wild Oak Ranch also offers activities that kids and adults will enjoy. During my trip, we did a resin-making class, a wine tasting featuring Texas wines, and lessons on how to make guacamole and tortillas.
Like any self-respecting Texan, I’ve been making guacamole since I was a kid (though I’ll never say no to making — and eating — more). But I loved the tortilla-making class. I’ve also made tortillas before, but they’ve always turned out pretty tough. The instructor taught us how to make softer, chewier flour tortillas by adding baking soda.
The guacamole-making class. (Photo by Caitlin Mims)
Is it worth visiting?
If you’re going to San Antonio for its rich history, staying downtown will be closer to the action and give you more of a quintessential San Antonio experience. But if you’re primarily looking for a quieter vacation, Wild Oak Ranch allows you to enjoy nature with all the convenience of staying in a city. Texans will likely feel immediate familiarity with this hotel’s design and activities, while people from out-of-state will get a slice of the Lone Star State without ever having to leave the grounds.