Son's Rio Cibolo — Hotel in Cibolo

My family & I stayed in two of the birdhouse/waterfront cabins (The Sparrow #15 & The Titmouse #16). We had a GREAT time.

Our cabins were super clean & the balconies added a nice effect. The beds aren’t super comfy, but it’s glamping so we always temper our expectations in that regard. Our AC worked well in both cabins. At one point I was in there during peak heat hours & it was nice & cool. My older kids would pop in & comment on how nice the cool air was. These rooms definitely provided a welcome reprieve from the heat for all members of my family. The hot plate & pots and pans were a nice convenience but they aren’t for cooking large meals. I was still able to feed a relatively large group with them so that was really nice. Having a shower and separate bathroom was a must for us. We stayed at another Son’s camp site last year & some people don’t respect community spaces. My older kids popped in to one of the shared bathrooms and it was NASTY. The Son’s staff were out there often trying to keep up but it is a tall order for anyone. It was the same issue this year at this site. Just be mindful to either manage your expectations or pay the extra $$ for your own facilities.

The cabins are right near the water or have really close river access, ours had stairs & a road access. We have some young, adventurous littles so we prefer to not have IMMEDIATE access to any body of water. So that’s why I chose these 2. Some of the others are slightly closer but again, we weren’t far from the water by any means.

Everything on site is within walking distance & there’s a small “convenience” shop on site with a small number of “necessities”.

Our kiddos had a great time in the pool, kayaking, playing volleyball, & at the rec center. It’s so quiet at night & that’s so amazing because our kids slept great!

I read some of the other comments complaining. MOST, not all, of the complaints in some of the lowest ratings were a combination of poor expectation management and failure to plan & research.

I’ll address some. The issues with getting someone out to the tent were hit or miss. The first time we had an issue they got out to us right away (one of our littles insisted on having the TV working & as it’s part of the room, we called to have them come out), my oldest also froze the AC when she tried to make it cool too fast when we first got in the room. They were at the cabins within 5 mins. The second time wasn’t so great. The battery in one of the doors died & it took them 2 phone calls & almost an hour wait to get us back into the room. When we called back the second time, the same girl acted like we’d never spoken to her in the first place. That was upsetting but we did get back in the room. Aside from these two instances we didn’t need any other assistance.

Yes, the cabins are tents. That information is provided on the website & it’s obvious in the pictures. I’m not sure what the other people were expecting, you’re glamping not staying at a resort or hotel.

Quiet hour is NICE. If you want to be loud all night, pick a place that lets you be loud all night. We picked this place because we want it quiet at night for our kids.

Okay, about proximity to restaurants or stores or “activities near by”, I found these humorous. When you pull the site up on Google Maps, you can clearly see it’s out in the “middle of nowhere”. As such, you’re coming to a location that advertises itself as a camping/glamping site. Nowhere on the website does it offer any of these services. It is BYO-anything you think you’ll need or want. Just do the research.

I genuinely think research & expectation management would have resolved a lot of the negative comments but not all. Sometimes bad experiences happen but that was not, nor has it ever been, the case for us when we stay at Son’s. Pics courtesy of my...

I would've loved to have given Sons Rio Cibolo a 5 star rating! Their saving grace? The onsite Manager Jeff! He went above and beyond for us! He and a man named Zach, and the AC guy. They truly tried their best. The reason I won't be back? The ladies in "Reservations", specifically Kendall. She brought me to tears within the first hour of checking in. The problem was evident the second we stepped foot into our waterfront cabin. We were greeted by pools of water coming up from the floor boards. Water that was somehow coming from the mini split mounted above the door. It was somehow leaking into the the floor and coming up through the floor boards. We had to constantly ask staff to bring bags of towels to the unit so we could put them down to soak everything up . That's how much water was coming up. You couldn't walk without being greeted with water. No telling how much mold is behind those walls and below the floor! If you are going to book, please beware of Cabin #7!! No one could figure out exactly what the problem was, and the temporary solution was to turn the unit off and install a portable window unit. It became very hot and uncomfortable fast. This was a Monday. When I was instructed to call Reservations to discuss my options the only thing they offered me was a late checkout (which is 1 hr passed regular checkout). I didn't want to have to stay there any longer than needed. The other option? 4 passes to another property. We are a family of 5, vacationing with another family so that wasn't going to work either. I asked for a discount for the inconvenience of us having to stay in that unit (I had originally asked to be moved to another unit similar to ours and they said it wasn't an option) and they said no because we weren't leaving and choosing to stay. Where were we going to go? I had booked this vacation back in Jan/Feb for 5 days and we had traveled several hours to get there. They had given us no choice but to stay. We dealt with this Monday - Wednesday with no repair in sight and having people come in and out of our unit at all hours of the day and night. This definitely put a damper on our vacation. We were really looking forward to a nice relaxing vacation and from the beginning it was anything but that. By Wednesday evening we were tired of being in a hot and uncomfortable unit. I noticed a lot of the other waterfront cabins were empty so I asked Jeff if we could be moved for our final 2 nights there. He said he would work it out and somehow was able to move us into another cabin and it was like night and day. Had we originally been checked into that cabin, it would have been an entirely different vacation (and review). A heartfelt thank you to Jeff! He truly is a gem! We are very disappointed with how this situation was handled. They absolutely knew about this issue, there is no way that water started leaking hours before our arrival. Not good business! Another thing for upper management....safety of your hardworking employees! We witnessed several dangerous situations. Employees climbing up broken ladders! We know this is in violation of OSHA compliance. In response to Owners comment: You did NOT offer to move us into another waterfront cabin. You offered to move us into a different type of tent for 1 night, then a different tent another night. Inconveniencing us by making us move MULTIPLE times. Not ok! And putting a portable unit does NOT remedy...

I stayed 2 nights in the Glamping tent last weekend Friday-Sunday. I enjoyed my stay and the employees were all very nice and helpful during my time there. I went Solo on this trip and I felt safe at the property and everyone I encountered were very nice and friendly. I did my due diligence and thoroughly researched this resort before booking. Read other google reviews and find out as much as you can! I feel like many of the negative reviews here are because people are expecting more than what is offered here. If you go during a weekend, expect this resort to be fully booked with many people. If you want a Cabana don't wait until the last minute to reserve. If your not into only having basic amenities, stay somewhere else. That being said this place was way above and beyond camping in a tent. I read ahead of time that the beds were basic and hard. So i brought an egg crate mattress pad for this. Each tent has a microwave and small refrigerator, coffee pot, heat plate, and cooking essentials. The tent I stayed in (D) was clean and did not have a mildew smell. I read elsewhere that someones tent did. It can happen depending on the time of the year I suppose. But it goes with the territory! Mix a canvas tent with water and high temps and that is what can happen. The Glamping tents do not have a bathroom and you use the bathroom/shower trailers located nearby. Yes, at the end of the day, after everyone has been in and out they can need refreshing(cleaning) Also, they are not Air conditioned so they will be hot during the day in Summer. They are ventilated. I took my showers in the morning after they were cleaned and before if grew hot and I had no problem with that what so ever. The A/C in my Glamping tent was very good. I never got hot and slept very well. I locked my tent at night with the lock provided just for added peace of mind. I was never really worried. The pool is located directly in front of these tents, so be prepared for loud children and people having a good time and also folks with music. As soon as the 11:00 quiet time came, all noise ended and I slept very well. The Creek was nice and beautiful. If you buy a wristband to use the equipment that day, do go early in the morning and pick out what you want to use for the day. If you don't you will have to wait until something is returned. Everything is on a first come first serve basis. If you are aware of this ahead of time you will not be disappointed. As I said before, find out all the things that are pertinent before you go and you will not come away with disappointment. Yes, this resort can be pricey. Know what to expect before you go. I enjoyed a nice peaceful stay and also met nice people. I had fun in the water all day and also enjoyed people watching. If you love the outdoors and staying on the water all day then this place is for you! I would like to go back with friends and stay in the nicer Birdhouse cabins. They looked amazing! So yes, I...