This Texas Resort Just Added a 2.2-Acre Beach Lagoon — in the Middle of Hill Country
Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort wraps a $100 million, three-year renovation with a Crystal Lagoons-powered swimming lagoon, luxury villas, and a new lobby bar.
The Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Villas in San Antonio has finished a $100 million overhaul, and its centerpiece is hard to miss: a 2.2-acre human-made lagoon powered by Crystal Lagoons technology, complete with white sand beaches, cabanas, and water sports. It's the first Crystal Lagoons installation in the central U.S. resort market.
Called The Big Spring, the lagoon anchors a sweeping renovation that rolled out in phases over three years. The property — which sits on what was once the Rogers-Wiseman cattle ranch — overhauled all 522 guestrooms in 2023, adding hardwood floors, 65-inch TVs, and walk-in showers. A new lobby cocktail bar called Woodbine Bar arrived in 2024, built around the flavors of the surrounding Hill Country.
The final phase brought five standalone luxury villas in summer 2025, each named after a historic Hill Country river: the Guadalupe, Nueces, Brazos, San Saba, and Pecos. A waterfront event venue called Rancher Hall and new Toptracer Range golf bays round out the additions.
The investment reflects a broader trend in the U.S. resort market: legacy properties pouring capital into experiential amenities — lagoons, villas, wellness centers — to compete with the new-build luxury resorts opening across the Caribbean and Mexico. For Hyatt, which has been aggressively expanding its Inclusive Collection internationally, the Hill Country project shows the company isn't neglecting its domestic portfolio either.
San Antonio's hospitality sector has been on a tear, with the city's hotels generating $7.2 billion annually and more than 2,300 new rooms currently under development.
