At The Gunter Hotel in San Antonio, some of the best architecture was hiding behind past renovations. Valentina Castellon, Hospitality Interior Design Leader, joins host AJ Paron of SANDOW Design Group on the season six premiere of Once Upon A Project to unpack how DLR Group uncovered it.

Valentina pulls back the curtain on the 130-year-old hotel’s revival: original plaster and columns restored, blues legend Robert Johnson’s Room 414 recordings woven into the design story, and moments of discovery planted throughout, from a speakeasy behind a painting to a record lending library that sends vinyl up to the guestrooms. She also gets candid about juggling 72 room types, recovering from a mid-install flood, and the owner trust that let the team go bold.

The payoff came on a stay with her family. Valentina checked in incognito and heard the front desk deliver the hotel’s full pitch. “Having the person who checked us in tell us so passionately about the concept of the hotel – it was just such a proud moment,” she said.

Listen to the entire episode of Once Upon A Project here.