St. Louis hotel help

Hello,
Dh and I are going to be going to St. Louis for Memorial Day weekend (wanted some place we could use our SW CP on, that was a direct flight, so St. Louis it is). I am trying to decide where to stay. I will be using my AA miles for a hotel, and am looking at the Moonrise, or the Magnolia (and a couple other downtown hotels). We will have a car, and will be visiting downtown attractions (Arch, Courthouse, maybe a stadium tour) as well as the Budweiser Brewery, probably the Zoo, and maybe one of the historic sites. Our main decision on where to stay, is where is better to be in the evening. We like to walk to dinner, so we can have dinner and drinks and not worry about driving after. Thoughts on these areas, and which is the better choice? Or someplace I haven't thought of that would be good for walking in the evenings?

Thanks!

All I can tell you is do not stay in the Hampton Inn in Collinsville.

It was quite possibly the worst hotel I've ever been to. The rug was damp. The sheets were damp. The bathroom was dirty. There was a stain on the chair. Just horrendous.

However, that was 2013, so maybe it's better now.

FlightlessDuck said:

All I can tell you is do not stay in the Hampton Inn in Collinsville.

It was quite possibly the worst hotel I've ever been to. The rug was damp. The sheets were damp. The bathroom was dirty. There was a stain on the chair. Just horrendous.

However, that was 2013, so maybe it's better now.

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ewwwwwwwww

The Moonrise is really cool! Being on the Delmar Loop you can walk to all kinds of things - several different restaurants, etc.

We've stayed at the Hyatt Regency by the Old Courthouse and the Arch, and it was nice (also convenient!)

St. Louis is one of my favorite cities, enjoy!

xlsm said:

The Moonrise is really cool! Being on the Delmar Loop you can walk to all kinds of things - several different restaurants, etc.

We've stayed at the Hyatt Regency by the Old Courthouse and the Arch, and it was nice (also convenient!)

St. Louis is one of my favorite cities, enjoy!

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Reading Trip Advisor they make it sound like the Moonrise is only for the young hipsters who like to party, do you think that's accurate? We are anything but that, more like 50 LOL.

The Moonrise is on the Eastern boundary of the U-City Loop, where there is quite a bit of nightlife (though the block that the Moonrise is on is the very last one in the concentrated entertainment area, with a wee bit of a "light gap" between it and the rest of the Loop proper.) From the Loop, it is about a 15-20 minute drive to downtown, depending on traffic, and about 5 minutes to the Forest Park attractions, which are directly SE of there.

The Magnolia is the former Mayflower; 2 blocks south from the Convention Center downtown. Restaurants that you might want to visit in that area are clustered on Washington Avenue about 2 blocks west. These restaurants are generally a bit fancier (and more creative in their cuisine) than those in the Loop.

Another area with walkable restaurants is the Central West End. This is the neighborhood just east of Forest Park (University City is on the West side of Forest Park.) It is anchored by the Washington Univ Medical Center. CWE restaurants tend to more cozy than those downtown or in the Loop, but here you are closest to The Grove, which, while not precisely walkable to CWE hotels, is a very short Uber/Lyft back to them. The Grove is the hottest area for more "edgy" nightlife in St. Louis at the moment. Best located hotels *in* the CWE are the Royal Sonesta and the Holiday Inn Express on Lindell. (The CWE also is home to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis (we call it the New Cathedral), one of very few churches in the US that it is truly worth it to visit just for the art. The ENTIRE interior of the cathedral is covered in mosaic tile art; it is one of the largest mosaic installations in the world, and took 19 years to complete.)

If fine dining is a priority for you, another option may be hotels in Clayton. It isn't an entertainment district as such, but it tends to be where a lot of the more affluent workers are located during the day, so there are quite a few really nice restaurants in Clayton, particularly on the north side of the area. Hotels there include the Ritz-Carlton, the Seven Gables Inn, the Clayton Plaza, the Sheraton Clayton Plaza (those are different hotels), and the Hampton Inn Clayton, on Meramec Ave. (Any other hotels that mention the Galleria are NOT walking distance to Clayton restaurants. The Galleria Mall is close to Clayton, but not THAT close, technically it is in Richmond Heights.)

I *really* hate to mention this, because this is a really fun & affordable city to visit, and generally very safe, *but we are currently experiencing something of a wave of street crime in St. Louis; carjackings and car break-ins in particular, and some muggings on less-crowded Metrolink station platforms. Please make sure that you spend the extra to park your car in a secured garage when downtown.

PS: Having now read the post before mine, the Grove is probably not going to be your style. The Moonrise is a bit hipster, but not insanely so; it caters primarily to those visiting for concerts at the Pageant, or those visiting Washington University, which is just up the street. (Oh, and you needn't worry about Collinsville; that's an hour over the river in the cornfields of Illinois.)

elgerber said:

Reading Trip Advisor they make it sound like the Moonrise is only for the young hipsters who like to party, do you think that's accurate? We are anything but that, more like 50 LOL.

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My mother-in-law and her long term boyfriend (of 9 years, but I never know what to refer to him as, LOL) are both over 60 and loved it. They are not hipsters or partiers (unless drinking wine with their friends while sitting around a table talking is partying).
They were also going to a concert nearby, so it was very convenient for them overall. That's part of what they liked about it.

Admittedly, when we visit we are usually driving to dinner rather than walking, because when DH is there on business we'll be closer to the office in Chesterfield.

The above poster has great location info for you, and makes a good point about safety too. Definitely pay to park in a garage downtown if you can!! We've never had any issues with street or lot parking, but it was mostly during the day or for a show at the Fox. We have never felt unsafe walking in the city, but just like anywhere, be aware of your surroundings.

Thanks for all the help so far, I need it!
We are not fine dining people either. Sports Bars, Tap House, BBQ, Pizza, etc is our kind of places. Not fast food, but not upscale either. Does that influence any answers? I love wine, dh loves beer. But we are not out late partiers, a few drinks and done. We tend to get up and moving fairly early on vacation, to get as much done as we can during the day.

And a couple more thoughts. Thank you for mentioning the street crime. I have heard that, but I feel safer asking about it here than Trip Advisor LOL. If we do the Magnolia (or that same area), is it ok to walk around there, between there and the stadium/arch areas, until 9 or 10? If we stay there, we would likely just valet the car (but know to leave it empty).
Is Ballpark Village a place to go for a non Cards, but big baseball fan? We have contemplated a game, but not sure yet.

If you are looking for more casual eats downtown, the area more toward the Ballpark has more of those (as does Soulard, the historic area about a mile southeast of the ballpark.) Ballpark Village is going to be fine for you if you like sports bars, it's essentially a sports bar on super-steroids. (If you've ever gone to one of the big sports-themed restaurants at Citywalk by Universal, think that, but about 2x the size.) The Cards are the focus, of course, but they are happy to take your money regardless of your home team (though you MAY get some side-eye if you dress in Cubs gear. ) There are several chain hotels close to the Ballpark on the South side of downtown, you may want to consider those as well.

I would say that the area around the Magnolia should be fine up until 9; 10 may be pushing it a bit more. Weekends and days when big conventions are in town are more likely to have people on the street that late. What I would say is look at the street when you leave the restaurant; if it looks mostly deserted, call a ride.

PS: for reference, the Fox Theatre isn't downtown. It's in Midtown, in the Grand Ave Arts district. The poster who considered it downtown probably did so because she was coming from Chesterfield, which is the VERY far Western suburbs. Lots of locals that she would encounter out there often refer to anything inside the city limits as "downtown", but there is a lot of ground to cover inside the city limits that is nowhere near downtown in real terms.

We visited for 3-4 days 2 years ago and stayed at the Hilton by the ballpark. It was an easy walk to the Arch and riverboat. We had maybe a mile walk to a BBQ place featured on Food Network called Sugarfire and it was great. About another mile in a different direction was a Hard Rock Cafe. We did the zoo and Grant’s Farm and went to a Cards game.

Would you say closer to the ballpark is a safer area at night, there are Cards games each night we are there.
Is the Moonrise area a safer area than Magnolia? Not that I know if we’d be out after 9 anyway LOL.
Sugarfire was on my list of possible meal options, sounded delicious.

We are staying at the Drury Plaza Hotel on 4th Street. It looks to be right by the Arch and close to the ballpark, which are our two top priorities this summer when we visit St. Louis. I know nothing about St. Louis as I’ve never been there before, but this hotel got great reviews on Trip Advisor.

disny_luvr said:

We are staying at the Drury Plaza Hotel on 4th Street. It looks to be right by the Arch and close to the ballpark, which are our two top priorities this summer when we visit St. Louis. I know nothing about St. Louis as I’ve never been there before, but this hotel good great reviews on Trip Advisor.

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We stayed there last year and it was great. I love drury's in general because of the free breakfast.

MochaDrinker said:

We stayed there last year and it was great. I love drury's in general because of the free breakfast.

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Good to know. I've actually never heard of this hotel chain before, but based off the reviews, it sounds great. We love free breakfast! If I remember correctly, there is also some free offerings in the evening as well. I'm not sure if we'll be at the hotel to take advantage of the evening offerings, but it is a nice perk!

On game nights the south side of downtown near the stadium is very safe before and right after the game; it is during the game that the thieves will target cars, especially cars from out of state, and because of that there are stepped up police patrols around that area that do take a bit of law-enforcement attention away from the rest of downtown. Most car break-ins are looking for weapons that might be hidden in the vehicle.

University City (where the Moonrise is) is more frequented by young people, so you do get instances of teens being a nuisance at times. However, there is a street curfew for teens there.

Drury Hotels are a very well-run chain of medium-price, limited service hotels that is based in Missouri. Always very clean and nicely furnished.

I'm not a big fan of Sugarfire myself (the original is down the street from my office), but it does have a very loyal following. (I prefer Pappy's.)

Thanks everyone, I have seen great reviews of the Drury hotels, unfortunately they are not something I can book with miles/points. I could also do the Hilton either Ballpark or Arch or the Westin by the stadium. Also the Holiday Inn Express Central West End. Is there good walkable food near here?
Which area is more interesting in the early evening hours?
Thank you! I have never had such a hard time selecting a hotel before, this is silly.

Of the 3 downtown hotels you mentioned in the post above, the Westin is the nicest of them. There is good walkable food in the CWE, but as a general rule, it will be a bit more high-end stuff than you'll find near the Stadium, including such standouts as Juniper and Vicia. Certainly the CWE is prettier, architecturally speaking. (In late spring it will be covered in flowers.)

P-D food critic Ian Froeb's annual Top 100 Restaurants List just came out a couple of weeks ago. Maybe reading some of the listings will help you decide. (There is a map view option on the page.) https://graphics.stltoday.com/apps/stl100-2019/map.html

Something else you might do is look at Pinterest or Google Images and search for the neighborhoods. Many people post photos there.

Some of the rooms at the Hilton by the ballpark can see inside the stadium if you are high enough to the top.

STLDisney_Freak said:

Some of the rooms at the Hilton by the ballpark can see inside the stadium if you are high enough to the top.

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And you can see the infamous "Fountain of Blood" from nearly all of the windows on the north side of the building. An organization I belong to held a conference there during baseball season a few years ago, and the out-of-town attendees were horrified by it.
(Officially it is the Kiener Plaza Fountain; the city dyes the water red during big baseball events, and it looks for all the world like blood. It is a LARGE fountain.)