Hi all--I have recently found out that I will be traveling to Saint Louis on business about once a month. I'm a female traveler, and I'm a little picky. I like a CLEAN hotel, not old, not "refurbished" (means, clean ashtrays). I can pay around $180 to $200 a night. I figured on the hotel at Union Station, but now I'm reading that its' pretty dated. Any suggestions? Thanks!!

Try the Ritz-Carlton in Clayton. It may be a bit over $200 (?) but it seems to be what you're looking for.

(Clayton is government center for St. Louis County.)

Check the Rant/Rave hotel section on St. Louis for other opinions.

The Chase-Park Plaza accross from the beautiful Forest Park is from the 20's so you probably wouldn't appreciate it. But, IMHO, it's a great place to stay. (I guess you would call it refurbished and the rooms are a little small, but I love it.)

If you're paying $200 a night for a hotel in St. Louis, it should be CLEAN!

The Hyatt at Union Square has two sections: the original side has "older" room but were very clean and wonderfully renovated. I was very pleased with my room on two trips. However, I do prefer the "older" rooms, they have a lot of charm.
The "newer" side is similar to any upscale hotel room--to me sort of dull. The in house resturant is very good. The lobby is remarkable-renovations in this area were done by master craftmen.Paints were matched by testing samples of originals found in the basement. Sitting in the lobby
to appreciated the atmosphere you can almost hear the train whistles
of yesteryear.

The Westin downtown, adjacent to Busch Stadium, is brand new and gorgeous.

Last poster had some good advice. Although the others are good choices, the Westin Coupples Station, is fantastic. The rooms are nicer than some $300 plus a day in Chicago. Marble and beautiful, beautiful style plus more space than most suite places. The windows overlook Busch Stadium and ours were arched and about 12 feet high. There was superlative service in addition. I'm planning another trip to St. Louis this summer just to revisit this hotel and enjoy another baseball game. The Drurys are nice but this is in a class by itself. The bathrooms are bigger than most entire rooms in New York. The huge shower, tub and vanities all separate and all in glass, marble, and granite type matierals. There is a delightful little decorative window between the shower and the sitting area of the bedroom. You should be able to get it in your price range. The valet service was excellent also.

The Ritz is only 206.00 if you book through a travel agent. You may even do better on Travelocity.

Where will you be doing business? If you will be downtown, I would go for the Westin.

If you want to be near Union Station, there is a new Sheraton nearby. It is in a restored building, but they basically gutted the building and put a new hotel inside the facade.

If you are going to be in Clayton, then the Ritz would be good.

I recently stayed at the Westin Cupples Station, just blocks from Union Station, and was extremely impressed.
The only hotel I've ever stayed in when in St. Louis is the Ritz Clayton.
I stayed at the Westin on the advice of a friend and was very surprised.
Very interesting design, far from cookie cutter business hotel design, with very large high ceilinged rooms, beautiful huge bath with humongous shower and separate tub, beautiful colors, nice work desk with expensive ergonomic chair.
While the surrounding area is not as nice as Clayton, I liked the hotel itself better than the Ritz. In fact, now that the Ritz is around 10 years old, it's looking a bit frayed in places.
I'll definitely stay at the Westin again next time.

Westin 100%! New, awesome rooms. Ultra clean. Good location. THE most comfortable beds ever. I LOVE this place. And an added bonus is that currently they are the ONLY 4 star property that comes up on Priceline. Normally can get it for about $50 to $65 a night that way if you want to save your company some money. Just a thought. But regardless of price this is a great option. Also you can catch the tram right there too.

I also really enjoyed dinner there. It was execellent.

HTH!
Molly

I too will be coming to St Louis on business in April and a friend told me to be careful where I stay as some downtown areas are dangereous at night. I was thinking of the Embassy Suites as I need a suite to conduct some business and don't want to have a bed visible.
Any advice?
Thank you in advance,
Vera