place to stay close to concert in St. Louis
 

I understand that the Dixie Chicks and James Taylor will be playing a concert for MoveOn (an organization dedicated to getting President Bush out of office) on October 6. Would this most likely be at the Savvis or the Pageant? Is there a hotel within walking distance - or close driving distance - of this venue?

James Taylor usually plays the UMB Bank Pavilon when he's in town. MO is a swing state so it won't be as well attended as perhaps the same concert in California. Anyways, my guess is UMB or the Pageant - probably not Savvis. These venues are all quite a distance apart; I'd suggest you wait until they announce the local before making hotel arrangements. You won't have any trouble getting rooms at any of these locations at the last minute.

Thanks, Pammer -
That's why they're doing these concerts, the way I understand it. - To try to raise money to swing the swing states their way! Could you recommend a hotel near the UMB Bank Pavilion? Thanks again.

I am anxious for them to announce where these concerts will be held, also. I adore James Taylor and would go to great lengths to see him anywhere, it being for a good cause makes it even better.

Trust me, there are certainly enough people in Missouri who want Bush out of office to fill up a concert arena.

I'm not sure they'd want to have an outdoor concert in October, so maybe not UMB Pavilion. The Pagaent is way too small - I'll be disappointed if they have it there since it will sell out too fast. Savvis is a possibility, in which case you can stay anywhere downtown and easily get to the show. The Sheraton is right across the street from Savvis.

EricaS -
Moveon.org has a place where you can sign up for more details. I'll bet you're right about the Savvis. They expect large crowds.

If it's at UMS Bank Pavillion (formerly called Riverport Amphitheatre)here are some suggestions:
Harrahs Casino is closest and they just opened another hotel tower. Their rates during the week can be very good.

There's a Holiday Inn in the Riverport complex but they're usually pretty full with business travelers.

There's a Sheraton on the north side of I-70.

There's also a Courtyard about 1.5 miles away just past the St. Louis Rams complex on the outer road.

On the St. Charles side of the river there's a Comfort Suits.

If you're a Red Roof Inn fan the one at 270/St. Charles Rock Road attracts a pretty dicey crowd. (worse than usual)

If you do a search enter Maryland Heights for the city.

Thanks, Dweebe!
I hope they hurry up and announce the location so I can make plans. Holiday Inn or Harrah's sounds good.

Okay, it's going to be at the Fox Theater on N. Grant. The Marriott is 1.12 miles away according to Expedia. Is there anything closer? Is this a bad area in which to walk at night?

I don't think there are any hotels closer to the Fox. It is not an area i would want to walk in.

Will you be driving to St. Louis? If so I would probably stay close to Union Station and drive up to the Fox. There is a Marriott close to Union Sta., I think that may be the one you are referring to. At Union Sta. there is a Hyatt (with a restored lobby that was originally part of the train station), and across the street is a Drury Inn, and a Hampton Inn close as well. These would all be located on Market St.

There are a lot of private parking lots around the Fox. on concert nights as I recall parking is about $6. The Fox is a 1920s theatre with an ornate interior--it's fun to walk around in the corridors and go to the different levels.

Isn't the Fox on GRAND, not Grant?

The area around the Fox is pretty dicey but when there's something going on at the Fox or at Powell Hall (home of the St. Louis Symphony) there's safety in numbers.

The Fox is a beautiful theater. If they're allowing cameras in the concert make sure to bring yours along to take some pictures of the lobby and other areas.

There's not a hotel nearby where you can stay at and then walk right to the Fox. Everything will require a car or cab ride.

The closest I can think of is the Hampton Inn on Market. It's in the area called midtown. About two blocks west of Union Station it's a short drive to the Fox.

If money's no object you can stay at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel in the Central West End. On equal to the Ritz and the Westin in quality. Tons of stuff to do right in the area. Once again a short cabride or drive.

There's also a cruddy little Best Western that's also in the CWE. Looks old and smells funny but always seems busy.

There's the new Parkway Hotel that's part of the Wash U./Barnes/Jewish/Childrens hospital complex. It's more meant for visiting dctors and patient families but looks to be very nice and there' no reason you can't stay there. It's less than a year old.

Also: book your room right now. October 6 will be the start of the baseball playoffs and since the Cardinals are ahead by 13.5 games they are a shoe-in to be playing. I know that many downtown hotels are already booked solid for that time.

Tickets go on sale Saturday August 21 at 10 am for this concert (Fox Theater). I got mine already through the presale to the Dixie Chicks fan club but wanted those who helped me here to know in case interested. A few hotels are booked already but I found a room at Hampton Inn.

Oh also, the tickets are purchased through metrotix.com. It's kind of a hassle to use their website and you have to register (free) so best to do that before the tickets become available as you have to have a password and all sorts of rigamarole.

You could also try the Cheshire Lodge, which is an older but still respectable place fashioned after an English manor. It's across Skinker Blvd. from Forest Park, close to Washington University. We were there for a Cardinals' game downtown, and they provided a free shuttle service. That would probably take you to the Fox, but you might want to call and ask them. They took us to Busch Stadium at a pre-arranged time, then picked us up after dinner, whenever we called for a ride back. It saved driving in bad traffic and finding a place to park. It's a nice enough place, and we got a great rate of $106.

The Cheshire is not a bad place. It is on the old side but has a lot of charm. However since the Presidential Debate will be at Wash U. on Friday Oct 8th I would bet the Cheshire would be sold out since it is not very far from the campus. Plus I live halfway between the Cheshire and Wash U. and there's been talk of a lot of traffic restrictions and security in this area during the couple of days leading up to the debate.

Yes, Cheshire runs a shuttle to Cardinal games. But looking at the calendar the Cards will be playing a playoff game the night of the concert so that would take presedence.

dweebe, I love your neighborhood! When we stayed at the Cheshire in August, we'd walk to Kaldi's for coffee in the mornings, in the charming DeMun area. We had a great dinner one night at Jimmy's there, too. What a great neighborhood. (My husband graduated from CBC eons ago, I graduated from Rosati-Kain, and my sister from Wash U.-- so our hearts are still in St. Louis.)