mitch1971

We are flying from Ottawa to St Louis, MO at the end of September for 5 days. Two of those days we will be staying in Carlyle, Illinois but the other 3 days we want to stay in St Louis to do some shopping and sight seeing. Can anyone recommend a nice hotel to stay in which would be central to some good shopping etc, not too expensive, but clean and neat. Thank you for any help. I can't wait!!!

mitch1971

Nobody??

dcd

Mitch, I've lived in StL for over 25 years so maybe I can help. There are 2 general areas here where most of the sightseeing is centered. One is downtown StL, that is, the area along the Mississippi River. This is where you'll find the arch, casinos, the stadiums for baseball, football and hockey, the Anheiser Busch Brewery, Laclede's Landing which is where the younger crowds enjoy the night life and there's some shopping, and Union Station where there's shopping and a few restaurants. It's not hard to find a wide selection of good restaurants downtown in all price ranges.

The other area is due west and about a 10-15 minute drive from downtown. I refer to this area as midtown. It's where you'll find Forest Park which is where our world famous zoo and impressive Art Museum are located, the Science Center, and the Loop which is a vibrant area for shopping and eating and is very popular with the younger crowd although we older folks enjoy it, too.

In general, the shopping in StL is pretty much confined to the malls and we have some good ones, most of which are located away from downtown. There are some nice ones close to the midtown area.

Now, just outside of the city in the northwest part of the region, there's a city called St. Charles which has a main street that's dedicated to small shops and casual eating. This area also has casinos. To get there from midtown by car is about 20-25 minutes or so.

As for a hotel, I think it depends on which area you prefer to use as a base. I have not stayed in any of the area hotels so I'm not the best source of info for that. When I travel, I tend to rely on www.tripadvisor.com for recommendations. Then I cross reference the hotels I like there with forums such as this one to make a final choice.

Hope this helps and enjoy your stay!

mitch1971

Thanks so much for replying to my post. It sounds to me like maybe midtown would be a good place to stay, I think. I will look into it more.

mitch1971

Does anybody have any other comment or advice?

Ozarksbill

mitch1971...just posted on a thread about Hannibal which included ideas about St. L. I'd say cdc pretty well describes the hotels and areas. In the past we stayed in motels off the Interstate at about Hampton Blvd.

Last time we went to St. L. for
"Phantom of the Opera" at the Fox and a Cardinal baseball game staying at the Holiday Inn downtown which was quite satisfactory with good parking, also walking distance to downtown and ballpark. We did use our car to tour Scott Joplin house, Missouri Botanical Gardens, Soulard Market, Old Cathedral (caution: trams up the nearby Arch have stranded some folks recently). Great lunch at Sqwire at Lafayette Pk. Also dinner at Dooleys on the Hill (so many good choices for Italian in that area).

So you are coming from Ottawa, Canada?
Have son-in-law from Monreal.

I could recommend alot in St. Louis and area if interested.

ozarksbill in Springfield, MO
([email protected])

Ozarksbill

Added note: since you are flying to St. L. there are of course many motels nearer the airport. I don't think we said that. And there is special transport downtown.
ozarksbill

dcd

Mitch, I think the best answer will come from other travelers and trip advisor is a great resource for that. If you go to the link below, you'll find all the available hotels, their estimated cost and location, and travelers' reviews. If you plan to see our top attractions, you'll be spending time in both the downtown and midtown areas. So you really can't go wrong with staying in either locale.

I'd map out an itinerary of the places you'd like to visit and then select a hotel in the area where you plan to spend most of your time that meets your needs and budget.

As you read the reviews of the various hotels in the link below, I think you'll discover things to see and do here and the pros and cons of staying in the different areas.



BTW, I forgot to mention that our Missouri Botanical Garden is world class and well worth a visit if you're interested in such things. It's located between downtown and midtown.



http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g4...ri-Hotels.html

japw82

We like staying downtown and using the light rail. Our last stay was at the Hyatt at Union Station, which we won by bidding on Priceline ($50 bid). The hotel room was very nice, clean, and there is a light rail stop on site. Go to either the bidding for travel or better bidding websites to see what hotels are being offered in the downtown area and the bids that have been accepted on Priceline. Hope this helps.

CAPH52

I'm guessing you're staying with friends or family in Carlyle? If not, you might want to consider the Microtel.

My husband and I grew up in Breese, which is 9 miles from Carlyle. My MIL still lives there, so we're in the area several times a year. If all of my husbands siblings are home, we sometimes need to stay elsewhere. And Microtel has become our favorite. It's right on the lake, so the lakeside rooms on the 2nd and 3rd floors have nice views.

CAPH52

I wrote that post quickly and later realized a couple of things. First of all, I left out the apostrophe in husbands!

More importantly, I probably shouldn't have said that the Microtel is right on the lake. It's very close to the lake and it faces the lake. But, technically, it's not "right on the lake". The marina and marina parking lot are in between the Microtel and the lake.

mitch1971

Thank you so much for all the replies. You are all most helpful.

CAPH52
The reason we are going to Carlyle is because I am going to a chat meet with some people that I have talked to for a couple of years on Paltalk. Actually we are staying at the Microtel. That part is already booked. After the meet we want to do some shopping and touring in St Louis and area. We are going for a total of 5 days. I can't wait!!!

CAPH52

I think you'll like the Microtel. It's certainly no 5 star hotel. But, as I said, it's our favorite as far as what the area has to offer.

Unfortunately, the restaurant right near the hotel, Dockside, is mediocre at best. I wish I could recommend a good restaurant in Carlyle. But I really can't think of one. There's a restaurant in Keysport called Crossroads that's pretty good. But it's literally in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't begin to tell you how to get there. Although I'm sure the hotel would be able to.

Our favorite restaurant in the area is Popeye's Charhouse. It's in a very small town called St. Rose which is about 15 miles from Carlyle.

If you're in the mood for a burger, Wally's Drive-in in Breese is legendary!

Have fun!