Right, of course you would not be familiar w/ the hotels! :)

My question was re: the quality of the neighborhood.

For instance, if someone were coming to stay in Louisville, I would not recommend that person stay in the West End, nor in parts of the South End, despite how good of a deal he or she might be able to get there.

Since I'm on a budget and I'm finding a good deal at this hotel, my question is re: the neighborhood. :)

Thanks for all the tips and comments! You St. Louis locals are a GOD-SEND!

(I'm also glad to know I'm not the only person who overthinks these little adventures! Planning is half the fun!) :D

The neighborhood is safe. I would feel just fine having a family member or friend stay in that area.

It is just kind of "cookie cutter" area that could be any suburb in the country, nothing unique or special.

But, to just use a base to sleep, it is fine. You will just be driving a lot.
Also, You may want to go the Shaws Garden. There is a huge climatron with a butterfly house with in. Japanese garden, etc..kids like it too.
We also have a wonderful Science Center - focused on kids. It is free to get into. RIght next to Forest Park. There is an OmniMAX theatre attached to it too. There is also a planetarium connected to it.
Have fun

Thank you so much! There are so many places we want to see, I'm sure I'll be back to hash out the agenda as soon as I get the hotel finalized! :)

Thanks, everyone, I think I'm going to go ahead and make reservations before I run out of time.

(Drury Inn wasn't horribly pricey, but we will save $100 by staying at Days' Inn, so...I tell myself that someday when the kids are grown and gone, dh and I will be spending lots more time in NICER hotels.)

Shaws Garden is what us locals call it...if you're searching, look for Missouri Botanical Garden. www.mobot.org (I think that's right) They also have a Butterfly House in Chesterfield, maintained by the Garden. That might even be more fun for kids.....

Leslea,
Go to Travel Zoo. The Radisson downtown has $59-$79 room rates with free parking. You can't go wrong with this hotel. Close to the light rail, Arch, Stadium, etc..

I think AnneS is refering to the Laumeier Sculpture Park.

www.laumeier.com

It has big (and sometimes really, really BIG) outdoor art. It's a hoot on a pretty day. I have several photos of me "interacting" with the "big" art. If only they could move the ugly, rusting, graffiti-attracting Serra from downtown out there. :-)

Leslea,
Another thought is the Holiday Inn at South County Center. (I-55 and Lindberg). It has been renovated and has a decent indoor pool, etc.. It is typically less that $100 per night.

I grew up in St. Louis, and I remember really enjoying Daniel Boone's house when I was little. Is it still open? Is it fun? Would it be a good activity with kids?

Okay, now the reservations have been made, but I will keep these others in mind in case the place is a hell-hole and we need to vacate. Based on the reviews, though, I believe we will be okay--most of the complaints seemed to center around the place being too hot due to A/C units venting into the atrium. In mid-April, I doubt that will cause us any problems.

So, moving on...
We will probably be arriving Saturday evening. My hubby is a photographer and I think he will freak out when he sees how cool that sculpture park is, from its website.

Now...it appears that everything on our list except for the zoo is closed on Monday.

Grant's Farm and City Museum are closed on Tuesdays.

That means (& please correct me if this sounds unreasonable):

Sat. evening : Sculpture park and photos in the sunset
Sunday: City Museum / Grant's Farm (if time & energy)
Monday: Zoo / Turtle Park/ The Arch (if time and energy)
Tuesday: Museum of Trans / Magic House / Butterfly House (if time--prob. not)

To be honest, I do not really think my kids will dig the Arch, so if you know of a better alternative that is open on Mondays, I'm all ears! Hubby wants to go to do photos, but I could take it or leave it.

I wish I had realized so many things would be closed on Monday and Tuesday before I asked for these days off work! Oh, well. I'm sure we will have plenty to do.

I wouldn't skip the Arch. Even if you just go walk around the base of it, gaze up at it and skip the museum and trip to the top. It's really interesting, and the waterfront area is fun, too. There are boats there, and you get good views of downtown and the river traffic and bridges. I've been to the Butterfly House many times, as it's near where I grew up. I wouldn't bring little kids there. It's humid, and you can't touch the butterflies, and while it's cool, it isn't that great for kids the ages of yours, in my opinion. The zoo and Forest Park could take a good day. It'll be great for a photographer, all the old architecture from 1904.

I think Laumeier for the first night is a great idea. Pick up something to picnic with, and spread out by a piece of sculpture.

For the kids, if the weather makes it an outside day, they would like the zoo more than Grant's Farm. And for an inside day, your kids would like the Magic House more than the City Museum. You and your husband would probably enjoy the other two options more. But as a mother of two teenagers, I really know that you do the kid activities long before you do the adult activities. Especially with 3 kids 4 and under!

While you're in Forest Park for the zoo, you could certainly stop afterwards for dinner at the boathouse and take some of the kids out on a paddleboat. Then go let off some steam by running around turtle park.

And, sfamylou is correct. The arch is impressive just standing underneath it. I don't think your kids would have the stamina to do the whole thing. You can wander around inside and look at a few exhibits, use the bathrooms and then go back outside without spending any $ and getting a decent pre-view of the experience. There was a great photo yesterday in the St. Louis Post of the Arch. I don't think they reproduce them on line though. Your DH will enjoy the photo opportunities.

Recently spent part of a weekend in the Residence Inn at the Galleria in St Louis mentioned by someone earlier. Location is fine if you have a car -- there's an exit off I-170 right next to the hotel and you're just a half mile from the east-west expressway that takes you right to downtown. My only complaint was the mattress was in need of replacement, uh like yesterday.

Location near the Galleria was also good for evening meals. You'll need to drive over the 2 blocks, though. We did take out from California Pizza Kitchen one night, and went to Cheesecake Factory another. There is also an Italian Place closer to the hotel - Maggiano's Little Italy, I think. Or, if you are so inclined, Whole Foods is just 3/4 mile south and you can put together a meal to go. Residence Inn units have micros, stove and oven to heat or reheat, along with some plates and utensils.

If you think Residence Inn, ask about the unit you'll get. They have 2 bedroom units with 2 queens, 2 baths and a sofa bed, on 2 levels, but I'd advise against such a unit with small children. The upper bedroom loft area is tight, so it won't accomodate a crib, but I'd not put two small children up there alone either, it would be too easy to fall down the stairs if they got up during the night. Another arrangement would be advised.

ttt for leslea

Topping for Moosegirl...

Hey, guys!

What's "ttt"?

Looking forward to this trip! Couldn't have planned it without you all! :)

I will def. post an update and let you know how it goes.

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice. We have had a wonderful time.

I'll give you more info on the hotel specifically when I get home. I'm definitely going to leave a review on travelocity, because this place is significantly different than any hotel I've stayed in before, and I think it deserves a detailed review.

Not sure if we will do the Magic House today or not. Doesn't open until noon. The Museum of transportation was where we spent Easter, and it was a total success for two little train lovers. Believe it or not, they did not want to ride the trains; !!!!?????!!!!!! It was crazy.

Just proving how unpredictable kids can be, at the St. Louis Zoo, they DID want to ride the train, even though at home they refuse to ever ride the zoo train (and it is the same model train, exactly, as what we have at home). Anyway, we rode it and they had a ball. They also loved the carousel and even the motion simulator at the zoo, where I was certain one of them would claim some sort of dramatic "trauma."

Remarkably, they seemed to have a very, very good time even though the zoo was a full-day of hard work, from zoo open to zoo close to see it all.

Anyone traveling to St Louis to Zoo, if you are a zoo member in your city, see if you have reciprocity w/ the St Louis Zoo. You probably do. That gets you half off the Safari Pass, making the train rides, the simulator, the carousel, a box of popcorn, a souvenir, and some other stuff that I forgot a $5 add-on to the "free" zoo experience. ($9 to park isn't free, in my opinion). Anyway, we didn't go there because it was free, we went because it has a great reputation as a wonderful zoo, and we were not disappointed by the zoo itself.

The people working there? That was a different experience. I've never encountered rudeness of that level in any well-reputed tourist draw in any city, anywhere, like what we encountered in the zoo in the first ten minutes there.

However, we put it behind us, and lowered our expectations, and the rest of the day went okay.

St Louis is not Louisville, what can I say? There were an abundance of people here that behaved in a manner that in Louisville would be considered extremely rude. On the other hand, we met several people who were just GREAT! So, I guess it is just one of those things. Some cities seem to have a really wonderful attitude toward travelers and extending hospitality--Chicago, for instance, has always been a good experience for our family--and in our minds, St. Louis is not one of those cities. However--was it so bad that we'll never come back? NO. There's lots to do here and the attractions make up for the relative lack of social graces that the hospitality industry in St. Louis seems to display.

Like I said, we have had a wonderful time, and we won't let the initial "yucky" reaction to some individuals (upward of a dozen people) that have treated us rudely spoil us on St. Louis. We'll have to come back to see City Museum and visit the zoo again when the kids are older!

It's only a four-five hour drive, and easy driving, at that. Very little tops the excitement of seeing that Arch on highway 64 as you are driving West into the city. The Sears tower can't top that, sorry, Chicago! We'll be back, for sure!

Now to figure out where to visit before we hit the road. :)

leslea

When I sent your thread ttt (to the top) it should have been for poster LilBlueEyes310 who was thinking of visiting St. Louis to read. I got the names mixed up. Sorry.

Any way I am glad to read your report and do hope you encounter no more rudeness. I was very sorry to hear that.

Looking forward to the rest of your report. Thanks so much.

Sandy

Leslea,

Glad you had a mostly good trip. I am curious as to what hotel you stayed in after reading your description. Please report back!

Sorry you encountered some rude people, there is no excuse for rudeness, however, there are rude people everywhere. And, you were traveling with three small children, which is always stressful. Of course St. Louis is not Louisville. Did you really want it to be? That's why people travel...to see and experience other places.

I think the St. Louis Zoo, even with $9 parking, is a bargain. There is free parking on adjacent streets in the park. Glad you found out that there is a reciprical membership with your local zoo and that your kids enjoyed the train. It was always my kids' favorite part of a zoo trip. I may have to "rent a kid" to get myself back to the zoo sometime soon. Teenagers are no fun and its always good to see it through a young child's eye.

I am glad you had fun. I'm a little surprised by the comments about rude St. Louisans. I grew up there, go back once a year or so, and never ever ever picked up that. I do wonder if it was an issue of travel with little kids. No matter where I am, when my kids are around I sometimes feel a negative or rude vibe. And I also never pay to park in the zoo lot. There is often street parking if you keep your eyes peeled; and since most zoos charge entry fees of $10 or $20, I don't think you can discount a free admission, even with a high parking lot fee. (By the way, and maybe this should be a thread of its own, but why is $9 so common? I see it at Disney, at baseball stadiums, just everywhere.) Also can't wait to hear about the hotel!