Need HELP choosing a hotel for summer trip to St. Louis

[sleepymomof4]

Everyones replies are very much appreciated. I may even ask again closer to time about some of the construction. We are going the last week of July(only week off due to summer school and football) so Iam sure there will be more or different areas. Right now we are looking at 4 days. The shopping is not a total must, we have plenty of malls and shopping here, that's for just in case, sometimes this is when we shop a bit for school clothes while daddy is with us(he splurges a bit more on vacation) and grandma's coming too and we don't live near her.
Since we won't be there very long do you think the kids will want to do Grant's Farm and the zoo? We love zoos and that is mainly why we chose St. Louis this year, we try to hit a new one every year. Brookfield, Indy and the Ft. Wayne zoo are all fun we just like to see more.
Thanks again all for your time.

 

[NotUrsula]

Grant's Farm is a different experience than the Zoo; it is partly a petting experience and safari ride (ruminants; no cats), but the main draw is horses. Really big, really pretty horses.

Up until about 20 years ago, it was the training farm for the Budweiser Clydesdales, and they still board quite a few animals there. You can walk through the barn and see them out playingi in the pasture, and sometimes they will get curious and come over to the fence to be petted. The Busch family also keeps a large display of antique carriages in the Bauernhof Building.

There is also an historical display of Hardscrabble Cabin, a small log home built by US Grant when he was first married. (Thus the name Grant's Farm. It has been the home of the Busch family for about a century now, though. You can see glimpses of the outside of the main house on the tram ride; it's a VERY large Bavarian fantasy.)

 

[skip323]

I have not read the other comments so I apologize for any repetition!! We researched St. Louis and went, for the first time, a couple of months ago for spring break. Had a GREAT time! IT was very manageable which was important because DH could not go. We opted to stay downtown at the Drury. Great decision. We did have to pay for parking but the location was excellent. The nice thing with the Drury's is that they have Breakfast included as well as an Appetizer/ Dinner deal. For us it was wonderful to have something like dinner as our kids are unpredictable and I truly dislike paying for a meal and then they do not eat anything!

We did the Arch and the old courthouse across the street from there. We did the zoo (wonderful and free...and we didn't pay to park), and city museum - Love, love, love city museum but a bit frightening trying to keep up with kids. If you are willing to go with them through everything it is o.k.

We also went to the Hill for an Italian Meal and then to Crown Candy Kitchen (?) as that is pretty popular and then over to Fitz's for dinner one night.

Oh...and the last day we hit the Missouri Botanical Gardens (Kids LOVED it as did I!) and on the drive home (to Indiana) stopped at the Cahokia Mounds!!

All in all a really great trip and, because we were all over the place going to things, we got a really good feel for the city.

 

[SarahKate]

If you love zoos, you will definitely love STL Zoo. It's great that it is free, although you do pay if you use their parking lot (sometimes you can find street parking around the area) and there are attractions within which cost. It's HUGE and you can very easily spend the whole day there.

Grant's Farm is much smaller. Very laid back, and you could easily get through it all in a half day depending on how fast you're moving. They have animal demonstrations/shows, petting area (watch out for the goats though, they are CRAZY....they jumped all over DD7 and she's been traumatized by goats ever since!) and plenty of other animal exhibits. They have the cool little safari ride that takes you all through the park, which is nice. Admission is FREE, nominal charge for parking. Adults get to sample alcoholic beverages (last time we went, I got a whole wine cooler, Free!) and they have concessions. If you walk to the opposite end of the parking lot, you can see the Clydesdales as well as dalmatians. We've gotten to get up close and pet some of the horses on a few occasions, they are beautiful animals.

Magic House is a prety good deal if you have coupons. It's definitely unique to other things like it. But you do have to get there when they open or soon after because it gets VERY busy and crowded. They're also doing a huge expansion, so I'm not sure how that affects things or how far along it is. Your older kids would enjoy the Science Center - we just took DD7 there about 4 months ago and it was nice - feels more geared to older than younger kids.

Botanical Gardens are just beautiful if you enjoy that type of thing. They do have a children's garden area that has lots of fun things to climb on. Also have the "surprise fountains" (like what's on the bridge at Epcot between Future World and WS).

To the other poster who mentioned Crown CAndy Kitchen - COOL place. Get there early because it's pretty small and gets busy quickly Not a lot of seating. But they have great food, wonderful ice cream and of course, they make their own candies. We went right before EAster one year and it was PACKED with people buying goodies. People sometimes get nervous because of the location but we've never felt unsafe there, the neighborhood seems to be getting revitalized and LOTS of cops there patroling OR eating.

You've gotten some really good advice here! St. Louis is a great city to visit, and it's easy to get around.

 

[LizinSTL]

With a family of 6, you may want to consider getting a zoo membership. If you get it now, it'll arrive in plenty of time for your trip. Parking is $11/car. Childrens Zoo is $4/pp. Train is $5 pp. If you all ride the train and do the childrens zoo plus park, that'll be the same as a membership and the membership is tax-deductible. www.stlzoo.org

 

[sleepymomof4]

With a family of 6, you may want to consider getting a zoo membership. If you get it now, it'll arrive in plenty of time for your trip. Parking is $11/car. Childrens Zoo is $4/pp. Train is $5 pp. If you all ride the train and do the childrens zoo plus park, that'll be the same as a membership and the membership is tax-deductible. www.stlzoo.org

This is definately something I have considered. With some zoos that reciprocate, it is well worth it, we have done this with other zoos in the past.

 

[deerhart]

You can also purchase zoo memberships at the desk and they will print out your coupons right then and there.

There is plenty of free parking in Forest Park, but you may have to hike for it on really busy days. We haven't parked in the zoo's lots in years even when we do have our membership. Grant's Farm Parking is $11 cash and that is the only place to park there. It is also generally closed on Mondays.

Why I say it is remote and more difficult to get to then other places is that any approach you take is going to run you through a ton of stop lights and or residential neighborhoods (with lots of stop signs). We used to live about 10 miles from there (I44E to I270S to Gravois and gravois over). With all the stop lights on Gravois, its a good 30-35 minute drive (plus waiting in line to park). Going up elm is just as bad because the speed limit is much lower, and all the stop signs/lights through the neighborhoods. Compared to the ease of getting to the places in Forest Park and downtown, Grant's farm is a bigger pain.

 

[kjpotter]

I live in IL and drive to StL every day. I would not recommend crossing the river each day. Stay in StL around the 170 loop.

That being said, yesterday my daughter and I stopped by the zoo and then went shopping at the Galleria. The stingrays are back for the summer and she has been dying to visit them. We are members at the zoo, so it was no problem to stop by and see them. The exhibit is $3 per person (1.50 if members). You get to pet the stingrays. She loves it. Also, remember that you can bring in food and drinks at the zoo. Also, get there early. If you get there at 1pm on a Saturday, you will have a difficult time getting a parking spot since the lots may be full. Also, many of the pay attractions are free the first hour the zoo is open.

DD6's favorite place in all of St. Louis is the City Museum. However, your 3 year old might be too small. It would depend on how "fearless" they are. DD6 went when she was 3 and loved it, but she is a daredevil. Also, I was crawling on everything with her. It's definately not a "sit and let the kids play" place. The parents need to participate and climb.

 

[kjpotter]

Oh and definately do the children's zoo at the St. Louis Zoo. You can pet the goats and there is a playground. Also, fountains for the kids to play in.

 

[sleepymomof4]

Lizinstl....
I noticed in a different thread you commented that Fenton was a god location. I noticed that prices seemed more reasonable there and had wondered about the location. To me it is worth the savings if it's not so far out of the way.

 

[SarahKate]

Hi all,

I just went to Drury's site and put in a random Saturday in late June for 2 adults, 3 kids.

The first price you'll see is the regular price, the 2nd one is with the "STLFUN" promotion code:

Fenton - $100/$60
Forest Park - $189 / $179
Olive Blvd. (Creve Couer) - $109/$95
Chesterfield - $113/$98
Union Station - $139/$125

We've stayed at Chesterfield and Olive Blvd. and they're both nice but Chesterfield is more upscale. Doesn't seem worth it to stay in Forest Park for that amount of money JUST to be close to some of the attractions. The pics look a lot like Chesterfield to me. I know folks sometimes discourage this area because it is out of the way, but we love it and stay there time and time again. 20-25 minutes to get to many of the "main attractions" (yes, we have timed it). Worth it to us not to be in the midst of everything. Right on the interstate, easy to get to where you're going. Just avoid rush hour, as with any other place.

Someone mentioned the Children's Zoo at STL Zoo and it's definitely worth the cost. It's a cool place! We haven't gotten to see the stingrays before, might have to check that out this year.

 

[sleepymomof4]

Hi all,

I just went to Drury's site and put in a random Saturday in late June for 2 adults, 3 kids.

The first price you'll see is the regular price, the 2nd one is with the "STLFUN" promotion code:

Fenton - $100/$60
Forest Park - $189 / $179
Olive Blvd. (Creve Couer) - $109/$95
Chesterfield - $113/$98
Union Station - $139/$125

We've stayed at Chesterfield and Olive Blvd. and they're both nice but Chesterfield is more upscale. Doesn't seem worth it to stay in Forest Park for that amount of money JUST to be close to some of the attractions. The pics look a lot like Chesterfield to me. I know folks sometimes discourage this area because it is out of the way, but we love it and stay there time and time again. 20-25 minutes to get to many of the "main attractions" (yes, we have timed it). Worth it to us not to be in the midst of everything. Right on the interstate, easy to get to where you're going. Just avoid rush hour, as with any other place.

Someone mentioned the Children's Zoo at STL Zoo and it's definitely worth the cost. It's a cool place! We haven't gotten to see the stingrays before, might have to check that out this year.

WOW-great prices, I did not get anything close to this when I put my dates in.

 

[deerhart]

Lizinstl....
I noticed in a different thread you commented that Fenton was a god location. I noticed that prices seemed more reasonable there and had wondered about the location. To me it is worth the savings if it's not so far out of the way.

Fenton isn't bad. That intersection exchange with 141 is busy during rush hour. Also, krispy kreme donuts is right down the road. But it is very easy to get on and off of 44 to get anywhere, especially if your looking at Forest Park, Six Flags, and the magic house. Its the area just past i-270 on 44 (44 is usually the quicker route to downtown). You have about a 15 minute drive west to six flags and a 15 minute drive east to Hampton to hit forest park

My mom has stayed at the Fenton Drury Inn several times and has always found it to be a nice hotel.

 

[PixiePlanner]

City Museum because of The World Aquarium?

I was just at the City Museum yesterday on a field trip w/ DS. I was there 3.5years ago when DD was almost 4. Your older two will love the City Museum. It is FABULOUS! Your 3yo will probably love it- you won't love chasing him/her. On our previous trip, DD hung out with me alot. She thought everything was supercool but is quite timid. Now at 7, there would be no holding her back!

The World Aquarium? I don't know how much it costs as it was included in our ticket price... I would not go to the City Museum just for that. It is not the Shedd(Chicago). Had I gone expecting something grand, I would have been severely disappointed. DS did feed and pet a stingray yesterday and that was very cool but otherwise not so much. I think we were done with the entire aquarium in about 20 minutes. If any of your children are sensitive to bad odors, skip it. The whole place smells like dead fish due to the fact that there are several things that are "open" so that you can touch,etc.

The StL zoo is great. Plan on it being extremely HOT when you are there. If you purchase any drinks, there will be no lids and straws if I remember right so walking around with drinks becomes difficult. When you are at the zoo, make sure to see the penguins. I have a candid pic of DS when he was maybe 6, sitting by a little penguin statue while we waited in line. I can't tell you how many asked if it was a real one.

St Louis is a great city. Hmmm, now you have me thinking we need to plan a day trip this summer! Maybe two!

 

[Smiling Cheshire Cat]

Sorry to hijack OPs thread, but I can't pass up the advantage to get some info from all the St. Louis experts responding here. I am going with DH on a business trip this summer to St. Louis. We will be staying at the Renaissance Grand and Suites on Washington St. We won't have a car and won't have the kids. PM me recommended shopping and eating places nearby.

Thanks-

 

[deerhart]

Wash Ave is pretty much one of the nightclub places in Downtown. It is a bit further away from the major attractions downtown. Laceledes landing though is pretty close (200 Block of Washington).

As for transportation. Without a car you'll either be walking or using the metro link. The closest metro link station looks to be at the convention center a couple of blocks away. Laceleds also has a metro link station.

By using the metro link, you will be able to get from the Arch all the way out to Forest Park (though I don't recommend trying to do anything in Forest Park using just metro link as it is a LONG hike. You need to also use the lady bug shuttles and I don't have on hand the info for that). The stations sit right outside of Lacelede/Arch, Convention Center, 8th and pine (which is a block or two from the DT Macys), Busch Stadium, Savvis Center, Union Station, etc..

 

[sleepymomof4]

Check hotwire.com - last month, we got a room at the Hilton at the Ballpark for $59. I would look for something in Forrest Park.

The City Museum is awesome, but I wouldn't take a 3 year old. Honestly, I'd be iffy about the 6 year old. Also, I betting that the World Aquarium is not what you have pictured.

Unless you really need to do some outlet shopping, I'd skip St. Louis Mills.

How long are you planning on staying?

Any tips on using Hotwire? I have never booked a room through them before because I always feel the need to know every little detail and review. Any way to tell what you may be booking?

 

[Alesia]

Any tips on using Hotwire? I have never booked a room through them before because I always feel the need to know every little detail and review. Any way to tell what you may be booking?

Well, it does require a certain amount of willingness to relinquish control, but you choose the area, and they give you a list that tells you how many stars each hotel has and what percentage of guests would recommend it, so the risk is pretty minimal.

 

[sleepymomof4]

Well, it does require a certain amount of willingness to relinquish control, but you choose the area, and they give you a list that tells you how many stars each hotel has and what percentage of guests would recommend it, so the risk is pretty minimal.

Thank you! Have you ever been dissapointed in what you get?