Hotel suggestions either west or east of St. Louis?

[travelbug]

I'll be driving through the St. Louis area by myself in late July, and would like to stop overnight in a safe area. I'll be on I-70 going eastbound toward St. Louis, and will then be getting on I-64 to head across Illinois.

I was looking around the O'Fallon/St. Peters area to the west, but don't know anything about the area. If I waited to stop until I was through St. Louis, how far east into Illinois would I need to go before I'm in a safe area to stay?

I'm looking for something along the lines of a Fairfield Inn or Courtyard by Marriott, or something similar.

Appreciate any suggestions!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If you like to gamble (or just stay there) you can stay in St. Charles at Ameristar or Harrah's in Earth City and that is by the Blanchette Bridge. Just throwing that out there.

http://www.ameristar.com/St_Charles.aspx

Lake St. Louis, O'Fallon, St. Peters, St. Charles, MO, are fine no issues.

I would say O'Fallon IL is where I would stay off 64. You have to go pretty far in and if it is going to be evening I would not drive through East St. Louis, period.

ETA....you can always duck out at 70 (in Wentzville) to 40 and then stay in Chesterfield or along 40. Better selection of hotels, food, etc AND there is a lot of construction on 7O going into St. Louis. There is your 3rd option.

 

[LuLuO]

If you like to gamble (or just stay there) you can stay in St. Charles at Ameristar or Harrah's in Earth City and that is by the Blanchette Bridge. Just throwing that out there.

http://www.ameristar.com/St_Charles.aspx

Lake St. Louis, O'Fallon, St. Peters, St. Charles, MO, are fine no issues.

I would say O'Fallon IL is where I would stay off 64. You have to go pretty far in and if it is going to be evening I would not drive through East St. Louis, period.

ETA....you can always duck out at 70 (in Wentzville) to 40 and then stay in Chesterfield or along 40. Better selection of hotels, food, etc AND there is a lot of construction on 7O going into St. Louis. There is your 3rd option.

I totally agree.

 

[travelbug]

If you like to gamble (or just stay there) you can stay in St. Charles at Ameristar or Harrah's in Earth City and that is by the Blanchette Bridge. Just throwing that out there.

http://www.ameristar.com/St_Charles.aspx

Lake St. Louis, O'Fallon, St. Peters, St. Charles, MO, are fine no issues.

I would say O'Fallon IL is where I would stay off 64. You have to go pretty far in and if it is going to be evening I would not drive through East St. Louis, period.

ETA....you can always duck out at 70 (in Wentzville) to 40 and then stay in Chesterfield or along 40. Better selection of hotels, food, etc AND there is a lot of construction on 7O going into St. Louis. There is your 3rd option.

Thanks so much! This is really helpful. I looked at the map again, and I think I'll plan to stay in the Chesterfield area. Then I can finish crossing St. Louis after morning rush hour, and make the drive through the East St. Louis area at a better time of day than if I drove through more in the evening.

Just want to make sure I'm reading the map right. It looks like Hwy 40 is a U.S. highway that follows I-64 coming out of Wentzville, right?

Now I just have to settle on a hotel in the Chesterfield area. If anyone wants to chime in with particular suggestions, that would be great too. Otherwise I'll poke around online and see what I come up with that's close to I-64.

Again, thank you for the help!

I totally agree.

Thanks for chiming in with your agreement. It helped to have a second opinion.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Thanks for chiming in with your agreement. It helped to have a second opinion.

Make it 3, you got a good rundown there

I personally would skip the trip down to 40 & just run 70 all the way through, but I do agree with the description of Chesterfield as well as the best places along 70. Also agree you should aim for at least O'Fallon, IL on 64. I would try to get into IL if the next day is a weekday so you can avoid STL rush hour.

 

[travelbug]

I would try to get into IL if the next day is a weekday so you can avoid STL rush hour.

It will be a Friday, but I won't be in a particular hurry to get back on the road that morning. I thought I'd wait until 9:00 or even 10:00 to get rolling, so rush hour would hopefully be about over. Does that sound about right for that area?

Thanks for your reply!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

You could possibly catch some residual traffic at 9:00, but nothing to sweat about. Completely cleared out by 10:00. Really, by 8:30 you'd be in pretty good shape. Friday mornings (especially in Summer) are the lightest traffic times in STL during the week. Friday afternoon OTOH is a real bear LOL.

 

[travelbug]

You could possibly catch some residual traffic at 9:00, but nothing to sweat about. Completely cleared out by 10:00. Really, by 8:30 you'd be in pretty good shape. Friday mornings (especially in Summer) are the lightest traffic times in STL during the week. Friday afternoon OTOH is a real bear LOL.

Excellent! That will work out great. I'm looking at a Hampton Inn & Suites in Chesterfield. Seems to get good reviews, and it sounds like there are plenty of restaurants close by.

Thanks again, Gumbo!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Yes, tons of places to eat right there. You'll be all set!

 

[Nancy for Disney]

If you want to stay on i-70 you could stay at one of the airport hotels. We just stayed at Quality Inn by the airport. I don't suggest it unless you are looking for a place to lay your head and you have your own pillows. Worst pillows ever! I did feel safe. We left our car there while we traveled via air. There are lots of hotels by the airport to choose from. It is more on your route than Chesterfield.

 

[nchulka]

St. Peters/O'Fallon are both great safe places to stay, but if you want to take 70 to 64 you do not go past them. You are going to be going East on 70 so you want get on 40 East at Wentzville, which is slightly before you come to St. Peters/O'Fallon. 40 will turn into 64. Chesterfield valley is only about 20 minutes after you turn on 40 and is a very nice area

 

[travelbug]

St. Peters/O'Fallon are both great safe places to stay, but if you want to take 70 to 64 you do not go past them. You are going to be going East on 70 so you want get on 40 East at Wentzville, which is slightly before you come to St. Peters/O'Fallon. 40 will turn into 64. Chesterfield valley is only about 20 minutes after you turn on 40 and is a very nice area

Great! Thanks for the explanation here. I wasn't totally clear on the 40/64 thing, as the map I was looking at was a little unclear with the labeling of the highways. Glad to hear that Chesterfield is a nice area, as I think I've pretty much settled on that as my stopping point for the night.

Hey, you (or anyone) ever been to The Old Spaghetti Factory in Chesterfield? I saw it mentioned as a nearby dining option. I've been to one in Denver and one in Louisville, and really enjoyed both. Wondering if the one in Chesterfield is known to be good, bad, or indifferent.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Been to the one on Laclede's landing, but didn't even realize there was one in Chesterfield until recently. We like the 54th Street Grill & Bar (KC based chain) that's right there. The "it" place to go right there is Annie Gunns, but it can be $$$$$.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

When staying overnight in a city and not visiting there, I try to stay on the other side of the city so that the next morning, I don't have to deal with getting through the city. I also like things that are fairly convenient on and off with decent places to eat nearby. I avoid bad areas as well.

Avoid East St. Louis at all costs. Stay in Fairview Heights or O'Fallon, along I-64 in Illinois. O'Fallon, Illinois is about 15 miles outside of St. Louis. Don't venture any further. There's not much out past that for quite a ways.

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

The Old Spaghetti Factory in Chesterfield is good...exactly what you'd remember if you've eaten at another of their facilities...except that they will have "toasted ravioli" there (which is a St. Louis thing). Toasted ravioli is beef ravioli that has been breaded and deep fried. It's really good.

I'd definitely pick either Chesterfield Valley or St. Charles. I wouldn't do airport hotels (you'll pay more for a worse room, just because it's by the airport). You could also stay downtown (Hilton at the Ballpark is terrific)...as is their 360 "rooftop" bar. It's pricier than out in the Valley though.

St. Louis Bread Company is owned by Panera Bread... so it's the same everywhere too (and similar to Au Bon Pain) if you're looking for a quick bite in the morning (coffee, eggs, pastries). Annie Gunn's is very good, but is a tad pricey. Chesterfield Mall has chains (CPK, Cheesecake Factory, etc).

Drury Inn is a local chain of hotels (they're based out of either St. Louis or Springfield and are mostly in the midwest). They have a good breakfast in the morning (hot) and a manager's evening reception. Might compare them in terms of price to Hampton Inn. I also think there is a Doubletree (yummy choc. chip cookies).

If you decide to stay in St. Charles, Main Street has some nice local restaurants. We like Louis and Clarks Public House -- pub grub food, but it's good.

Do NOT stop in East St. Louis! Also, from the bridge over the Mississippi until just shy of O'Fallon (IL Route 159) there is a ton of road construction....plan for some extra time there and make sure your take is closer to full than empty! After you cross over the river, the "safest" place to stop is either O'Fallon IL exit 159 to the Green Mount Road exit.

From I-70 you will see exits for I-64/US 40 (I think it's exit 212). They are the same. We still call it Highway 40 here...and probably always will.

Sorry you are just driving through...we have some fun things to do here, and many are free!

Karen

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

Oh, one more thing. I too am a "let's just get past this city into the suburbs" gal when driving (I drive through Atlanta to Macon....just so I don't have to cope with Atlanta traffic in the morning). But, in this case, going over the Mississippi River bridge to O'Fallon in the evening is a PITA! Trust me, spent 2 hours on it after a Cardinals baseball game! Since most folks are coming West into the City from IL in the morning, traffic isn't bad. But in the evenings (and after Cardinals games) traffic is going East and you will spend quite a bit of time in that construction mess!

Stay in Chesterfield, get a good nights rest and tackle the traffic after about 8:30....it will be much easier!

K

 

[mamajoan]

Hi! I live in O'Fallon, Il

Currently there is construction on both sides of the 64 .. east and west. .. it runs from East St. Louis to Caseyville. As for traffic, I lived in California. and traffic here is really not bad.. even during rush hours. However construction does cause some crazy back ups.
My husband is from East St. Louis. I travel in that city without issue. HOWEVER I will be straight with you.. it is NOT advised that you use exits before Exit 9 ( Caseyville). It is best to avoid East St. Louis, Washington Park exits as they can dump you off in dangerous areas. Once past Washington Park you are AOK. In fact it gets really rural ... really fast. Lots of corn and soybean fields.
There are some good hotels at Exit 12, 14 and 16.
Exit 12- Fairview Heights... St. Clair mall to the right. Hotels to the Left. safe, very busy area.
Exit 14. O'Fallon- turn LEFT at top of exit, go east, you will have access to Sleep In on the Left and on the Right there are at least 4 other hotels, Country Inn Suites, Extended Stay.. etc, etc. Good area, safe,
You will run into a number of military ( Scott Air Force base is here).
Exit 16 Drury Inn and a Hilton .. both are in a very safe area, there are also multiple good restaurants/shops too.

Once past exit 16, Hotels are few and far between until you get out to Mount Vernon... about 60 miles from O'Fallon. easy drive thru the countryside on Hwy 64.

Hope you enjoy your vacation time.

 

[mamajoan]

oh and as for coming over the river .. you can either take the Martin Luther King Bridge, stay to the right.. as the road split to I 55 to Chicago, and then I 64 Louisville
Or take the Poplar Street Bridge, again stay to the middle right section, it converges with the MLK bridge traffic too.

Heaviest traffic for Eastbound on the I 64 is 4pm until 5:30pm or so.. jmho

 

[travelbug]

Hey, thanks so much, everyone! I've gotten some very helpful tips from all of you. I'm going to review all of this as I plan that part of my trip. There's so much good detail here, thanks to you guys!

Like some of you mentioned, usually I'd tend to drive through a large metro area and stop for the night on the other side. In this case, the more I thought about it, I have a feeling I'll be ready to stop for the day while still to the west of the city, since I will have driven plenty far that day.

Haven't made a hotel reservation yet as I'm still poking around, looking at options as I have time. I'm trying to put together the highway information some of you have mentioned. The map looks like it would be about the same distance whether I stayed on I-70 all the way through until it connected with I-64, or got off on I-40 at Wentzville and took I-64 all the way across. Am I seeing that right? If that's the case, then I'm unsure of which route to choose. Someone mentioned a lot of construction on I-70 so I looked at the other route, but someone else mentioned that they'd stay on I-70 all the way through, etc.

Since the plan is to take my time getting back on the road in the morning (probably 9:00ish or even a little later), morning rush hour won't be an issue. So it will boil down to wanting to avoid construction headaches or any other factors that make one route more/less favorable than the other. What to do??

Once I nail down that choice of route through the city, then I'll know whether I'm actually staying up near St. Peters/ St. Charles or down by Chesterfield. I've pretty much eliminated the thought of staying on the Illinois side.

By the way, thanks for the specifics about the Illinois side. I definitely knew to avoid the whole East St. Louis area, but didn't know how far I needed to drive before I could safely stop for any reason in Illinois. Now I have that information too!

 

[Pixie Dust for Me!]

I would turn off I-70 at I-64/US 40 rather than take I-70 around and through the City. The traffic is comparable on both and while I can't say that any is shorter than the other, it is my habit to get off I-70. I also think that Highway 40 is easier to drive than I-70 (not as many truckers).

I'd also have to disclose that St. Charles County feels like the other end of the earth to me (I live in SW St. Louis County) and I'm just not as familiar with it (other than Main Street).

Enjoy your drive.

Karen