St. Louis accommodations for 4-day trip

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Hello all,

So the two of us are going to spend a few days in St. Louis in a few weeks. I’ve spent meaningful time there just once, about 20 years ago, and I failed to glean enough about the city to reject the notion of asking for help. She’s never been there. Here is what we would like to accomplish on this short fall vacation:

  • Spend a day at the local Great America
  • Check out the Arch
  • Eat some great St.Louis-style pizza and other noteworthy vittles. Frankly, since this is going to be a fairly cheap trip, I want to spend some money on really good food – there is room in the budget.
  • Walk around WUSTL, take some photos…
  • If they are still doing it, take the famous tour of the Bud brewery.

I’ve no idea where best to stay to accomplish these things. I’d rather not spend more than $200/night for housing, but if it’s really worth it i’ll stretch a little.

If you guys can recommend a good general neighborhood in which to stay (or a particular hotel if you know if one), and some great pizza and other restaurants, I’d greatly appreciate it.

I’ll have my own car – it’s about a 270-minute drive from Davenport. well, four hours for me. hehe

Thank you.

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My fav hotels there are Hotel Saint Louis, Autograph Collection, Magnolia Hotel St. Louis, and the Marriott St. Louis Grand.

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If you want a hotel, I like Le Meridian in Clayton. It’s nice, close to Wash U and close enough to downtown.

If you want an AirBnB I LOVE the DeMun/Highpoint neighborhood. It’s just west of Forest Park. It has a very european feel. This one would be great if it’s available, but there are others. You can walk to Kaldi’s and Sasha’s.

Have fun!!!

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/38618899?translate_ugc=false&federated_search_id=74a4c366-074c-4b24-9b57-e7511e3f410e&source_impression_id=p3_1632875895_IptObD9%2BHqtGH2kL&guests=1&adults=1

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LOL I stayed at the Marriott 20 years ago. It was more than I needed, because I tend to wear my shoes out on vacations (especially the damn cobblestones in Prague… hell on shoes) and spend fairly little time in hotels. But anyway, i got a kick out of your mention of it, because you mentioned it and reminded me of it.

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With my Bonvoy status those three are great with suite upgrades. The Presidential Suite is nice even if you only stay in it to sleep. :slight_smile:

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I’ll check out Le Meridian, thank you.

Looking at a map, that seems like a pretty good location – kind of in the middle between the amusement park and downtown. And local to Wash U.

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Le Meridian is a nice location. Imo’s is standard St. Louis pizza. You should get Ted Drewes custard as well.

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I’d also recommend the really highly rated St. Louis Zoo and the Art Museum. Both are in Forest Park and are free.

The Missouri Botanical Garden (aka Shaw’s Garden) is also really lovely depending on what is blooming this time of year.

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What kind of restaurants are you looking for? There are a ton of great Italian restaurants on the “Hill” which is the Italian neighborhood. Lorenzo’s Trattoria, Cunetto’s, Dominic’s, Bartilino’s, Charlie Gitto’s. That is just a start.

Try not to miss Ted Drew’s. They serve frozen custard and the place is iconic with anyone from St. Louis. We always stop there when we are in town.

Imo’s pizza is the local pizza chain that serves St. Louis style pizza. It has a very thin crust, provel cheese and is cut into rhombuses. I love it, but my husband isn’t as thrilled.

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St. L pizza, steaks, and… well we’ll probably look for whatever she wants, which is unpredictable. If I were doing it solo, i’d say pizza, steak, and “other”. My food taste is fairly eclectic. i know that isn’t very helpful for the purposes of narrowing a search.

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If you have time, and will be there days when it’s open, you may want to explore the Cahokia Mounds, which are near St Louis:
https://cahokiamounds.org/

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The zoo is nice, and you can check out the new Playscape in Forest Park. Delmar Loop is nice to walk around and has several good restaurants.

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Do…NOT…miss…Gioia’s!!! How many James Beard Award winning delis do you know of?!?

As for steak, it’ll be good, but no better than your home. Midwest beef, is glorious midwest beef.

Go to Pappy’s, Beast, or Salt & Smoke for BBQ.

As for Ted Drews, hate to say it, but the most overrated ice cream on the planet. Visit for the institution, but not because you want a great desert.

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Of those barbecue places, which is your favorite?

And @silverlady, which is the best of those Italian restaurants on the Hill?

So far for eats I have:

Italian on the Hill
Gioia’s
BBQ
Imo’s
Ted Drews for at least the atmosphere, if not great dessert. But it’ll at least be sweet and cold.

I’ keeping lists of all these places. I think we’ll have to whittle it down a bit or, as Robert Frost would do, save some for another day. Or just not do the Bud thing. That’ll save four hours and maybe a DUI.

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Now that I think more about it, I’d go to Bogart’s in Soulard. It’s owned by the Pappys people, but I think a little better and in a better location.

BTW, Gioia’s is on The Hill. Don’t miss the grocery store while you’re there. It’s just a couple of blocks away. Amazing!

I can’t vouch for the sit down type places. I go to Gioia’s every time I’m in the city though and get a HogFather.

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OK -

Dinner places:

  1. Imo’s

2 Bogart’s

3 One of the Italian places on the Hill

  1. TBD (a great burger, Chinese, Indian? Sounds like Clayton has good options)

Lunch places:

  1. Gioia’s – the hot salami already sounds lovely

  2. Six Flags (necessity…)

  3. Dinner Leftovers (hehe)

This reminds me of a place called Waiters in San Juan in the Condado neighborhood. She ordered the steak and rice and out came a 3-pound giant pile of sliced steak and rice. we both just laughed. I chipped in after defeating my smaller plate and it still was enough for lunch the next day. So – never underestimate the value-add of good leftovers.

  1. We’ll have a huge breakfast that day/more leftovers/TBD
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How hard is it to find parking around WUSTL, the Zoo/Park, and the Hill?

I have a loose plan for one day, and it goes like this – but i don’t know if this is easily walkable, so i’m not sure if i’ll need to be driving and parking everywhere we go:

  • Check out WUSTL
  • Grab lunch from Gioia’s, to go
  • Eat lunch in the park
  • Art Gallery
  • Zoo
  • Dinner on the Hill
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Street parking, as long as you’re up for a little jaunt, it widely available everywhere. If you want to be in Forest Park per se, there are parking lots.

Don’t try to eat your Gioia’s in the car. It will go everywhere! :wink:

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I lived in St. Louis for 3 years (H taught at Wash U). We went back for a wedding in 2018. We spent two nights at the Ritz Carlton in Clayton, then stayed with our friends for two nights (their daughter was the one who got married). Definitely go to Ted Drewes. Also, if you like Italian meats/condiments, go to Volpi (on the Hill). Chefs from all over the US use their meats. U City has some interesting shops. Second the recommendations for the Botanic Garden and the St. Louis Art Museum.

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Thanks, everyone.

We leave Saturday afternoon and will return Wednesday (four nights). We’ve already decided on Imo’s (1000 Hampton location) and Zia’s for two dinners, and we’ll work in Bogart’s for lunch when we visit the Arch.

The other two nights… probably we’ll walk the Delmar Loop and just stop wherever the lines are out the door. hehe. (but that’s usually a good sign)

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