Mr. Neely: [about St. Louis] It’s a grand old town.
Tootie: It isn’t a town, Mr. Neely. It’s a city. It’s the only city that has a world’s fair.
My favorite. Wasn’t I lucky to be born in my favorite city? – Meet Me in St. Louis, 1944
And that we did – not only did we meet our friends in St. Louis, but we met beer crafters, chefs, bakers, and more during our week long stay at the St. Louis Union Station – a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. Now, you’re probably asking yourself why St. Louis?! Why not Boston, New York, Chicago? In short, St. Louis is an evolving city filled with new culinary ventures, artisan producers, and chefs doing the same things (even better at times) then “the big cities”.
And still, with all the big city charm, new restaurants, and delicious craft brews to sip on, the best part of staying at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel was the fact it transported you into a different era. Built as a train station in 1894, it was a passenger train terminal in St. Louis and once the world’s largest and busiest train station. Denoted as a National Historic Landmark and converted in the early 1980’s into a hotel and shopping center, the St. Louis Union Station – a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel is a must visit when you’re in town, even if you’re not staying at the hotel (which you should!)
You’re stepping into a part of history and into a hotel where the staff is there to cater to your every need! Walking up the stairs to the front desk relaxes you as you step on the plus carpeting and arrive at a front desk associate that automatically greets you with a warm chocolate chip cookie. Let me say that again: they greet you with a warm chocolate chip cookie. Seems to be a DoubleTree tradition and one I wish all hotels had. As we munched on our cookie, Erin, the front desk associate who checked us in, shared a few of her favorite foodie spots in the city, facilitated us with a map, and sent us up to our room with a smile.
The Room: We walked into our new home for the next week and our jaws dropped. We were treated to an upgrade to their two-room suite and my oh my did it make our stay extra comfortable! The first room included plush bed with plenty of pillows, perfect for sleeping after eating your way through STL. The desk was perfect for me to set up a mobile office while we were there (a food blogger’s job never stops!); what was awesome was that both the rooms in the suite had its own bathroom!
Photo Credit: St. Louis Union StationM and I were spoiled for that week; for each of us to have our own bathrooms was a dream come true! Plus, it meant we could get ready much faster and head into downtown to eat much quicker than usual! Ha, you don’t know what you’ll need until you try it for a week! The “living area” room was perfect for eating in-room meals as well as late-night TV watching for M (there was a TV in each room). With a huge mirror, in-room coffee maker with an extra sink area (perfect for traveling families with kids that need to rinse a quick dish or two), we enjoyed this area a lot!
Oh and talking about in-room dining, be sure to take advantage of it! One of the nights we had decided to stay in and relax since we had some busy days ahead. We decided to talk around the hotel at around 10pm (we had a late lunch that day!) and realized nothing was open/available for us to eat dinner at. Ordering room-service was the next logical step and by then we were starving! So starving, we didn’t even take a second to take a photograph, but let me tell you what we ordered: Toasted Ravioli (a St. Louis classic), Fried Shrimp Tacos (very fresh tasting!), and Buffalo Wings (my husband’s favorite thing to snack on.) The food arrive in less than 30 minutes, piping hot, and oh so delicious!
And when we weren’t pigging out with delicious foods, we strolled around the hotel and admired the architecture, the decor, the amazing details. Every corner holds a piece of history and plaques all around the hotel give you a peek back in history. Did you know that in the 1940s, it handled 100,000 passengers a day? Crazy!
The Amenities: Below you can see a picture of the cheese platter that we received the first night we arrived, as a welcome present. Seriously, these guys think of everything! Let me just say, cheese is the best welcoming gift. It’s light enough to just have a bite but totally filling if you’re starving and stuffing creamy cheeses, crusty breads, and sweet fig jams into your mouth (not like that ever happen!) The cheese below are from Ludwig Farmstead Creamery, a European-style, farmstead creamery located in Fithian, Illinois.
Another great amenity was the nightly turn-down service. Although it didn’t happen every night, it was nice to come back “home” to our hotel room and see the bed with a corner of the comforter folded over (easier for you to slide into bed) and a small chocolate bar on the nightstand.
In conclusion, we wholeheartedly recommend anyone heading to St. Louis to stay at the St. Louis Union Station – a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel. The staff is amazing, the hotel architecture will transport you, the rooms are extremely clean, oh and the wifi connection was amazing! Be sure to check out their Facebook and Twitter accounts for updates, and stop by their website when you’re ready to book your room. We’ll be back with another post on where to eat and drink in St. Louis!
Disclosure: The St. Louis Union Station – a DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel granted us with amazing media rates during our stay. We are thankful for their generosity, were not under any obligation to write this post, and our opinions are 100% our own.
wow cool hotel 🙂 pleased you got to enjoy