The Crowne Plaza Hotel is a downtown luxury hotel with all the bells and whistles. It overlooks the Gateway Arch and the riverfront. It is close to Busch Stadium, casinos and LaClede's Landing, an entertainment district in downtown St. Louis. Rates for the weekdays can run from about $150/night up to close to $250 per night. The rates drop on the weekends, especially if you wait until mid-week to book a weekend night. This is exactly what I did. I booked us in for a Saturday night stay on the Thursday before. This was for an August Saturday night stay and our room charge was only $93/night. We were thrilled to say the least.
We arrived and checked in with no problems. There was a football preseason game in town for the night we were staying, so the town was busy. Hotel guests park in the garage next door to the Crowne Plaza and are charged $10/day. The normal rate in the garage is $20/day so be sure to get a validation pass from the front desk of the hotel. Upon showing this to the garage employees, you are not charged at all to park in the garage. Your charge will appear on your hotel bill. The bell captain for the hotel was very busy directing cars. In spite of being so busy, he went out of his way to direct cars to move and back out so my husband could maneuver his vehicle around and get over to the garage. They also offer valet parking at this hotel. My husband parked while I completed check-in.
The decor of the hotel was immediately impressive with all the ambience of a luxury downtown hotel. Immediately to the right of the front desk is the bar and lounge area that soars three stories high. If the weather is agreeable, they also have an outdoor patio with views right into the Arch. An additional full service restaurant is available on the second floor of the hotel. An escalator is available right in this main lobby area and there are abundant elevators available also.
Our room was on the 25th floor and looked out directly at the Arch. The view was breathtaking. We sat window side for awhile just to take it all in. Our room did not have a balcony, but other rooms were available that did. We had a standard double room. The room was exceptionally spacious. Immediately upon entering there was a counter space containing a refrigerator, microwave, and coffeepot. The room had two luxuriously outfitted queen beds. There was an entertainment center with TV, desk with lamp and chair and an additional comfortable chair. The bathroom was charming but small. The water pressure was super for showering.
A small organza envelope on the bed contained a sleep CD and earplugs. The clock radio would play the CD which had nature sounds, etc., presumably to block out the urban noise.
I loved this hotel and you will too!