When in St. Louis...

[jnutt]

Stay at the lovely Renaissance by the airport. GREAT hotel really like a 4 star with 42 inch LCD LG TV's, large rooms, and really clean and modern for a total of $60 a night! They charge for breakfast/parking/etc but if you are not really into all of that, you can save a lot of money. Take a tram to the airport and train to the Scottrade Center or drive a mile to another station and save a few bucks on the trade ride OR park a mile or so away from the arena and hoof it.

Also, check out Houlihans for food and drinks if you don't want the $9 beers at the areana. Big ass long islands anyway you like for 6 bucks.

Anyone else got advice on what to do while down there? I'm hoping to make this an annual tradition as long as schedules and money dictate

[panthertrack]

Re: When in St. Louis...

Stay at the lovely Renaissance by the airport. GREAT hotel really like a 4 star with 42 inch LCD LG TV's, large rooms, and really clean and modern for a total of $60 a night! They charge for breakfast/parking/etc but if you are not really into all of that, you can save a lot of money. Take a tram to the airport and train to the Scottrade Center or drive a mile to another station and save a few bucks on the trade ride OR park a mile or so away from the arena and hoof it.

Also, check out Houlihans for food and drinks if you don't want the $9 beers at the areana. Big ass long islands anyway you like for 6 bucks.

Anyone else got advice on what to do while down there? I'm hoping to make this an annual tradition as long as schedules and money dictate

Houhlihans was awesome. Food was great and drinks were very decently priced for a downtown eatery. That whole Union Station area was cool.

[jegbomb52]

Re: When in St. Louis...

my advice, avoid Union Station, go to the landing. Spend the extra $20, stay downtown. IT IS WORTH IT!!!!

I have stayed at that hotel before, it is amzaing, how much time did you spend in your room though? If you had fun out there, I can assure you that more fun will be had when you stay downtown.

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: When in St. Louis...

Stay downtown, enjoy the atmosphere, and take the metro to the mall or game if necessary. We walked alot this past weekend, and enjoyed it, for the most part. 80 degree weather on Friday was a bit unexpected though!

[jegbomb52]

Re: When in St. Louis...

P to the B, Matt Trump and I were in the Lou all weekend, we should have hit up a Chinese Buffet! Were you at the Lumere?

[Panthers to the Bone]

Re: When in St. Louis...

We stayed at the Courtyard this weekend...hung out with JCPanthers' family there a little bit. It was 5 blocks from the ST Center. I would have loved to hit up a Chinese buffet (nothing probably as good as China One!) with you guys. I ran into Trump in the concourse area during the InSU game. How was the Millenium? I told Trump on Friday that a couple years ago there was supposedly a swingers convention there at the same time as Arch Madness...or so I was told. Needless to say, Team PTTB stayed away!

How was the luxury boxes?

[clenz]

Re: When in St. Louis...

I don't know how Jeg's time at the Millennium was but mine was okay....minus the 26 bucks I had to shell out for breakfast one day or the fact our room smelled like a rotting carcass whenever the air kicked on. The ISUR fans were pretty good, but glad i didn't have to put up with them after the game....

I stayed at the Hyatt Thursday night. They just redid, and still are redoing some of the rooms there. They are NICE. I was glad to get out of their though since it was the CU hotel. I don't think I'd go back to the Millennium, unless I could avoid the old tower.


I agree with Jeg, spend the extra money to stay down town. I was going to stay in the airport area, but Jeg talked me into getting downtown and it was 100% worth it. It is extremely easy to get around, and within walking distance of everywhere. The Big Bang was a blast on Friday night when I was there. The 6 bucks cover caught me off guard, but it was a blast.

[Kyle]

Re: When in St. Louis...

I also stayed at the Millennium. Overall I had mixed feelings. My room was in the short tower (not sure if it is newer or older than the tall tower).

Pros:
-Nice clean room (no foul odors)
-Close to the landing, Scottrade Center, and the Arch
-Great workout room
-Decent pool area
-Excellent staff which was well equip to handle the amount of guests (no waiting in line to check in or out)
-Good atmosphere (lots of young, excited fans...albeit most were ISU fans)

Cons:
-Parking is $19 per day
-High speed internet is $10 per 24hrs
-40% of the rooms have no good views of the Arch or downtown
-No freebies

I thought they nickled and dimed their guests a lot, but overall it was a decent hotel. I was expecting more, but wasn't entirely disappointed. I'll probably spend an extra $10-$20 a night next year and look for a nicer hotel in the same area.

Went to the Hard Rock for lunch. Good food and decent atmosphere, but a little expensive. I'll probably check out Houhlihans next year. I didn't get to the landing this year, but I went to the Big Bang last year and had a blast.

Best deal of the weekend was a club pass I bought from a scalper for $5. If you are going to eat or drink anything in the arena, this will save you lots of dough. Hors d'oeuvres and soft drinks are complementary (popcorn chicken, ravioli, and soft serve ice cream). Beer and booze is about 1/2 of the concession stand price. It opens an hour before the game and is open during the game too.

[jnutt]

Re: When in St. Louis...

how much would it cost to get a hotel downtown?

[Kyle]

Re: When in St. Louis...

$70-$80 per night. Expect to spend $10-$20 a night in parking too.

[clenz]

Re: When in St. Louis...

I also stayed at the Millennium. Overall I had mixed feelings. My room was in the short tower (not sure if it is newer or older than the tall tower).

Pros:
-Nice clean room (no foul odors)
-Close to the landing, Scottrade Center, and the Arch
-Great workout room
-Decent pool area
-Excellent staff which was well equip to handle the amount of guests (no waiting in line to check in or out)
-Good atmosphere (lots of young, excited fans...albeit most were ISU fans)

Cons:
-Parking is $19 per day
-High speed internet is $10 per 24hrs
-40% of the rooms have no good views of the Arch or downtown
-No freebies

I thought they nickled and dimed their guests a lot, but overall it was a decent hotel. I was expecting more, but wasn't entirely disappointed. I'll probably spend an extra $10-$20 a night next year and look for a nicer hotel in the same area.

Went to the Hard Rock for lunch. Good food and decent atmosphere, but a little expensive. I'll probably check out Houhlihans next year. I didn't get to the landing this year, but I went to the Big Bang last year and had a blast.

Best deal of the weekend was a club pass I bought from a scalper for $5. If you are going to eat or drink anything in the arena, this will save you lots of dough. Hors d'oeuvres and soft drinks are complementary (popcorn chicken, ravioli, and soft serve ice cream). Beer and booze is about 1/2 of the concession stand price. It opens an hour before the game and is open during the game too.

You were in the new tower...the tall one is old and really needs work.

[Born-a-Panther]

Re: When in St. Louis...

I agree -- spend the extra money to stay downtown. Stay in the team's hotel if you can get a room. YOu can't beat that atmosphere.

[FOTY]

Re: When in St. Louis...

Personally, I agree with everyone else that its worth the extra money to stay downtown. Just adds entertainment. My only wish was that there were more food selections on the weekends - although we never really went hungry. I would also agree on the Hard Rock opinion above - WAY over rated. Check out Houhlihans for good (cheap) drinks and food. Actually, if you catch happy hour Thursday or Friday night, the HUGE Long Islands are only $3!

Some of the other places we enjoyed were Big Band and J. Bucks. You will spend more if you go to J. Bucks, but you won't regret the meal. I was actually able to cut my steak with my butter knife!

We stayed at the Crown Plaza. Not too bad as it was right across the interstate from the arch (our room faced the arch). Although, I did have to complain to get a larger room as they moved us to a single. Appearently if you use travel sites, they don't guarentee the rooms. At least the desk clerk understood 4 people in one king bed would be interesting!

[uninisg]

Re: When in St. Louis...

Can't say I was to impressed with downtown, especially coming back to my car after the championship game and finding my one of my hub caps had been stolen. Thats an immediate downer on what should have been an awesome day.

[Trapped in California]

Re: When in St. Louis...

Finally, after the Championship game, my wife and I did our weekly grocery shopping at Trader Joes's! Wish they had one in Iowa...we got our staples for about half of what we pay in Iowa and most of it was a healthier option.

TJ's ROCKS! You will be seeing more of them - the are owned by the same company/family that owns Aldi, so they will attempt to re-utilize the distribution networks.

For anyone that has dietary restrictions, this place is like a natural foods store with the prices 1/2 off, and the food actually tastes good. I wish I could buy a franchise or 10