Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis Chesterfield — Attraction in Chesterfield

My husband and I spent a long weekend in St Louis for his birthday and stayed at the Drury Plaza in Chesterfield. It was a FANTASTIC choice!

The magic started when I booked the room: They have special rates for veterans, so I was able to get a great room at a great rate. The hotel is pet-friendly, and that includes cats (which isn't always the case at pet-friendly hotels). There is a pet charge, but Laura in reservations assured me that our kitty would be welcome, and we even spent a few moments trading cat stories. Many thanks to Laura for her kindness and assistance!

When we arrived, Ken at the front desk was SO helpful!! He was extremely welcoming, giving us tips about restaurants and things to do in the immediate area. He was also our bartender during the Kickback Buffets (more on that later), and is absolutely the soul of hospitality. Many thanks for such a great introduction to the Drury Plaza! Thanks also to Sarah, who gave us an extended checkout time (until noon) so that we could make it to a church service on Sunday before returning to the hotel to pack up.

Our housekeeper was Viriana; everything was impeccable and smelled fresh and clean. The room was lovely; very open and plenty of space for our luggage and all our kitty things. The armchair was a great place to sit and read or watch TV, and the office chair at the desk was perfect when working on my laptop. The beds were quite comfortable, and there was a selection of pillows of varying firmness, so my husband and I could choose the ones we wanted. The location of the room was splendid; we were on the second floor, just off the stairwell at the end of the hall, away from the elevator, so it was very quiet. We could easily take the stairs up and down from the main floor, where everything was located (the dining room, pool, and exercise room). Even though there were large parties two of the nights we were there, we were not disturbed by the noise; the rooms must be fairly soundproofed.

The breakfast buffet was a hot breakfast, with eggs, sausage, breakfast potatoes, waffles (via the waffle-maker), pancakes, yogurt, oatmeal, cereal, pastries and fruit--and of course, juices, milk, tea and coffee. The Kickback Buffet was great--every night there were selections such as chicken and pasta, pulled pork sliders, and steamed vegetables, as well as options like hot dogs, nachos, and build-your-own baked potato. They had a full bar, with beer, wine and various liquor choices, and each guest could order three free drinks each night. Wow!! Most of the time, we ended up eating dinner at the Kickback Buffet! Special thanks to Riza at the breakfast buffet and Sal at the Kickback Buffet; they were both very welcoming and helpful, especially during our first times navigating the buffets.

The exercise room was well-equipped, with treadmills, elliptical trainers, a stationary bicycle, and two weight-training stations. It was open 24 hours a day, which was very convenient. The pool is indoor and outdoor and open from 9 am to 10 pm; I used it only once because of the crowds (being summertime).

The hotel is very conveniently located at I-64 and Hwy 340. This made it easy to get into the city as well as out to towns surrounding St Louis, such as Washington, Augusta and Hermann. It's very near Hwy 94, the "wine road" of eastern Missouri. There is a restaurant attached to the hotel (Stoney Creek Steak House), but we never ate there because the Kickback Buffets were so plentiful. They have both underground and above-ground parking, at no cost. The immediate area is primarily office buildings and is kept up and very safe; beyond the offices are residential areas, which are very nice.

We have always stayed in downtown St Louis when we visit, but from now on our choice is the Drury Plaza Hotel in...

What a great hotel! The staff was the most friendly group of employees and so ready to help. Extremely clean hotel. We had 2 dogs with us (7 lbs each) so there was a $50 pet fee.

Free popcorn is available in the lobby as well as iced water and coffee. Soft drinks are available during Kick Back from 5:30 -7:00 at night. The free Kick Back menu varies but on Wednesday night, we saw Chicken Pasta with Pomodora sauce, a salad with those bitter dandelion looking greens (hate those, but I would have loved a salad), nachos with queso that was a little watered down, hot dogs, and chili. The chili was not that good. I did not eat the hot dogs. There is also a steakhouse next door. Usually, Drury Inns have a better menu. Drinks tickets get you beer, wine, well drinks.

Free breakfast- the usual, hot breakfast foods (eggs, sausage?, etc., plus cold foods like cereals, etc.

Pet peeve- Do not complain about paying a pet fee, then post a photo with your dog sitting on the bed! We never let our dogs walk on motel room carpets or sit on the bed or chair. Other people might be allergic, so our dogs stay in dog pens on layers of plastic and 4 ft x 4 ft waterproof pads, even though our dogs never have accidents.

I cringe when I see a person post a review with a dog sitting on a bed. No consideration for other people. That is why hotels charge so much for dogs to stay in hotels. If you travel with a dog, you should keep your dog off the bed and carpets and bring pens or crates for your dogs. Dog walk area is behind the pool area and has bags to pick up after your pets.

The not so good- the mini fridge is half sized, about 17"-18" tall. It is only suitable to chill canned drinks to about 65°. This should be stated on all hotel websites. Food will spoil if not kept at 33°-45° so the mini fridge is NOT for leftovers or even milk. I wish hotels would stop calling them refrigerators. However, our fridge was not cooling at all. The light was on, but it was barely cool. We just used our ice chest.

Wifi would not stay connected to my laptop and VPN. Turns out the wifi works for cell phones...2G with my VPN. I gave up trying to get work done.

The MOST important problem was that the deadbolt lock did not work at all. We had to rely on the flip lock. Those can be kicked in easily so the hotel should be checking those deadbolt security locks every day.

All in all- this is still a great hotel, but the locks should be checked routinely by...

Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis is one of the best experiences I have had at a hotel. The complimentary happy hour was phenomenal. There was a make your own salad bar, sundried tomato alfredo pasta, chili bar, baked potatoes, hot dogs, and nachos for the kids. Soda cups were provided along with free refills. The coffee bar was also complimentary. The hotel provided vouchers for 3 free drinks per guest per day and the cocktail hour included a full bar. There were plenty of staff available at the front desk to assist with checking in as well as multiple bellhops to assist with luggage. I did not see valet service when I visited, but I may have overlooked. There was plenty of parking available, even with the restaurant next door. The rooms were clean and well stocked and housekeeping did a great job providing turn-down service to my in-laws who were staying as guests at the hotel. There is complimentary shower gel, shampoo, and conditioners in dispensers in the shower and they were full. The room also had a microwave, mini fridge, Wi-Fi access, a desk for an office area, and a good view of Chesterfield. The hotel is close to the mall providing many options for food and shopping, as well as a movie theater in the hotel. The one complaint was that there were no glasses available in the hotel rooms. The pool area had plenty of seating and tables for towels and personal items. On the weekend we visited there was a wrestling and cheer tournament and the pool was overcrowded and loud and there were no pool towels available as all were in the dirty towel bin waiting to be laundered. The pool was a reasonable temperature and the indoor/ outdoor feature made it stand out. The pool area reeked of chlorine and the odor was so strong it became a little nauseating. I purchased some items from the snack shop and the cashier was very kind and offered the option to pay or add it to the room. She spoke with my small son and tried to make him feel more comfortable amidst all of the commotion for the cocktail hour. Overall it was a great experience and I would highly recommend this...