Forest Park Hotel — Hotel in St. Louis

I have stayed at the forest Park hotel with my elderly aunt for several days after a construction emergency at our home left us needing a stay at this hotel, although my aunt already gave a good review today, my experience on Friday night may have changed how we feel about staying again. When you pay for a room at a hotel you are free to leave your room for a change of scenery because it can get a little stuffy and when sharing a room sometimes you just want to take a stroll on your own stretch and simply just find a quiet place to sit alone and check your emails, this is why hotels usually have furniture in their lobbies and a couple comfy chairs in the hall, and that's where I decided to have a seat late Friday night and check my emails and do some research I needed on the internet. I was quite relaxed where I sat in the large hall by the lobby in the hotel. As I sat there people were coming and going with their dogs to take for a walk, and everyone just went about their business no fuss I wasn't bothered and nobody was bothered by me as I sat minding my business on my tablet, at least I thought nobody was bothered by me until the security guard approached me and let me know that I made him uncomfortable I guess by how he spoke to me, loudly he said, mam is everything okay, I was a little shocked I said oh yes I'm just using the wifi n checking emails, that reply wasn't enough for him because I believe he thought I was lieing to him , he said well do you have a room in this hotel, and I had to laugh a little and said of course I do I have my room key card right here, as I was trying to finish an email, still yet he wasnt done interrupting me and had the nerve to ask what my room number was! Here's my problem, I did not look out of place, I was very clean, I had on clean clothes, my hair was done, I even had fresh makeup on, this same man seen me earlier coming into the hotel with a bag of fast food and drinks that I brought to our room, so it really bothers me that me sitting there minding my business not making a sound made him suspicious of me , and only me, not the group of young girls huddled in the lobby giggling, not the two adults that just walked by one wrapped in a blanket the other wrapped in a curtain, I'm very observant and know a curtain when I see one!!! This man never gave anyone else coming and going a second look, and even though I notice everything I wasn't bothered by any of these people because nobody was causing a problem, but I will say this and this is just my opinion, I think I would have been the last person to catch his attention because I was so quiet and alone and looked very interested in what I was doing on my tablet, and I wouldn't have minded to much the first question he asked me had he took my answer and left me to my business, but to counter back twice with more questions letting me know that he truly thought I was a liar and he wasn't satisfied with my first answer so now I must prove that I'm not in fact a liar, and I'm not just sitting in this comfy chair in this hotel that iv paid hundred's of dollars to stay at for several days, checking emails, and enjoying my time out of the one room iv been confined too with my elderly aunt and niece.. For some reason this security guard finds little ol me to be suspicious out of all the passersby with their large dogs, with blankets wrapped around them , maybe he should have asked them if everything was okay maybe the heat was broke in their room idk it just seemed to me that I would be the one that looked more okay and comfortable than anyone else, I definitely looked less suspicious as I clearly wasn't uncomfortable, I wasn't crying I was not mad or sad, I was fully clothed, a hoody and jeans, id like to think I'm easy on the eyes, I smiled back when smiled at.. There was no reason to be harassed and that's exactly what he did was harassing me until he made me so uncomfortable that I got up and left my comphy little spot that I was enjoying away from the closed in hotel room where I could breath and...

This hotel shows up in some places online as Holiday Inn and other places as Forest Park Hotel. I was trying to find a hotel on a busy weekend where I could bring two small dogs for less than $300 a night. I prepaid a non-refundable $141.23 on a third-party site and an additional $50 pet fee at check-in. When arriving at the hotel around 5pm, I walk into the lobby and and it's very warm and has a strong odor. While waiting in line, two guests walk up and say they are checking out, which should have been the first sign. The hotel explained that the electricity was out at the property and they are working on getting it restored. I was given my keys and the dogs and I walked up to the 7th floor. Walked into the room to look around and saw mold/mildew infested shower curtains, toilet paper roll and holder on the ground, and the sliding patio door wouldn't securely close/lock. We left the hotel to visit a friend staying at a nicer (much more expensive) hotel up the road. We returned four hours later and noticed the electricity was still out and all the staff and security were out front smoking cigarettes and chatting. This time, the stairway was 99% pitch black and had to use a cell phone light to walk up the stairs. I did a quick check of the room to make sure I didn't leave anything there from the earlier five minute inspection. I walked out of the room and delivered the keys to the unoccupied front desk and left and drove 90 minutes outside of the city (towards my final destination) to rent a different hotel. The photos of this place online are VERY misleading and were probably from the late 90s or early 2000s around the time this property was part of a national controversy due to a gruesome incident that happened here during the World Series. (Google it.) I tried to request a refund from this business but their website directs me to a company who says they have no idea who they are. Very shady business practices.

Update: After explaining the situation and sharing the photos and videos with the third-party hotel vendor, they contacted the hotel via phone and the hotel refused to do even the $50 refund for the pet fee. The vendor gave me a $40 courtesy credit towards the stay itself after the hotel confirmed there was indeed a power outage, but said I was basically SOL on the the rest of the charge or the...

I regret booking at the Forest Park Hotel in St. Louis. This is hands down the dirtiest and most uncomfortable hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I paid $355 for two nights, and what I got was worse than a $60 roadside motel.

The room was disgusting from the start. There was visible mold inside one of the picture frames on the wall above the vent, stains on the box spring skirt that looked like body fluids, and hair stuck to it. The headboards were greasy and had drink splatters on them. The bathroom was even worse – the toilet was crooked, the corners had brown buildup, and nothing looked properly cleaned. The lampshades were dented, the balcony felt like a jailhouse walkway, and the hallways smelled like cigarettes and farts.

Even the little things were neglected – dust on the desks and drawers, smudged patio doors covered in handprints, dingy and overused towels, springy and uncomfortable beds. The whole place had a dark, creepy, unkept vibe. The only thing that seemed halfway decent was the pool.

What makes it worse is that the Red Roof Inn right across the street — which is a two-star hotel — is cleaner and better kept than this place. I would have much rather stayed there than here. That says a lot.

I am unfortunately still here, trying to tough it out, because I already paid and other reviewers said this hotel doesn’t issue refunds. But for the price they charge, this is unacceptable. I do not recommend this hotel to anyone. Save your money and book elsewhere. If your money is tight and you’re looking for an affordable hotel, go to Red Roof Inn over this.

And what makes me even more mad is looking at the reviews I didn’t see before booking — and realizing they were all right. I should have believed them.

The audacity of this place is crazy. The front of the building and the lobby look nice — cute decorations, nice couches, everything to make it seem welcoming. But the moment you get past that point, it’s all trash. The rooms are disgusting, it stinks everywhere, and on top of that the elevator doesn’t even work. I had to drag myself up to the third floor because the elevator was out of service. And you’re charging $139 a night for this? Never again. I wish I had done a walkthrough before booking, and that’s exactly what I’ll start doing...