Hampton Inn St. Louis-Downtown (At the Gateway Arch) — Hotel in St. Louis

A Stay to Remember, Whether You Want To or Not

Let’s start with the hallways. I’ve stayed in saunas that felt cooler. The walk from the elevator to our room felt like a cardio session in a convection oven. I half-expected to see mirages and tumbleweeds as I made my way down the corridor. Once in the room, I was relieved to find that the AC was working overtime, and by “overtime,” I mean it probably holds a grudge. That poor unit huffed and puffed like it was trying to cool Satan’s guest house, struggling to keep the room at a breezy 73 or 74 degrees. I salute its dedication. It never quit… probably because it couldn’t afford to.

Speaking of breathability, let’s talk about the pool. Ever wanted to simulate what it feels like to swim inside a chemical weapons testing chamber? Look no further. With 15 kids in the water and every single one of them coughing in unison, it felt like we were extras in a historical war drama titled “Mustard Gas: The Sequel.” It wasn’t so much a pool as it was an Olympic-sized Vicks VapoRub diffuser. The chlorine levels were so high I’m convinced I emerged 10% less human and 90% Purell. It’s comforting to know the water was clean enough to kill bacteria, small insects, and possibly several generations of family trees.

Now, let’s examine the men’s restroom on the fifth floor, specifically, the light switch, which looked like it was installed by a raccoon during a power outage. The top screw was dangling out like it was trying to escape, and the whole thing leaned out of the wall like it was whispering, “I wasn’t meant for this life.” Honestly, it gave off strong “final destination” energy, one flick away from either nothing happening or triggering a full blackout in the Midwest. Charming.

To their credit, the staff was wonderful. Every person we interacted with was kind, professional, and doing their best. They were quick with recommendations, friendly at check-in, and even tolerant when I asked, “Do the elevators always feel like you’re going back in time?” These folks were the saving grace of the stay, warm in spirit, even if the building was warm in every other possible way. Give them a better building and you’d have a four-star experience. Maybe five, if they can also fix the haunted light switches.

The Hampton Inn Downtown St. Louis isn’t the worst hotel I’ve stayed in, but it does feel like it’s clinging to its better years. Much like the city it’s rooted in, it needs a little love, a little maintenance, and maybe a temperature adjustment. If you come with low expectations, a portable fan, and maybe a gas mask for the pool area, you’ll be just fine. And honestly, the location’s decent… assuming you’re not too worried about what else downtown might be falling apart. But hey, at least breakfast was solid, and...

Lawrence at check in was super nice. Need more of people like him. He also works in the kitchen and is very good to guests. ||We stayed in Room 705. It smelled like dirty socks/wet dog. There manger was informed and offered to spray room but I was hesitant due to potential allergies. Hotel was full so we couldn’t change rooms. Th rooms were a lot more worn since last year I visited. Either something was spilled on the dresser/desk or the laquer finish was deteriorating and made it slightly sticky to the touch. Furniture had light to moderate wear. Carpet had moderate to heavy wear. AC unit worked very well and I love how the fan stayed constantly on for white noise at night. Sheets and towels were clean. Shower/bathroom/tile had light wear and slight peeling of ceiling paint but nothing more concerning than most chain hotels. No microwave in room which is a minus but only 1 in lobby. You do have a mini fridge tho. ||Breakfast was served from 7a-10am. Breakfast Staff was super nice and very attentive to re supplying food. Breakfast was typical of Hampton inn, not that impressive but it is what it is. The powdered eggs offering still bothers me and the pan always has water at the bottom. If one thing could be fixed to make a big difference across all Hampton inn’s is replace the powdered eggs with real scrambled eggs. ||The 3 Elevators were decent. One was particularly finicky on scanning room key in order to go to your specific floor. On occasion I wouldn’t make it to my floor and had to repeatedly scan my room key and press my floor about 15 times before I was successful. ||The Room faced the highway but being so close to the highway I could barely hear all 8 lanes of traffic which was impressive. ||Even number rooms face south and towards Arch. Odd number rooms face north and face all highway, the dome and lecledes landing. I prefer the arch view but for some reason the windows aren’t as good as on the north side and you hear quite a bit of downtown racers and such. ||Digital key system was down which made for a pain to get in garage at check in but Lawrence was on it with Hilton to try to get it fixed. Also digital check out didn’t work either. ||$30/ secure parking. Spaces are super tight so you better be a good Parker if you have a 4Runner or larger. Your Suburban will only fit in limited spaces outside the garage or on the street. ||The hotel is a very Convenient location to Americas center, lacked landing- 1 blk away||They do allow pets but didn’t take one so have no experience with a dedicated places for pets to go potty. ||One nice thing is the front desk has some limited beers for sale. I think they were $8 each....

The staff was great that we encountered! All of them were very nice and talkative! We had a arch view room and it was a very good view of the arch and city! ( View costs extra) We stayed for a concert at Busch stadium and walked to and from without any issues, so the location worked for us. (We did walk in a large group of people also leaving from the concert I don't think I'd suggest walking it not being in a large group at night because a block away we did hear some sketchy stuff and a walker bye called the police..during the day we had no walking issues) The front lobby was very clean. Breakfast was the typical Continental breakfast. The elevators...well...they smelled funky, took forever, and sounded like they were about to croak. (We took a lot of stairs) Our floor that our room was on was a furnace, I'm assuming the air wasn't working or barely was. Our bed was comfortable. Our room looked clean but, it was warm when we arrived to drop off our stuff and it smelt like moldy feet or something. I thought maybe it was because it was so warm and stuffy so I turned the air conditioning on blast and we left to start our night. We got back pretty late and when we returned our hall on our floor was still a sauna but our room was cool when we went it but, the room still smelt funky not as bad but funky. It was late so we just went to bed. I'm thinking maybe a carpet issue I dunno because the room did appear clean. Now, we originally booked our room with park and stay online a amount was given we put in our card info etc....on check out we received a receipt ....after leaving on the way home we check out bank app And a bit more than what was reflected on our receipts was removed from our account. My significant other called and no one could give info because a manager wasn't present so fingers crossed we will get our money back that was over charged. And also the gentleman when called said parking was $50 and that's not what we were told originally. All together even though the staff was amazing I don't think we will be staying at that location in the...