Holiday Inn St Louis SW - Route 66 by IHG — Hotel in Sunset Hills

We are here for three days, so this review might change. We are in the neighborhood for the Laumeier Art Fair. First the Laumeier Sculpture Park is the largest and one of the oldest sculpture gardens in America. I recommend it if you are a visitor to this area, but not if you aren’t up for a long walk. Next, we are staying in a very nice room, with no complaints, but if you have a laptop or other devices that you need to charge, I would recommend you bring a power strip. The beds were very comfortable, but the room was not spacious. We found it hard to find space for our two carryon size suitcases, and there was no in-room microwave, but that is more and more common these days. Next, I needed to do laundry, and I found the self-serve laundry clean and convenient. The comments about the parking lot are well considered. There is a very popular steakhouse on property, and during certain hours they do overwhelm the lot, not to mention the six or seven semi trucks in the back lot. We were able to find parking, but it was a challenge. Now, when we tried to find our room on the fourth floor, I was reminded of a computer game I played as a teenager, “you are in a maze of twisty passages, all a like”. So while I waited for my laundry in the dryer, I went to the lobby bar, which is open from 4-10 everyday but Sunday, to have a wee dram. The bartender thought she was the boss of the world and talked down and corrected all the other servers and at least me as a customer, and it wasn’t just once, she corrected everything I did, and I was only there for one drink and fifteen minutes. It seemed that none of us could please her. Usually midwestern courtesy is expected. In this case, not so much. This hotel is on the old Route 66, and they play that up. The reality is that the original motor court was demolished decades ago and replaced with this four-story Holiday Inn. The good thing is that they kept the original sign, and some of the neon still works. They were doing room renovation on our floor, but we weren’t bothered in any way. So this is an update for my review. OMG, these beds are so comfortable. Two mornings in a row, I over slept my alarm. This time by three hours. I already have a call in to my lawyer to see if I can update my will so that I can be entombed in this room for evermore. It might disappoint my kids, but these beds are really that comfy. Also, there is a great back story about the history of that neon sign. I won’t spoil it here, but you can ask at the front desk. The way they told it as many as a dozen people stop by every day just to take pictures of the sign, and to chat about Route 66 and the sign. Oh by the way, they have a gorgeous outdoor pool, so if that is your thing, it is worth it to stay here, if only for that amenity. We are checking out this morning, so this will be my final update to my review. I decided to give the lobby bar one more try. This time, I had a very different experience. I’m pretty sure it was the same bartender, I am not sure, but she was a pretty platinum blonde, in a tight black on black uniform. This time everything went well. One difference was I didn’t have to ask for a menu as I had already preplanned my order. She was even able to sustain a conversation about the famous road sign out front. I was glad that I can update my review on a...

Well, Hotel front desk were friendly at check in. I traveled in from Pennsylvania via drive with my elderly mother, and ESA Pup, so the warm friendly welcome by the two front desk agents at check in was nice. However, all I wanted to do was shower and rest after coming off such a long drive. I couldn’t do that because the shower drain was full of somebody’s hair. The phone in the room would not connect me to the front desk, and kept throwing off a busy signal like they had the phone off the hook. I called the front desk from my cell, like an outside customer to report that my bathroom tub wasn’t cleaned. I was exhausted so I didn’t even have it in me to request a room change. I just asked if someone could come clean it. I reported this at 7:13pm. At 8:31pm, we called back to report it a second time because nobody had come (still had to use cell, busy signal still from room phone). About 15 minutes later, on site staff came to clean the bathroom while complaining that housekeeping has an auditor (a person who comes and checks the persons cleaning work on each room, with a clipboard), who obviously had not done that job. I would not have known this information had the employee voluntarily vented about it. This seemed to be a recurring issue and this employee was clearly upset about it. Nonetheless I just felt uncomfortable about the cleanliness of everything else in the room after that, and it made for an uncomfortable stay experience as a club member. The guest service line was disconnected my entire stay btw. I know this because the morning of check out, I had to call in to the front desk again via local number for toilet paper, to be told “we will do the best we can do”, I said do you not have house keeping here, the response was “yes, they should be on the floor”. This was Kim, at the front desk. They never came but I did eventually find a housekeeper cart, and took a roll, so my mom could use the bathroom. Again, club member here. Service is NON existent. I never truly got to rest in this place, if you know what I mean. I never fully settled.

Also, to be a dog friendly property the grassy areas around the property are scarce for them to use the potty, unless I just didn’t happen to discover much, other than walking across the lot into the very front of the property near the expressway. The bed was comfortable, and the lobby was nice. Those are the compliments I have I can offer. I understand that the ball gets dropped sometimes, but do better. The front desk rep, who was the same rep at check in, didn’t even offer an apology, or try to rectify anything, so my initial compliment about them being nice is voided out. An apology would have been nice. I want a refund. This was disgusting...

Hotel front desk were friendly at check in. I traveled in from Pennsylvania via drive with my elderly mother, and ESA Pup, so the warm friendly welcome by the two front desk agents at check in was nice. However, all I wanted to do was shower and rest after coming off such a long drive. I couldn’t do that because the shower drain was full of somebody’s hair. The phone in the room would not connect me to the front desk, and kept throwing off a busy signal like they had the phone off the hook. I called the front desk from my cell, like an outside customer to report that my bathroom tub wasn’t cleaned. I was exhausted so I didn’t even have it in me to request a room change. I just asked if someone could come clean it. I reported this at 7:13pm. At 8:31pm, we called back to report it a second time because nobody had come (still had to use cell, busy signal still from room phone). About 15 minutes later, on site staff came to clean the bathroom while complaining that housekeeping has an auditor (a person who comes and checks the persons cleaning work on each room, with a clipboard), who obviously had not done that job. I would not have known this information had the employee voluntarily vented about it. This seemed to be a recurring issue and this employee was clearly upset about it. Nonetheless I just felt uncomfortable about the cleanliness of everything else in the room after that, and it made for an uncomfortable stay experience as a club member. The guest service line was disconnected my entire stay btw. I know this because the morning of check out, I had to call in to the front desk again via local number for toilet paper, to be told “we will do the best we can do”, I said do you not have house keeping here, the response was “yes, they should be on the floor”. They never came but I did eventually find a housekeeper cart, and took a roll, so my mom could use the bathroom. Again, club member here. Service is NON existent. I never truly got to rest in this place, if you know what I mean. I never fully settled. Also, to be a dog friendly property the grassy areas around the property are scarce for them to use the potty, unless I just didn’t happen to discover much, other than walking across the lot into the very front of the property near the expressway. The bed was comfortable, and the lobby was nice. Those are the compliments I have I can offer. I understand that the ball gets dropped sometimes, but do better. The front desk rep, who was the same rep at check in, didn’t even offer an apology, or try to rectify anything, so my initial compliment about them being nice is voided out. An apology would have been nice. I want a refund. This was disgusting...