Historic Hotels & Inns in St. Louis

The neighborhoods

Where to stay, by area

Downtown & the Arch

Downtown runs from the Mississippi riverfront and Gateway Arch National Park to Busch Stadium and the America’s Center convention complex, and Explore St. Louis calls it walkable. Seven of the eleven hotels are here, in two clusters. Near the Arch, on Fourth Street and along Olive, are Drury Plaza Hotel at the Arch in the 1920 International Fur Exchange, Hilton Pennywell St. Louis in the Merchants-Laclede Building, Hotel Indigo St. Louis in the 1909 LaSalle Building and Hotel Saint Louis in Adler & Sullivan’s 1893 Union Trust Building. Around Washington Avenue are the Marriott St. Louis Grand in the 1917 Hotel Statler, the Courtyard St. Louis Downtown in the 1929 Lennox and the Magnolia in the 1925 Mayfair, which says it is one block from the convention complex. The Arch’s west entrance faces Fourth Street and the Old Courthouse, site of the first two Dred Scott trials, which reopened in May 2025 after a $24.5 million renovation and is free. MetroLink stops downtown at Laclede’s Landing, Convention Center, 8th & Pine and Stadium.

Union Station & Downtown West

St. Louis Union Station, Theodore Link’s Romanesque terminal for 22 railroads, opened on September 1, 1894 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It now holds the St. Louis Aquarium, the 200-foot St. Louis Wheel and a 3D light show on the Grand Hall’s 65-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling, on the hour from 5 to 10 p.m. except on private-event days. St. Louis Union Station Hotel fills the headhouse and part of the train shed, and Explore St. Louis notes clock tower suites in the station’s original three-story vault. 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis, in the 1926 Downtown YMCA on Locust Street, calls Downtown West one of the most walkable parts of the city and puts Enterprise Center 0.5 mile away, Energizer Park 0.6 mile and Busch Stadium 1.1 miles. MetroLink’s Union Station stop is at 301 S. 18th St.

Grand Center

Grand Center, in Midtown about 3 miles west of the Arch, is the city’s arts district, home to the Fabulous Fox Theatre, the St. Louis Symphony’s Powell Hall and the Sheldon Concert Hall, built in 1912. The Angad Arts Hotel fills the 12-story Missouri Theatre Building of 1920, with its lobby and check-in on the 12th floor, and its operator says the Symphony and the Fox are steps away. The Fox names Grand (Red and Blue lines) as its nearest MetroLink stop, MetroBus #70 Grand serves the Fox and the Symphony, and the Fox runs 90-minute tours on Saturdays at 10 and 10:30 a.m. for $16.

Central West End & Forest Park

The Central West End grew up on the eastern edge of Forest Park as the city prepared for the 1904 World’s Fair, and Explore St. Louis describes its coffee shops, restaurants, bookstores and boutiques as all within walking distance. The Chase Park Plaza, the 1922 Chase Hotel joined to the 1929 Park Plaza tower, is the historic stay here. Forest Park’s 1,300 acres hold the always-free Saint Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, the Saint Louis Science Center and The Muny. The Central West End MetroLink station is 22 minutes from the airport, and the City’s Argyle and 9 North/Buckingham garages on Euclid Avenue cap at $15 a day.

Before you book

Planning your stay

Getting around

MetroLink’s Red Line starts at the airport: at Terminal 1 the station is by Exit Door 1 on the ticketing level, and from Terminal 2 you reach it through the garage from Exit Door 12. Metro’s weekday timetable runs trains from Terminal 1 every 20 minutes from 4:56 a.m. to 11:56 p.m., reaching Central West End in 22 minutes, Grand in 26, Union Station in 30, 8th & Pine in 34 and Convention Center in 36; the two trains after midnight go only as far as Civic Center. A single rail ride is $2.50 cash and a One-Day Pass for MetroLink and MetroBus is $5. As of October 2026, tunnel work single-tracks trains at Union Station and Civic Center after 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday, with Red Line delays of up to 5 minutes. Downtown is walkable, and riders 13 and up can bring bikes on MetroLink.

Parking

Hotels that publish a rate charge $30 to $55 a night: the Chase Park Plaza $50 for valet or $40 to self-park in its attached garage, with in-and-out privileges; the Magnolia $55 for valet or $40 plus tax at the Schnucks garage on Olive and 9th; 21c $55 for valet; and the Drury $30 to $40 for covered parking (6’8″ clearance), which it says may be higher during special events. We couldn’t find a rate for the other seven, so ask when you book. City garages charge $2 to $4 for the first hour and a $30 event rate. On game and concert days, St. Louis Magazine reported in August 2026, citing the City Treasurer’s office, meters within up to six blocks of Busch Stadium, Enterprise Center, Energizer Park and Stifel Theatre switch to a $5 flat ‘Event Mode’ rate two hours before start, shown only on the meter or the ParkLouie app, and drivers who assume evening parking is free can get $30 tickets. For the Arch, the Park Service’s preferred rate at the Stadium East Garage is $10 for five hours, only if you prepay at iparkit.com/TheArch.

When to go

Spring and fall are the mildest months for walking: NOAA’s 1991-2020 normals at Lambert put average highs at 68°F in April, 77°F in May, 81°F in September and 69°F in October, against 89.6°F in July and 88.3°F in August. Sports fill downtown most of the year: the Cardinals’ 2027 home opener at Busch Stadium is scheduled for Thursday, April 1, and their regular season ends there on September 26; the Blues play at Enterprise Center from October 8, 2026 to April 10, 2027; and St. Louis CITY SC is home at Energizer Park on October 28 and 31, 2026, with 2027 dates not yet published. The holidays bring Garden Glow at the Missouri Botanical Garden (opening weekend November 14-15, 2026), the Thanks-For-Giving Parade downtown on Saturday, November 21, 2026, Winterfest skating at Kiener Plaza from November 21, 2026 to January 3, 2027, and The Polar Express train ride at Union Station.

Accessibility

All MetroLink trains, platforms and stations are accessible, with elevators at elevated and underground stations and announcements that are both audible and visual. The Old Courthouse has ramps on its east and west sides and an elevator to the second-floor courtrooms, and the Arch museum is accessible, but the tram to the top is not (at least 96 steps in six flights); the Fox tour includes stairs its elevator can’t bypass. Among the hotels, the Magnolia lists accessible rooms with 33-inch doors and a garage with elevators, the Drury offers rooms with mobility and hearing features, and the Chase Park Plaza’s valet accepts vehicles outfitted for wheelchair users; ask the others before you book.

Before you book

Check the convention and game calendars before booking downtown: America’s Center is one block from the Magnolia, and on Cardinals, Blues and CITY SC dates parking moves to event pricing. Ask for the historic part of the building: at Union Station, a room in the 1894 headhouse rather than the newer rooms under the train shed (the clock tower suites are in the station’s original three-story vault), and at the Marriott St. Louis Grand, a room in the 1917 Statler rather than the 2000-2002 addition. Hotel Saint Louis’s rooftop pool is closed for the season and reopens in spring 2027.