urbanSTL

chriss752 wrote: ↑

Nov 02, 2020

Didn't see a post about it anywhere by the Parkway Hotel in the Central West End is now a "Doubletree by Hilton". New signs are up too. Not sure how recent it is, but it caught my eye the other night.

I saw that yesterday too. Also what is the hotel/building they building on Hanley south of the Home Depot? It looks like a hotel, but anyone know which brand it will be or will it be apartments?

10-intuition wrote:

chriss752 wrote: ↑

Nov 02, 2020

Didn't see a post about it anywhere by the Parkway Hotel in the Central West End is now a "Doubletree by Hilton". New signs are up too. Not sure how recent it is, but it caught my eye the other night.

I saw that yesterday too. Also what is the hotel/building they building on Hanley south of the Home Depot? It looks like a hotel, but anyone know which brand it will be or will it be apartments?

It’s a hotel. I seem to recall it being a Townplace by Marriott.

chriss752 wrote: ↑

Nov 02, 2020

Didn't see a post about it anywhere by the Parkway Hotel in the Central West End is now a "Doubletree by Hilton". New signs are up too. Not sure how recent it is, but it caught my eye the other night.

Actually pretty good to hear. It needs updates. They're not guaranteed under a national brand but I'd say likely. 

chriss752 wrote: ↑

Nov 02, 2020

Didn't see a post about it anywhere by the Parkway Hotel in the Central West End is now a "Doubletree by Hilton". New signs are up too. Not sure how recent it is, but it caught my eye the other night.

Just a couple of weeks ago apparently. It was renovated too, according to this:

Compass45 Hospitality Opens DoubleTree by Hilton St. Louis Forest Park Following Conversion

OYO has now added branding it the building. Hopefully they invest some money in the exterior entrance

I'm not expecting anything good from OYO. Somehow the reviews on Google Maps have actually gotten worse since they took over. I would say that the whole building needs to be closed and renovated but I'd be too afraid it wouldn't reopen. There's also a decent amount of condos in the building. Hopefully the HOA isn't struggling. 

I have heard and read nothing but terrible things about OYO hotels. If you read the reviews of any OYO hotel in the country it’s all the same - horrible reviews. They really sound like trash. They market themselves as a “budget” hotel; not fitting for this beautiful, historic building in downtown STL; especially one as seemingly awful as OYO. Quite a shame, and I am pretty certain this chain will be detrimental to the building, not beneficial. It will just be ran further into the ground. There's even an OYO in Lake St. Louis, and even that one sounds completely terrible. And to add insult to injury, the CEO of the chain is literally a billionaire. 

^ Thanks for posting,

Another article that stuck out is St. Louis based equity firm bought Chicago office building for conversion to Airbnb-style hotel stays.  What came to mind is maybe Chemical building converted to same business model by owners.  So essentially you got a full service hotel and a suite/apartment suites booked under Airbnb.  Full service hotel can provided cleaning services, etc... extra amenitites.  

My wife spent several days at Airbnb stay in CWE while in town visiting old friends and our daughter.  The building appeared to have a number of Airbnb units available all under one group.   Any thoughts what might work downtown? any building stock left that even would be doable (maybe carve out part of Railway Exchnage of Jeff Arms)?

https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/new ... 9#cxrecs_s

St. Louis private equity firm Larson Capital Management is getting creative in repurposing traditional office space with the purchase of a building in downtown Chicago that will be converted for Airbnb-style hotel stays.

I'm curious, do AirBnBs have to pay the hotel tax? If not I would think that the code should be altered to include these buildings with multiple (say more than 4) AirBnBs.

Yes.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/231 ... n-missouri

It blows my mind that the OYO hasn't been renovated yet, I wouldn't even say renovation is the right word, maybe just updating. Reading the reviews (many of which are not great) it doesn't even seem like it needs all that much work. Granted it isn't pocket change but it seems like it just needs new furniture, carpets, a paint job, and a deep cleaning. For a bit extra do some minor updating in common areas and find a restaurant tenant and you have a perfectly fine hotel again.

^ Indeed.  It doesn't get much better of a location for people coming in for concerts, games, etc. @ Enterprise, or even those visiting Union Station if they're into that kind of thing.  Saves a few bucks from staying at the Double Tree Curio @ Union Station (when did that rebrand happen, anyways?).  Doesn't seem like this hotel is in the right hands, but hopefully it doesn't fall into total disrepair.

Union Station became a Curio in late 2016, maybe? It's been a long time. It was always too nice to be a DoubleTree. I think of DoubleTree more as a nice place to stay along the interstate, not a historic landmark. It's in good company, a lot of the Curio brand is made up of old world luxury hotels. Not really sure how to describe it, places like the Chase or the Elms in Excelsior Springs, MO. Where rich people would hang out in the 1920s. Large luxury hotels that are in the middle of neighborhoods or by the beach instead of downtown. I think Union Station fits the vibe perfectly. They call themselves an urban resort and it's definitely a great way to look at it. Yes I know that the historic terminal hotel was not a luxury hotel. For those that don't know, the rooms were tiny and super cheap. Something more like a YMCA than a hotel. 

As for the OYO, I would say it's embarrassing but every city has their crappy hotels. Even New York has the Hotel Pennsylvania. 

^ Wow, that long ago...a few years back we stayed at the DoubleTree and went to the NYE celebration at BPV, but I guess it's been a few more years than I thought. Haha.  Yeah, it was pretty nice when I was there, whenever that happened to be...but a shame you probably don't get the cookie upon arrival now. 

Thanks for the tidbit.

EssTeeEll wrote: ↑

Aug 28, 2021

^ Wow, that long ago...a few years back we stayed at the DoubleTree and went to the NYE celebration at BPV, but I guess it's been a few more years than I thought. Haha.  Yeah, it was pretty nice when I was there, whenever that happened to be...but a shame you probably don't get the cookie upon arrival now. 

Thanks for the tidbit.

Personal opinion. The cookie is awful….

KSDK reporting the Last Hotel is for sale

Lawsuit is still unresolved. US Bank says the developers still owe $12m. Of course the developers say the sale is unrelated to the lawsuit. They claim that the hotel would be 40% more expensive to build today and that's why the think it's a good time to sell. I'm guessing revenue is still lower than pre-COVID expectations though.

This might be a bad sign but could be good (or bad) for the hotel. Would be nice to see a brand flag on it again after it lost Hyatt. Maybe a Kimpton, IHG doesn't have much presence downtown.

The most recent reviews on Trip Advisor are... not great. But it does note that the hotel is "taking safety precautions against COVID-19 and is temporarily closed until 05/30/2022".

-RBB

Room (and room bathroom) renovations look great btw. Excited for this rebrand. A good sign for the CWE. Was this property an Indigo at one point or just proposals?

aprice wrote: ↑

Apr 18, 2022

 Was this property an Indigo at one point or just proposals?

It was, yes.

dweebe wrote: ↑

Apr 18, 2022

Using Google street view:
2007: no name hotel
2009: Hotel Indigo
2011: Comfort Inn
2014: Being renovated to Holiday Inn Express
2015-2022: Holiday Inn Express
2023>: back to Hotel Indigo?

Is this property haunted or built on an Native American burial ground?

2007 - Inn at the Park, and I believe it was a Best Western before that.

dweebe wrote: ↑

Apr 18, 2022

Using Google street view:
2007: no name hotel
2009: Hotel Indigo
2011: Comfort Inn
2014: Being renovated to Holiday Inn Express
2015-2022: Holiday Inn Express
2023>: back to Hotel Indigo?

Is this property haunted or built on an Native American burial ground?

Literally everything in the area is built on the ruins of the great Mississippian metropolis, so . . . yes. To the latter certainly. And probably the former as well. Chief Pontiac is probably still banging around downtown somewhere.