Le Méridien St. Louis Downtown hotel at 1019 Pine is having their grand opening May 5
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I was there to eat at Prime 55 on 3/17 and I’m positive it was open a few weeks before that
I don't know anything about the place, but from walking past regularly the Le Meridien has never really looked complete. Their new sign has staining running down from the letters on the main sign. Their canopy framing looks pointless and naked without a canopy. There's a window along Pine that looks like it was never cleaned. Then you have the permanent sidewalk plates along Pine to cover some shaky grates, which maybe is the city's fault but still adds to the total lack of curb appeal.
And it does seem like it's been open for months. The TVs in Prime 55 are even on the February streetview.
And it does seem like it's been open for months. The TVs in Prime 55 are even on the February streetview.
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Could well be it was a soft open. The Broadway in Columbia was open to paying customers at least a few weeks before the official "Grand Opening." The owners figured the soft opening would provide a bit of revenue and help the staff work the kinks out. (And maybe give the contractors, i. e. us, a little extra time to fix punchlist items.) Three months seems a long time for a soft open, but . . . maybe? (Especially with Covid I could maybe see it.)
Yeah, Grand Openings happen late all the time. Completely understandable why they would have an incremental opening.
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Shell Building dual Hilton is open or will be open this weekend because I just booked a stay there this weekend for my mom
A look inside
According to the Hilton website, the Hilton at the Arch (the smaller downtown Hilton at 4th & Olive) is closed for renovations. Projected to reopen on September 6th.
This was by far the most dated of the chain hotels downtown. Its reviews were suffering as well.
I'm hoping for this to be a Hilton Canopy, which this property would be perfect for.
This was by far the most dated of the chain hotels downtown. Its reviews were suffering as well.
I'm hoping for this to be a Hilton Canopy, which this property would be perfect for.
I'm happy to say that my "the Four Seasons Hotel rooms are dated and the hotel is probably leaving the market" prediction is definitely wrong.
The Rebirth of Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis
(press release from May 11th, unfortunately they didn't mentioned room renovations on their instagram page until yesterday. I had to comment and ask if they had any more information before they directed me to their bio link directory)
The new room finishes are somewhat disappointing. Four Seasons can definitely do better but any renewed investment is good news. Also glad to hear they've used a local interior designer, R|5 Design. In their reply, they said they'll post more.
The Rebirth of Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis
(press release from May 11th, unfortunately they didn't mentioned room renovations on their instagram page until yesterday. I had to comment and ask if they had any more information before they directed me to their bio link directory)
The new room finishes are somewhat disappointing. Four Seasons can definitely do better but any renewed investment is good news. Also glad to hear they've used a local interior designer, R|5 Design. In their reply, they said they'll post more.
Since there's no Airbnb thread, and I don't want to create one, I thought I'd just put this opinion here.
I've stayed in a few Airbnbs on trips I've taken. There's been good ones and there's been bad ones. I know that this is a way for some people to make a quick buck on the side, but I think it's time to ban them everywhere. The most recent one I've been to, I left in the middle of the night on the first day I was there because I didn't feel like it was a safe environment, particularly clean, and felt like I was being watched. Not to mention the maintenance on things (particularly water) wasn't up to standards. I took 30 photos and contacted the host with my problems, and he dismissed me. So, I complained to Airbnb, and they never got back to me on things like a refund or anything else. It was a dud. I ended up driving over to a Holiday Inn and paying a ton of money just to get a place to stay for that night, and the next one.
The experience, coupled with more and more recent media coverage of bad Airbnb hosts and spying cameras, gives me a bad feeling. Not only are hundreds of residential units being taken up by dedicated Airbnbs, but the experience seems to be getting worse and worse. In my view, just get rid of them in most all places. In places like the desert where there are few hotels, then maybe that would be acceptable. But for cities, it's time to go. I don't care if people lose out on a bunch of side-made money because of this. If you want to house people in the short-term, build your own hotel that's held to particular standards.
Free up housing in cities and get people living in those units who actually want to live there. Don't just sign a lease and then flip it because you can make a few extra bucks. Same goes for building owners and property management companies that do this. Just no. And if you lease an apartment that's too big for what you need, and you don't have any friends or family coming over where they can stay in your extra room, downsize if possible.
Airbnb needs to change to just a host website for small, and premium, boutique hotels that otherwise wouldn't be found on something like Hotels.com or Expedia or whatever (this is how I found the "No Vacancy Guesthouse" in Kansas City". Forget bedrooms or beds in apartments, or entire apartments and houses (unless a beachside vacation rental). Just focus on small and special properties with a premium experience and great track record. I guarantee it would lead to multiple better outcomes.
I've stayed in a few Airbnbs on trips I've taken. There's been good ones and there's been bad ones. I know that this is a way for some people to make a quick buck on the side, but I think it's time to ban them everywhere. The most recent one I've been to, I left in the middle of the night on the first day I was there because I didn't feel like it was a safe environment, particularly clean, and felt like I was being watched. Not to mention the maintenance on things (particularly water) wasn't up to standards. I took 30 photos and contacted the host with my problems, and he dismissed me. So, I complained to Airbnb, and they never got back to me on things like a refund or anything else. It was a dud. I ended up driving over to a Holiday Inn and paying a ton of money just to get a place to stay for that night, and the next one.
The experience, coupled with more and more recent media coverage of bad Airbnb hosts and spying cameras, gives me a bad feeling. Not only are hundreds of residential units being taken up by dedicated Airbnbs, but the experience seems to be getting worse and worse. In my view, just get rid of them in most all places. In places like the desert where there are few hotels, then maybe that would be acceptable. But for cities, it's time to go. I don't care if people lose out on a bunch of side-made money because of this. If you want to house people in the short-term, build your own hotel that's held to particular standards.
Free up housing in cities and get people living in those units who actually want to live there. Don't just sign a lease and then flip it because you can make a few extra bucks. Same goes for building owners and property management companies that do this. Just no. And if you lease an apartment that's too big for what you need, and you don't have any friends or family coming over where they can stay in your extra room, downsize if possible.
Airbnb needs to change to just a host website for small, and premium, boutique hotels that otherwise wouldn't be found on something like Hotels.com or Expedia or whatever (this is how I found the "No Vacancy Guesthouse" in Kansas City". Forget bedrooms or beds in apartments, or entire apartments and houses (unless a beachside vacation rental). Just focus on small and special properties with a premium experience and great track record. I guarantee it would lead to multiple better outcomes.
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AirBnB has single handedly destroyed the quality of life in some parts of STL City to the point where it’s unlivable.
I've had nothing but good experiences with AirBnB. Maybe I'm just lucky. The model certainly does allow for all kinds of problems, but I think increased regulation and enforcement is preferable to an outright ban.
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We shouldn't tell people they cant make money from renting out an in-law suite. If there's a market, I'm not sure why we should let the government get involved with two people comfortable with short term rentals. Tax them like hotels (STL seems to be pretty good at this). If someone wants to visit STL in a specific way we shouldn't ban that. I want to rent a room in Lafayette Square and walk around for a day or two, what should I do without AirBnB's?
If you're looking for a specific experience you should use filter Air BNB's by superhost or other factors.
If you're looking for a specific experience you should use filter Air BNB's by superhost or other factors.
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I wouldn't be in support of banning AirBnB simply because it allows more flexibility of where in the city people can stay. In the city hotels are literally only in the central corridor. Outside of that small bunch at Hampton and 44, there just aren't any hotels in South City. The obvious solution is to build actual hotels in South City, I am certain the demand would be there. Until then though, leave the AirBnB's. I always recommend a spot on Benton Park to out of town friends. Perfect neighborhood to expose STL newbies to a good STL time.
With that being said, I totally agree that AirBnB needs some serious regulation. Nobody should be allowed to have more that one or two. These giant conglomerates managing 50+ units are huge nuisances. I would be willing to bet those destructive parties downtown this year were in conglomerate managed units.
With that being said, I totally agree that AirBnB needs some serious regulation. Nobody should be allowed to have more that one or two. These giant conglomerates managing 50+ units are huge nuisances. I would be willing to bet those destructive parties downtown this year were in conglomerate managed units.
I have a rental property that's been listed on AirBnB and VRBO and I've found the AirBnB renters tend to be more of the weekend only, partying type that destroy properties fast. I do not have nearly as many issues with VRBO renters and I've since removed my listing from AirBnB.
Does anyone why the Tru/Home2 in the Shell building has such minimal signage at street level?
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I'd first spent money on repaving the entire road leading to it and in front of it before any more of signage. It's horrendous
I'm all for having a few AirBnBs in a neighborhood, but the oversaturation of them is getting out of hand. One of my friends just got kicked out of their Tower Grove South apartment because the landlord is converting the whole complex into AirBnBs.
No doubt stronger regulation and standards for Airbnbs would be helpful, but it seems that hosts, especially sketchy ones, would find ways around those rules. I understand that in a lot of bigger cities, hotels are concentrated in the popular corridors and not so much in the neighborhoods and that Airbnbs are good alternatives, but they need to be improved drastically. I'm not typically the one to call for a ban or increased regulation, but these are more or less unregulated dwelling units and can house a bunch of issues as a result.
The fact that an entire building in Tower Grove South is being converted into what will more or less be an Airbnb hotel is horrible. TGS is a neighborhood where people want to be and to kick existing residents out for Airbnbs, which will likely house people who don't give a sh*t about the neighborhood, is a dick move on so many levels.
If we can't ban Airbnbs, then strong regulations are needed as is oversight from Airbnb itself. Make sure hosts aren't kicking existing residents out and make sure the units that would be listed on Airbnb aren't contributing to reduced housing in a neighborhood already struggling to keep up with housing demand. Renting out in-law suites can be ok since the main renter lives there, but entire apartment units and homes just don't seem that wise to rent out entirely. Finally, limits on how many Airbnbs someone, or a company, can have should be limited to two. That's in addition to defined cleaning and privacy standards.
The fact that an entire building in Tower Grove South is being converted into what will more or less be an Airbnb hotel is horrible. TGS is a neighborhood where people want to be and to kick existing residents out for Airbnbs, which will likely house people who don't give a sh*t about the neighborhood, is a dick move on so many levels.
If we can't ban Airbnbs, then strong regulations are needed as is oversight from Airbnb itself. Make sure hosts aren't kicking existing residents out and make sure the units that would be listed on Airbnb aren't contributing to reduced housing in a neighborhood already struggling to keep up with housing demand. Renting out in-law suites can be ok since the main renter lives there, but entire apartment units and homes just don't seem that wise to rent out entirely. Finally, limits on how many Airbnbs someone, or a company, can have should be limited to two. That's in addition to defined cleaning and privacy standards.
I thought there was accountability in Airbnb like in Uber. If multiple people leave bad reviews the host’s rating goes down. If guests party trash a place they also get flagged in the system.
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Can you share the block in TGS? It's so frustrating how many people are getting kicked out of their apartments around Tower Grove Park etc. whether its for airbnb or single-family home conversion or to renovate for much higher rents.Suds wrote: ↑Jun 21, 2022I'm all for having a few AirBnBs in a neighborhood, but the oversaturation of them is getting out of hand. One of my friends just got kicked out of their Tower Grove South apartment because the landlord is converting the whole complex into AirBnBs.
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That’s terribleSuds wrote:I'm all for having a few AirBnBs in a neighborhood, but the oversaturation of them is getting out of hand. One of my friends just got kicked out of their Tower Grove South apartment because the landlord is converting the whole complex into AirBnBs.