A great stay at a great property

I was planning a road trip from rural Illinois to Nashville, with a stop in St. Louis to check out a new city and state I hadn’t been to before. Between researching the city’s hotels and my personal love for the Le Méridien brand, we decided to not indulge the dubious honor of St. Louis’ title of the United States’ murder capital and stay in the upscale pocket of Clayton instead.

As the name states, Le Méridien St. Louis Clayton is located in Clayton, an affluent suburb of St. Louis. With an entrance on Bonhomme Avenue, the hotel is surrounded by office towers and restaurants, with residential homes outside the business core and easy access to Forest Park with its museums, and St. Louis proper just beyond. The hotel is in close proximity to a highway, but the noise from that thankfully didn’t leach into the hotel.

Formerly the tired Sheraton Clayton Plaza, built in 1966, the hotel closed in 2019 and reopening in October 2020 following a complete transformation that touched every interior space and remodeled the hotel’s façade to create a new product that is incredibly elegant, well thought-out and subtly feminine. The driveway leads directly into the lobby, which is decorated in blues and grays with pops of orange, as well as wood, tan leather and zig-zag and houndstooth patterns. Three reception pods are available up two steps to the left, while a small sundries counter and various seating areas and high tables are scattered throughout the lobby. Although I checked in online, the check-in process was quick, all my details and elite status were confirmed, and I was issued keys to my room in a matter of minutes.

Meeting rooms are available to the left beyond the reception, the main ballroom across from the reception and the hotel’s restaurant and bar, Café La Vie, is located at the back of the lobby. As mentioned above, the interior design scheme is beautiful and is an ideal representation of the Le Méridien brand’s mid-century modern, travel-inspired aesthetic.

Valet and self-parking is available at the hotel, with the entrance to the hotel’s lot just past the driveway behind gated access. Self-parking is 25 USD a day.

Due to my Ambassador Elite status and use of a Suite Night Award, I was able to confirm an upgrade to one of the hotel’s dedicated suites with a separate living room and bedroom. I was assigned a corner unit on the ninth floor.

The suite is a conventional layout of what is clearly two separate regular rooms, with one serving as a living area and the other as the bedroom. Decorated in the same blues and orange as the lobby, the design is residential and playful with high-impact artwork, strong patterns and unique detailing. The living room had a two-seater couch, two swiveling armchairs, side table, coffee table and armoire below the wall-mounted television, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Forest Park Parkway and St. Louis in the distance; we could see the Gateway Arch from our room.

The separate bedroom featured a king-sized bed dressed in Le Méridien’s all-white linens and signature bed throw and pillow, framed by a beautiful backlit headboard inspired by dressing panels. There is a separate television unit with a bench below it, as well as a tall drafting desk inspired by those used by architects was also in the bedroom, along with a high chair. There are lots of USB outlets and power outlets, which is appreciated in this day and age and refreshing to see as an element incorporated into the renovation. Lighting across the room is more muted with no ceiling lights, instead offering wall-mounted and floor lamps for a more intimate feel. A small closet with a sliding barn door is available, with an exposed section featuring the Illy-branded coffeemaker and some drawers.

The bathroom is accessible from the bedroom, and featured a double vanity with a huge, well-illuminated mirror and a commode and standing shower each housed in their own glassed-in areas. The shower was very spacious, with good water pressure and plus-sized individual bottles of the Le Méridien brand standard Malin + Goetz bath amenities.

Wi-fi is complimentary for member’s of Marriott’s loyalty program, with premium access afforded to Gold Elite members and above. Speeds were good and coverage thorough; I didn’t experience any dropping out during my stay.

I selected breakfast as my welcome amenity, and was issued vouchers to use at Café La Vie good for the CLV breakfast of two eggs, meat and potatoes, and one coffee or juice. We seated ourselves and were attended to by Angela, who issued us menus and told us we could order anything off the ‘Signature Breakfast’ section as part of our amenity despite the voucher stating otherwise. We each selected avocado toast with eggs, an ice tea and coffee. Due to a mistake on my order - I received scrambled instead of poached eggs - I was given a complimentary juice on top of my coffee, and appreciated the gesture. Our food took quite a bit of time to prepare; we noticed guests who arrived after us received their orders before we did, but found our food to be delicious and of high quality.

I stopped at the bar the night of my arrival, and ordered a Negroni. It was delicious and well-made, and priced reasonably for a premium hotel at 14 USD per cocktail.

The hotel also offers room service, but we didn’t avail ourselves of it.

The hotel offers a gym on the newly-created fifteenth floor, which features double-height ceilings and panoramic views towards St. Louis. There is also a pool on the third floor, but being in early March, this was too cold for us to use.

As mentioned above, the hotel has several meeting rooms and ballrooms as well as a business center to cater to corporate clientele. We saw guests and associates milling about here, so it’s safe to say that these get frequently used by the local community.

Service at the hotel was fantastic. I spoke to Matthew via phone before my arrival, and he graciously arranged a spectacular welcome amenity for me as well as tickets to a special exhibit at the Saint Louis Art Museum. Gerald welcomed me upon arrival and checked me out with professionalism and courteousness, Tom at the entrance and valet station was light-heard and helpful, and Angela and Kelli at Café La Vie were wonderful to deal with thanks to their friendliness and positive attitudes.

This is a great hotel that should be considered a flagship for the Le Méridien brand thanks to its beautiful design, adherence to brand standards and professional team. I wish I stayed for longer than one night but had a great stay that was as sweet as it was short, and thoroughly recommend it to travelers into the area.