YOU CAN FIND ME IN ST LOUIEEEE
Or so Nelly said back in the ancient days of 2000.
Living in Nashville has me centered among a bunch of awesome cities all within a few hours drive, so why not see what they are all about? Recently I hit up St. Louis for a stay at the Magnolia Hotel and I was not disappointed. Being greeted with a piece of the local confectionery St. Louis delight called butter cake was especially more than I hoped for. (Seriously STL where have you been hiding this stuff)
I have been to St. Louis before to see friends but this time I was excited to stay downtown and see what the vibe was like there. I took a stroll down to the Gateway Arch and was, again, just taken aback at how massive that thing is. When you are coming into the city along I-64 you actually see the top of the arch from miles and miles away, then as you get closer the trees breakaway and the skyline appears out of nowhere. It’s gorgeous. You drive on by the Arch as you cross the Mississippi River into the city and of course think about how big it is but you don’t truly get the scale of it until you are standing underneath. You can go up inside to the top…but I hear you can feel it swaying so that’s a fat no for me.
I was walking around the city around 6pm and I was honestly surprised at the lack of activity for a Saturday evening. There weren’t many people around and things were…closing. At 6pm. I am dead center downtown also, so maybe I didn’t venture far enough around? Either way, I even tried to pop into Starbucks…and it was closed! That really, really surprised me. Well, an evening at the hotel it is!
The Magnolia is a boutique hotel originally built in 1924. I’d much prefer to stay in boutique hotels than huge chains any day, and this is one of the few in the city.
The rooms are decorated in neutrals (which is perfect) and they even put chocolates on the pillows! I’m a sucker for a crisp white, fluffy bed and that’s exactly what I got. I spent a lot of time in that bed.
Because I’m a nine year old child, I ordered french fries from room service for my dinner and then because technically I’m a grown woman I got pretty and went downstairs to the hotel bar (and restaurant), Robie’s. It has kind of a 1920s feel and I love that. I died over the yellow velvet chairs and the chandeliers. If I lived in St. Louis I’d probably come to this bar every weekend. And also, if I haven’t sold you on staying here yet, they offer milk and cookies before bedtime! Yep. Milk and cookies. Just pop into Robie’s and it’s around the back. Heaven. After several glasses of wine (and cookies) I went back up to the 15th floor to cozy up in my room.
The next morning I ordered some coffee and breakfast and just lazied around a bit doing some blog work. (The berries and cream are to die.) It was so lovely in there I didn’t want to leave!
Thank you, Magnolia, for the wonderful stay. I do hope I have a reason to come back to St. Louis (soon)!
