As soon as a bustling prepare station courting again to 1894, St. Louis Union Station is an iconic landmark that has been reworked into an opulent resort. With its gorgeous Romanesque structure, hovering Grand Corridor, and upscale facilities, the St. Louis Union Station Lodge, Curio Assortment by Hilton presents a novel mix of historic appeal and trendy class. The resort’s up to date visitor rooms, eating alternatives and proximity to common St. Louis sights make it a terrific alternative of lodging for friends visiting the Gateway Metropolis.

I first stayed at this resort in 2011, previous to my incapacity, when it was a part of the Marriott portfolio. Since then, many updates have been performed to make the St. Louis Union Station Lodge and the bigger advanced extra engaging and welcoming to each leisure and enterprise vacationers.

Room Charges and Reservations

The price of a resort room on the St. Louis Union Station Lodge varies significantly, with costs starting from lower than $200 to greater than $500 per evening over the subsequent yr, inclusive of taxes. Throughout my current keep, charges averaged about $200 per evening, nevertheless I didn’t truly e book a room at this property (I used to be moved right here by one other resort that was unable to accommodate my accessibility wants). The property’s web site lists a variety of wheelchair accessible resort room varieties, with each one and two beds.

Room reservations for ADA accessible resort rooms could be made through the St. Louis Union Station Lodge web site.

Entrance to the resort is considerably difficult, as wheelchair customers enter by a aspect door on the important bell stand, take the elevator as much as the Mezzanine stage, then cross by a second door into the grand corridor. Whereas the primary (avenue stage) door is staffed and presents automated push button entry, the second door is operated by hand and there aren’t any employees to help. For friends unable to function the handbook door, you’ll want to ask a bell individual to accompany.

Test-in was a breeze and my room was positioned in an annex hooked up to the foyer stage. For friends positioned on one other flooring, the elevators are massive sufficient to accommodate a wheelchair consumer and three to 4 different folks.

Wheelchair Accessible Lodge Room at St. Louis Union Station Lodge

My visitor room with a king sized mattress was numbered 3002. The door was simply unlocked with the faucet of a keycard, but it surely was considerably tough to open. The door featured two peepholes, one at a top of 59.5 inches and one other at a diminished top of 48 inches.

The visitor room was spacious, with greater than sufficient room to navigate with my massive energy wheelchair. Massive home windows seemed out onto a courtyard going through different resort rooms (sadly, no view of the prepare tracks or ferris wheel).

DID YOU KNOW that St. Louis Union Station is residence to an aquarium, ferris wheel and wheelchair accessible miniature golf course?

The mattress top was 26 inches measured from the ground to the highest of the mattress. The mattress was on a platform base that measured 7 inches tall, with a 7-inch boxspring between the platform and mattress. Eradicating the mattress body or boxspring would decrease the peak to roughly 19 inches, an inexpensive lodging that may be requested by calling the entrance desk.

The mattress was snug and pretty comfortable, which allowed me to sleep extraordinarily nicely. The room’s air-con was prime notch, cooling the room to a low 62 levels Fahrenheit, close to my ideally suited sleep temperature of 60 levels.

A flat display screen tv sat atop a desk and cupboard combo reverse the mattress. Inside the cupboard, a small fridge was offered. The desktop measured 31.5 inches tall, with 27 inches of clearance beneath.

The mattress was accessible from either side, with straightforward to function bedside lamps affixed to the wall above the nightstands. I charged my energy wheelchair utilizing an outlet on the wall to the left of the mattress — though there have been built-in energy retailers within the lamp fixtures, they’ve a diminished present.

Wheelchair Accessible Toilet with Roll-in Bathe at St. Louis Union Station Lodge

The toilet didn’t meet all the accessible design expectations, however I discovered it manageable.

The roll-in bathe featured a wall-mounted folding bathe seat (18.5 inches above the ground), but it surely was a a lot smaller seat than required — it was simply 18 inches vast by 14.5 inches deep and, as a completely grown man, I used to be considerably hesitant to make use of it. Seize bars had been positioned in the correct locations (35.5 inches above the ground) and the hand held bathe spray unit and water controls had been inside attain of the seat.

Cleaning soap, shampoo and conditioner bottles had been affixed to the identical wall because the seat, which made them tough to entry. The bathe curtain didn’t fairly contact the ground — lengthy sufficient to stop my wheelchair from getting soaked, however permitting some water runoff into the bigger toilet space.

The roll-under sink had a countertop that was 34 inches excessive, with 26.75 inches of clearance beneath. This allowed me to roll my wheelchair proper as much as the toilet sink and use it as meant.

The bathroom measured 17.5 inches from the ground to the highest of the bathroom seat, and it was surrounded by seize bars on the adjoining aspect partitions (35 inches tall). There was greater than sufficient house to park my massive energy wheelchair subsequent to the bathroom, permitting for protected lateral transfers.

Location & Transportation

The Curio Assortment Lodge by Hilton at St. Louis Union Station is positioned in downtown St. Louis and, whereas long-distance Amtrak trains not serve the previous station, it’s the web site of a cease on the town’s MetroLink gentle rail service. You’ll be able to learn extra concerning the gentle rail within the Information to Wheelchair Accessible Public Transportation in St. Louis. The MetroLink’s Union Station cease connects riders to coach certain for different locations within the metropolis, together with Lambert St. Louis Worldwide Airport.

Many choices for wheelchair accessible leisure exist inside Union Station itself, together with the St. Louis Aquarium, The Wheel, a carousel and a miniature golf course. Some nice eating places are additionally throughout the facility, together with Landry’s Steakhouse and one in every of my St. Louis favorites, The Prepare Shed.

Loads extra is inside strolling distance, together with the enduring St. Louis Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium (the place the Cardinals play), and CITY Park, residence of the St. Louis Metropolis SC main league soccer staff. Public transport can take you to lots of the different wheelchair accessible vacationer sights in St. Louis.

Ultimate Ideas

The St. Louis Union Station Lodge, Curio Assortment by Hilton presents trendy lodging inside one of many metropolis’s most spectacular historic landmarks. Whereas it will not be essentially the most accessible resort within the metropolis, it is going to meet the wants of many and the placement is tough to beat. Proximity to prime St. Louis sights and the MetroLink prepare makes this resort an unbelievable handy place to remain.