Review - Millennium Hotel, Saint Louis

Over the weekend, I stayed at the Millennium Hotel in Saint Louis.  This is a fairly modern hotel in downtown, close to the football and baseball stadiums, the convention center, and St. Louis's riverfront.  Here are my thoughts on the hotel and my stay there:

Pro's

• Location - It was a 15 minute walk from the convention center and football stadium, a few minutes away from Busch Stadium, and you have a magnificent view of the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River from the rear of the hotel.  The downtown district has a plethora of excellent restaurants and bars.  Parking for the hotel is convenient in either the front of the hotel or across the street in a garage.
• Staff - I found the staff to be friendly, efficient, and helpful.  The wait staff in the bar got a little behind on the two nights I went there for drinks and food, but they were trying to serve a large group of gunbloggers, NRA members, and baseball fans.  The shuttle driver we used when it was raining on Saturday was the nicest person I met in Saint Louis who wasn't specifically there for the convention.
• Cleanliness and Upkeep - The hotel was spotlessly clean, even in high traffic areas such as the lobby.  The hotel had a few blemishes in wall paper and drywall, and the stairwell in the north tower needed a good cleaning.
• Food - The food in the bar and the downstairs restaurant was excellent. I suggest trying the toasted ravioli.  I'm told that's a local St. Louis delicacy.
• Comfort - The rooms, and beds in particular, were very comfortable.  The lobby has several sets of chairs and couches for getting small groups together.  In the morning, a small Starbucks coffee booth is open, allowing you to read the newspaper and have your $2.00 cup of coffee while sitting in a comfy chair.

Con's

• Cost - Dennis from Dragon Leatherworks and I shared a room, and our price was a special rate for the NRA Annual Meeting.  I checked the plate on the door of our room, and the advertised price for a small room with two double beds was $279 per night.  For a nice hotel in the downtown district of a large city, I'd say that's about par for the course.  However, the hotel provided precisely nothing other than the room for that money.  Internet access, telephone, and breakfast were not included, and were quite pricey.  The wired network in the room cost $15 a day to use.  According to the guest services book, utilizing the phone in the room would have cost $1.20 for the first minute, with a charge for each additional minute afterwards.  Breakfast in the hotel was excellent, but cost $15.95 per person.  Maybe I'm spoiled, but I've paid much less for a hotel room and gotten complimentary Internet access and hot breakfast.  Parking at the hotel garage was also not complimentary.
• Size of the room - Like I said, the room was small.  There was a small desk for working, if you either paid for the Internet access or had a cellular modem, but that was about the extent of the excess space.  If I had been travelling with a family and needed a roll-out bed for a child, it would have been very tight.
• Hot Water - We stayed three nights, and I had a lukewarm shower two of three mornings.  At first, I thought it might be caused by my inability to work the all-in-one faucet in the shower, but the hot water was also absent in the sink.  Inquiries to the front desk were not fruitful.  I'd like to note here that I have not been in a hotel without adequate hot water since the last time I was in Eastern Europe.
• Pool/Jacuzzi - The hotel has a nicely furnished workout room, but both the indoor and outdoor pools were closed and covered by a tarp.  No whirlpool was evident, which would have been nice after walking the floor at the convention center all day.

 Overall, I'd say that the Millennium would be a good place to stay if you are coming into town for a one night stay, such as to see a baseball or football game, and just want a nice, safe, clean hotel to sleep in after leaving the stadium.  If you are a business traveller and will be in town for several days, you might get better value elsewhere.