Hampton Inn St. Louis/Westport

The restaurant next door was the best part of this place. My room was tiny, and bright parking lot lights shone right through the windows, so it felt like sleeping with the lights on. The Wi-Fi kept dropping about once a minute and was slower than dial-up. I left two days early on a four-day trip and switched hotels so I could actually get some sleep.

The beds were comfortable, and staff were phenomenal. When we couldn't get the AC working, maintenance came up very quickly, even though it was late in the evening. Still, the smart thermostat kept defaulting to 74 no matter how often we turned it down. There was good water pressure in the bathroom, but several things needed attention: the towel hook came off the wall, there was mold on the shower curtain, and the showerhead and tub faucet flanges weren't attached to the wall. There was no bathroom fan. The towels smelled strongly of bleach, and one bath towel had a hair coiled into it.

The price is hard to beat for that part of St Louis, and the front desk staff were consistently helpful and friendly. Check-in was smooth, they quickly brought extra towels when we asked, and the included breakfast was fine, with a waffle station and some daily variety. Food was replenished regularly. The bed was comfortable and the AC worked throughout our stay. But the building felt dated and cleanliness was below par in both the shared areas and room. The elevator floor had visible stains and sticky residue. In our bathroom, there was hair from the previous guest, three of the four drawers were broken and hanging off their hinges, and the conditioner bottle was empty. The shower shelf was poorly patched with caulking and felt unsafe. The faucet had low pressure and kept leaking onto the counter. We stayed four nights, and housekeeping came only once, doing very little. They changed towels, but didn't make the bed, replace our used coffee cups or the empty conditioner, and there was no sign of vacuuming or tidying. The staff and some basic amenities were good, but the upkeep needs work for the stay to feel comfortable and hygienic.

The room and building were so poorly insulated that outside traffic sounded like our window was open, though it wasn't. Interstate noise was awful, and we could hear people in the next room opening packages as if they were beside us. The AC unit was held in place with some kind of wooden wedge. The carpets were dirty and the towels yellow. It wasn't the dirtiest hotel I've stayed in, but it definitely wasn't clean. At 7:30 a.m. breakfast was nearly gone, and what remained was inedible, including rock-hard biscuits. I was quoted $283 when I called, but booked through a third-party site for $207. This felt more like a $69-a-night Motel 6. I'm surprised Hampton hasn't taken its name off the place.