DoubleTree by Hilton St. Louis - Westport

The location is great, which makes it a shame that the place keeps going downhill. I’ve stayed here a couple of times for work, but as a Hilton member I’m disappointed and won’t be back. This visit, the bar and restaurant service was awful, and the food wasn’t good. My room hadn’t been updated: stained, worn carpet, a tiny TV from the early 2000s, and a gross bathroom. It needs a full upgrade.

The staff I met were friendly, helpful, and welcoming. The hotel itself feels like a preserved exhibit of '90s hospitality. I stayed here three years ago and had a terrible experience, but forgot and came back. There have been very few improvements since 2023. As a Lifetime Diamond Member who stays at plenty of Hilton hotels, I sometimes forget the bad ones. The old carpet, stains on the walls and floor trim, and dated furnishings make it feel like business travel in the dial-up days. The TV was barely bigger than my computer monitor, and the room looked like it had been holding its ground since the first episode of Friends. Even finding a working ice machine felt like a scavenger hunt. If you want a retro trip, it delivers. Otherwise, the property needs an update.

We stayed one night and won’t return. Highway noise complaints are fair, though my wife and I actually prefer that kind of din for sleeping. There are plenty of other hotels nearby, and if you have a car, you’ll find eateries and amenities around. Without one, you’ll have to walk through a lot of industrial space before reaching anywhere walkable. The room had a suspicious stain on the tub, and neither of us wanted to go barefoot in it. The hallway carpet was coming up like in a really run-down motel. The bedding was thin and rough. At the restaurant, breakfast was expensive and the food was old and stale. There wasn’t enough batter for one waffle, and it took 20 minutes to refill it. By then, I was already leaving. In the morning we saw a buffet set up at the bar and assumed our breakfast vouchers covered it. After my wife and I served ourselves, a staff member rudely told us it was for a sports team, and that the restaurant was down the hall at the other end of the building. The way they said it made it sound like we were trying to steal breakfast. When we asked what to do with the plates we were holding, they seemed confused, then told us to keep the food. A warmer explanation would have helped, and signs saying who the buffet was for would have prevented the mix-up. I expect the manager or another staff member to reply with a thank-you and mention any positive thing they can find, followed by a promise to improve. I don’t see substantial change happening without a complete renovation and enough staff replaced to transform the experience. I’ll stay elsewhere next time and recommend others do the same.

It’s close to the airport, but I stood in the lobby waiting to check in and nobody helped. I got a digital key through the Hilton app and let myself into the room. It was small, not very nice, and smelled of old, stale smoke. The TV was about the size of my computer monitor. I won’t stay at this location again.