Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton Set To Open On October 1st
September 21, 2020
Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton has announced an opening date for the reimagined hotel in downtown Clayton, Missouri, located on Bonhomme Ave., just west of Hanley Road. The 268-room hotel will open on Thursday, October 1 after a multi-million dollar, full-scale transformation by Silverwest Hotels. Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton will be a new upscale hotel destination for creative and culturally-minded travelers and locals alike. The hotel features over 17,000 square feet of meeting space, state-of-the-art fitness center with panoramic views of downtown St. Louis, an open-air pool deck on the third floor, a signature bar and restaurant, Café La Vie, artwork from over 50 local and nationally acclaimed artists, and more.
General Manager Andrew Hargis says, “Following one year of extensive renovation work, we are thrilled to welcome our guests to Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton in a matter of days. We imagine that locals and returning travelers will be extremely surprised to see the full-scale transformation of the property inside. Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton will blend St. Louis’ rich European heritage with a chic, sophisticated design, and there is so much to explore at the hotel and surrounding neighborhood.”
Located in the heart of the Clayton Business District, the hotel is within walking distance of top restaurants as well as a short drive or jog to St. Louis’ award-winning Forest Park with its free museums and Saint Louis Zoo, Washington University in St. Louis campus and Barnes Jewish Medical Center. Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton has a passion to embrace St. Louis’ local culture, specifically in regard to the arts and cuisine.
Silverwest Hotels’ Managing Director of Acquisition and Development Patrick Mace comments, “When we acquired this hotel in 2018, we knew that we found a diamond in the rough. By bringing the Le Meridien brand to the Clayton neighborhood and compiling the best design and operating teams, we now have a premier hotel for both discerning business travels and leisure enthusiasts.”
Designed by globally-recognized firm HOK, the refreshed hotel seamlessly integrates into the welcoming Clayton community, providing guests with the comfort of a home away from home. The contemporary design creates a dramatic, intimate and curated retreat for guests – both inside and out. Exterior work to refresh the 17-story building included new windows throughout the hotel, new façade updates, a redesigned porte cochere entry, and more to give the building a sleeker and more modern feel. In addition to the design, HOK worked with Eaton Fine Art to create a curated art program for the hotel which features over 50 works of art throughout the public spaces and guest rooms. From abstract colorful prints with the neighboring Shaw Park’s map grid integrated into the artist’s work to photography featuring architecture around St. Louis, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton’s art has thoughtful nods to the community throughout the space.
For the interiors, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton encourages guests to sip and savor the good life while traveling in glamour, so the refined design highlights St. Louis and its roots as a French city. Upon entering the lobby, check-in desks echo French writing desks, accented by subtly arching standing lamps of blackened steel and polished brass. The lobby also includes the Salon which is a living room, lounge, and informal business hub for guests to gather, filled with mid-century modern furnishings and dramatic and playful artwork.
With 268 guestrooms including 13 suites with enhanced space, the design is reminiscent of a French pied-à-terre apartment, a home away from home with a residential ambience. Room furnishings echo the mid-century modern influence with pops of denim blue color and Hermes orange and floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the views of the Clayton cityscape as well as Shaw Park and downtown St. Louis from the upper floor rooms. Thoughtful design elements help guests unwind, including plush bedding and pillow-top mattress, invigorating Malin + Goetz amenities, and personal in-room Illy coffee and espresso station. Rooms also feature the latest technologies including 55-inch televisions with app streaming and fiber cabled guestrooms.
Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton will also be a destination for meetings and events with an array of spaces and ways to accommodate business meetings, socials functions, weddings and celebrations. With a dedicated Conference Level floor, the hotel can provide distinct areas for meetings with the Pavilion Room conference space, three breakout rooms, and pre-function space. Located on the Lobby Level, two ballrooms, The Forest Park Ballroom and Grand Salle Ballroom, are the hotel’s signature ballrooms for hosting elevated banquet and catering events. For executive meetings, the hotel features the area’s only boardroom on a guestroom floor allowing for complete exclusivity for attendees, if desired. And the third-floor terrace is the perfect spot for an outdoor cocktail function.