Where to stay in St. Louis
Busch Stadium is located in the heart of downtown St. Louis, near the Gateway Arch and St. Louis riverfront. While it may seem obvious that you should stay downtown by the stadium (and that’s certainly the most convenient place to stay), there are some other intriguing options as well, especially since downtown St. Louis is often pretty quiet on weekends. If you have extra time and are hoping to see more than a Cardinals game and the Arch, consider staying near Forest Park, which offers better food, nightlife, and tourist options like the zoo and museums. Or if you want to experience the local bar scene and get a free shuttle to the game, check out Soulard.
Where Busch Stadium is located
When you fly into STL, you’ll arrive about 15 miles northwest of Busch Stadium and downtown. The stadium, along with the other sports stadiums (the St. Louis Blues’ Enterprise Center and St. Louis CITY SC’s CITYPARK), is at the convergence of interstates 64, 55, and 44.
The Easiest Place to Stay: Downtown St. Louis
What’s there: Busch Stadium, Gateway Arch National Park, Union Station, St. Louis Aquarium, St. Louis Wheel, Horseshoe Casino, Enterprise Center (St. Louis Blues), CITYPARK (St. Louis City SC)
Distance to Busch Stadium: No more than a 20-minute walk, 10-minute Metrolink ride, or 5-minute rideshare
For the ultimate Cardinals experience, staying at one of the hotels right by Busch Stadium can’t be beat. The newest hotel, Live! by Loews, is Cardinals themed and is actually located within Ballpark Village! However, being the newest and closest hotel means that demand is high and you may have trouble finding a room here, especially on a weekend.
The longstanding top hotel choice for a Cardinals game is Hilton at the Ballpark, which is separated from the stadium and Ballpark Village by just a parking lot. It features ballpark views, the Three Sixty rooftop bar (a great option even if you’re not staying there), and the closest St. Louis-style pizza (IMO’s Pizza) to the ballpark, which you can even bring into the stadium.
Just as close to the stadium as Live! is The Westin, which was built in 2001 and renovated in 2019. It sits alongside the Stadium MetroLink stop, making it the most convenient location if you’re riding the MetroLink from the airport and don’t want to haul your luggage far. You basically exit the MetroLink and you’re at your hotel without even needing to cross a street.
If you want to go all-in with your St. Louis experience, book a room at the Drury Plaza at the Arch, the closest property of STL-based chain Drury Hotels. The hotel is an amalgamation of several historic buildings that were renovated and combined into one property. Drury hotels offer excellent value for the money, as they include perks such as free breakfast, free popcorn and soda in the lobby, and a free happy hour from 5:30pm – 7pm every day that includes a buffet and free beer, wine, and mixed drinks. The downside of this hotel is that if you’re taking the MetroLink, it’s one of the farthest away from the nearest stop – about 5 blocks or 1/3 mile (8-10 minute walk with luggage).
Speaking of Drury Hotels, our value pick for visitors with cars is the chain’s Pear Tree Inn near Union Station. It offers the same perks as the Drury Plaza – free breakfast, free happy hour, free snacks – but more importantly, free parking. Since most downtown hotels charge about $40/night for parking, this is a nice perk. At 1.2 miles from the stadium, it’s the farthest away that we would recommend. But if you’re not opposed to a little walking (or renting a scooter), that 1.2 miles is one of the nicest walks in town. Going down Market Street toward the Arch and Old Courthouse, you’ll pass many notable sights, such as CITYPARK (our new MLS stadium), Union Station, Stifel Theatre, Citygarden Sculpture Park, and Kiener Plaza Park.
If that 1.2 mile walk doesn’t sound too bad, the Four Seasons north of the stadium lies at the outer limits in that direction. This is also a beautiful walk, as it literally passes through a National Park en route to the stadium! (Ok, ok, so the “National Park” moniker is admittedly generous when it comes to the smallish Arch grounds, but Gateway Arch National Park is definitely worth checking out after its recent renovation). The Four Seasons and HoteLumiere at the Arch are both connected to Horseshoe St. Louis, the only casino in downtown St. Louis, so keep that in mind if you’re interested in gambling.
For the ultimate view of the Gateway Arch, the Hyatt Regency at the Arch is a great option at an easy 0.4 mile walk to the stadium.
If you’re staying that close to the Arch, it would be a shame to not visit the free, newly renovated Museum at the Gateway Arch. You can even purchase tickets to take a tram ride to the top! These are best purchased in advance and will take roughly 45-60 minutes.
TSI TIP: the tiny elevator is not recommended for anyone who’s claustrophobic. You’ve been warned!
As for downtown activities besides baseball and the Arch, the best and most unique attraction in St. Louis is the City Museum. The City Museum can best be described as a whimsical work of modern art combined with a playground for all ages, with man-made caves and rebar tunnels to crawl through and a 10-story spiral slide. It’s truly one of a kind and has something for everyone, so keep that in mind when looking at hotel locations. Another popular destination is the new St. Louis Aquarium and St. Louis Wheel, a 200-foot tall Ferris wheel. Both of these are at Union Station, which is walking distance to Busch Stadium and has its own hotel, the St. Louis Union Station Hotel by Hilton.
There are several more hotels downtown, most of which would be within reasonable walking distance of both the stadium and MetroLink station. But as I said before, downtown can be pretty sleepy on weekends. Several restaurants and coffee shops aren’t even open on weekends – you’ll be hard pressed to find a non-Starbucks coffee on a Sunday morning here.
But all-in-all, if your main purpose for being in St. Louis is going to Busch Stadium, downtown will be the most convenient and easiest place to do that. And if catching a game on the same day that you’re flying is important, being close to the ballpark will make that much more feasible.
Where to Stay If You Have Extra Time to Explore: Forest Park
What’s there: Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, Missouri History Museum, the park itself
Distance to Busch Stadium: 10 minutes via car, 10-15 minutes via MetroLink
Forest Park, 10 minutes west of Busch Stadium, is one of the largest urban public parks in the United States – larger than New York’s Central Park and San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The site of the 1904 World’s Fair, Forest Park features an incredible number of free activities, such as the Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Art Museum, Saint Louis Science Center, and Missouri History Museum. Again, all free! Other highlights include The Muny, America’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theater, which features Broadway-style performances with limited free seats for every show; the Boathouse, a restaurant and – you guessed it – boathouse where you can rent paddle boats to take out on the lake; and miles of walking/biking trails.
Aside from the park itself, there’s just a lot more going on around here than downtown. The northeastern edge of the park is Central West End (CWE), which is a fantastic blend of ease of access (to/from both the airport and stadium via the MetroLink), restaurants (El Burro Loco is fantastic), nightlife (Club Viva for salsa dancing or Up-Down for arcade games and drinks), coffee (Kaldi’s Coffee is a local roastery and has a cafe in the heart of CWE), and access to Forest Park. It’s also very close to The Grove, a trendy area known for being a favorite of the LGBT community and having excellent restaurants, coffee, desserts, and our personal favorite brewery in town, Urban Chestnut.
The most popular hotel in CWE is the Royal Sonesta Chase Park Plaza (“The Chase”), which sits at the northeast corner of Forest Park at Lindell and Kingshighway. It’s walking distance to all the aforementioned CWE amenities but not particularly close to the nearest MetroLink station, so it’s best for people who prefer to get around by rideshare and walking.
A similar option to CWE – near Forest Park, between the airport and stadium, and with convenient access to the MetroLink – is the Delmar Loop (“The Loop”). Here, just northwest of Forest Park, you can stay at the eclectic Moonrise Hotel. This hotel is walking distance from the Delmar Loop MetroLink stop as well as restaurants (Fitz’s – a root beer factory and restaurant), coffee (Blueprint Coffee), and International Tap House, a bar with hundreds of beer options.
Where to Stay If You Want to Mix with the Locals: Soulard
What’s there: Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Soulard Farmers Market, a thriving bar scene, live music
Distance to Busch Stadium: 6 minutes via car or free bar shuttle (inaccessible via MetroLink)
While there are no hotels in Soulard, it’s a good place to look for Airbnbs. While downtown is more corporation driven and therefore very quiet on weekends, Soulard is the place to be for the local bar scene (including International Tap House’s other local location) with live music and good eats. About 1.5 miles southwest of the stadium, Soulard isn’t exactly walking distance from Busch, but many of the bars (Duke’s, Big Daddy’s, 1860 Saloon, and more) offer free shuttles to Cardinals games!
The free shuttles typically begin an hour before the game from directly in front of the bar and drop you off at the stadium. After the game, they pick you up in the same spot. Just buy something at the bar ahead of time and they’ll give you a shuttle ticket!
Also in Soulard is the legendary Anheuser-Busch Brewery (“Budweiser Brewery”). Stop by for a tour (starting at $15) or enjoy a meal and beer in the Biergarten. Even if you are not a Budweiser drinker, a Budweiser tour is arguably as much a “when in Rome” experience as a trip to the Arch. When it comes time to sample the beer, you’ll be amazed at the wide array of options from breweries that you had no idea were owned by AB InBev.
Convenient But Not Recommended: Airport
What’s there: The airport, less expensive hotels, and very little else
Distance to Busch Stadium: 20 minutes via car, 35 minutes via MetroLink
There are many hotels near the airport, and they’re often very affordable. That’s about all that it has going for it. Unless you have an early morning flight that you’re extremely worried about missing, I can’t imagine a good reason why you would stay near the airport. There’s simply nothing nearby worth visiting, and the other areas I’ve listed have easy enough access to the airport that the time saved by taking an airport hotel’s shuttle vs. a rideshare from any other hotel will probably not be worthwhile.
Bottom Line
For most people, we would recommend staying at one of the downtown hotels closest to the stadium and getting around to other areas of interest by rideshare. But, depending on what else you want to see, eat, and do while in STL, you have plenty of options.
