Last week my family took a short vacation to Six Flags near St. Louis Missouri and stayed at the "Holiday Inn at Six Flags" located in Eureka. http://www.stlouissixflags.holiday-inn.com/ We had a good time with a few setbacks. First of all, we weren't aware that there are two buildings where rooms are located. Some rooms are attached to the lobby, restaurant, pool area; and then there is another building out back. We checked in (our room was in the adjacent building, not the attached) around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, and headed shortly to the Haymarket Restaurant. This restaurant is located in the Holiday in and kids eat free when accompanied by the purchase of an adult meal.
After supper, we headed to the pool area. Unfortunately, mother nature had other plans, as a severe thunderstorm, with some tornados, was heading toward the St. Louis area. With dark clouds looming, along with lightning, everyone was forced to vacate the swimming pool. The only choice was to head back to the room. (It's not fun having to run outside in a thunderstorm to get back to your room.) We were about to start the nightly ritual of giving the kids their bath, when the power went out. Okay, no bathing in a hotel bathtub when it's pitch black. We then put the kids in pajamas and it was off to bed. The power came back on about 3 hours later.
The next day, it was time to go to Six Flags. My family had a fun time, and my toddler son is now addicted to Bugs Bunny. Some of the characters showed up at the hotel outside the Haymarket Restaurant and so we got to see Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Sylvester before ever getting to the theme park. Six Flags Theme Park Tickets could be purchased at the front desk and there was a shuttle that went from the hotel to Six Flags every 15 minutes.
One of the things that I did notice about the room was that the floor was filthy! You know it's bad when your kids feet or socks become soiled within minutes of walking around. I mentioned this to the front desk, and asked if they could clean the carpet, before leaving for the park and she said that she would talk to housekeeping... Apparently, she didn't get in touch with them, because when I talked to housekeeping later in the day, they were unaware of my request. (Note: I have never asked a hotel to clean a carpet before, but this was quite bad. Everything else looked fairly clean, with the exception of the carpet.) When talking to housekeeping, she wasn't sure how often the carpets were cleaned, but did mention that there were a lot of "dog shows" in the area and the "adjacent building" was where they put the guests with dogs. Great, now what's on the carpet? That housekeeper did get in touch with the associate executive housekeeper who was wonderful! She stated that the carpets are usually cleaned 5 times per year, but this room may have missed its last cleaning due to the fact that their business has been booming and most hotel rooms have usually been occupied. We were going back to Six Flags the next morning, and she did clean the carpet during the time we were out. Once the carpet was cleaned, it was 1000 times better!
When I initially got to this hotel, I wasn't sure if we would ever stay at this establishment again. However, the housekeeping staff was extremely helpful and responsive to our needs. If we do return, I would request a room in the attached building as I believe the carpets were cleaner (my in-laws stayed in one of the "attached" rooms) and they did not mention any problems. In addition, the hotel did refund one-half the cost of a night's stay due to the power outtage on the first night...
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