We stayed here on July 4th as we were attending the Cubs/Cardinals baseball game and enjoying festivities of the holiday in downtown St. Louis. This was the first time that we have used the light train to the city. I would definitely advise anyone to do the same. No fighting the downtown traffic and the Hampton Inn is just right down the road (probably 8-10 minutes) from the metrolink station. We were a little worried about safety on this metrolink, however, after experiencing this, I did not feel unsafe at all. There were lots of security, cops, etc at the station and the parking lot where we left our car had cop cars sitting in it. The metrolink has several drop off destinations in the city. We were dropped off right at the stadium and everything else, (the arch, pubs, etc) were within walking distance. After the game, the line that formed to ride the metrolink was pretty intimidating, but it went so fast and was constantly moving. We probably only waited a max of 20-30 minutes before we boarded. The Hampton Inn in Fairview Heights is in a very nice area. There are several hotels and restaurants on Ludwig Drive. Another reviewer indicated that the area is a wasteland for dining establishments and that is true. We chose to eat at Joes Crabshack which was just down the road and it was very good. The hotel itself was very nice and clean. The beds were very comfortable. The thing I liked most was the fact that the bedspreads were white and they weren't really bedspreads. They were a quilted sheet with a quilted pad insert. Therefore, they can easily take the quilted insert out and wash the bed coverings. There were several maid carts in the hall and all of them had extra on them, so this seemed a plus for me as I hate to stay at hotels that have bedspreads that have been used by someone else and have presence of "yuck" on them. This was a huge plus in my book. The bathroom/shower was very clean. The front desk was friendly. The continental breakfast was fine. They have a couple of hot items also which included hot biscuits and little breakfast pizza's. The rest was fruit, yogurt, cold cereal, danish, bagels, donuts and that sort of thing along with coffee, juices and milk. The only issue that I had was that the noise from the interstate made it difficult to sleep. There was no way to adjust the fan on the air conditioner to run continuously to block that noise. Other than that, the experience was pretty much flawless. We had a great time in St. Louis and didn't have to fight traffic on the 4th of July which was a big deal for us!!!!!!!
