Contemporary, Classy, and Cozy
Written: Nov 06 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Beautiful ballroom, nice rooms, good food, good booze, and good service!
Cons: The price (which was still sort of reasonable)
The Bottom Line: The next time you're in St. Louis, check out the newly-renovated Sheraton. It's very nice if you live in the area and are planning a conference or wedding reception.
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| staceums's Full Review: Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel St. Louis |
My husband and I had decided to go with the Sheraton in Clayton Plaza, St. Louis, for our wedding reception back in 2007. After the reception, I could not have been happier with our choice - and a lot of factors came into play when deciding on this sort of venue:
1. Price. We were on a tight budget and we were not expecting very many wedding guests to attend, so we told the sales and catering manager (Danette Beaver) that we weren't going to go over $8,000, no exceptions. She didn't even put up a fight. Believe it or not, $8,000 is a really good deal for a ballroom that can hold 250 people (our guest list topped only 120), and the price also included the meals, the champagne, the booze, an ice sculpture, and several hors d'oeuvres.
When comparing the price of the Sheraton Clayton Plaza to several other hotels we've researched and visited for our reception, there was no comparison. The Sheraton was IT. For example, one of the first questions that the managers ask is, "How many guests do you think you'll be having?" From there, they determine how big of a room you get. With us, we were only shown the "cheaper" rooms to rent, and none of them were ballrooms. Instead, most of them were down in the lower levels of the hotels, where conferences or reunions are usually held (low ceilings, dingy carpet, stale smoke smell, etc.). After each visit we'd walk out disappointed.
When we went to the Sheraton, however, Danette showed us the Grand Ballroom, one of their main ballrooms, first. I was sold just walking into the place. It was small enough to be personable (so our guests wouldn't be swimming in empty space) but large enough to look incredibly elegant and beautiful. The usual price to rent out a ballroom like that is $10,000 or more (minimum, not including taxes or 21% gratuity) but she gave us a price of $8,000 (which makes you wonder how much profit these people are making). Nevertheless, it was within our budget.
The only real complaint I had was the price of the rooms, which we had to fight tooth and nail to get them set at $109 for our guests. I believe the normal rate is $119. To me, that's extremely high, but I guess it depends on where the hotel is located. I've been to a Holiday Inn before that charged $109, so perhaps a wedding reception discount in Clayton at $109 is cheap. Parking was free.
2. Aesthetics. When we booked the Sheraton in 2007, they were currently under renovation, so we knew that the ballroom would probably look much different when the reception came around. The carpets were old and dingy, the tile was scuffed up, and even the furniture and light fixtures were outdated. Paint was falling off the walls...you get the picture. It was just an old building. However, everything was updated and newly renovated when we came back to finalize details in 2008 and the whole place looked so much better. I personally didn't mind the old style, which reminded me of a sort of vintage Victorian look, but the new style is much more modern, like a Westin or a Hilton.
Our reception cocktail hour was allowed to be held in the new bar area, which was in the lobby, and it worked out for my guests who had traveled a very long way to the wedding since there were plenty of places to sit. There were armchairs and even television sets. Unlike a normal cocktail hour, when people usually stand around small tables and mingle, we were practially given the entire lounge if people wanted to sit at tables or relax in comfortable chairs.
Each hotel room was renovated as well - the beds were new, the furniture was new, the linens were new, the wallpaper was new - and everything was very nicely done. The bed was incredibly comfortable (down comforters and pillows, aaaaahhh) and I remember that I liked the bathroom very much. If you've ever been to a Westin, it's almost the same setup - nothing but tile and glass. Very modern. I couldn't tell you about TV or internet - we didn't even use it. We literally crashed at 1 a.m. and were too tired to even watch the television (although it was a nice flat screen).
3. Quality. Aside from the price of the ballroom rental, the food and booze were the most expensive items on the bill, but man oh man it was good. With our package, we were allowed premium liquor, wine, champagne, and select types of beers, which the guests could appreciate. The food was very good, considering that it was basically mass-produced for 125 people, and the hors d'oeuvres got rave reviews. All of their food selections were very good when we did a taste-testing, but we went with a stuffed chicken dish with potatoes and vegetable medley to keep it simple (our guests were a meat-and-potatoes type of crowd).
Everything was set up just like we wanted it - down from the napkin folds to the head table setup - and there weren't any issues that night that we had to deal with. The Sheraton did everything for us as promised - even providing a lovely ice sculpture at no additional charge - and their waitstaff were professional and friendly. (Maybe too productive - every time I set my drink down to talk to someone, I'd turn around to grab it and it'd be gone. I swear I had a waiter secretly following me around to make sure I wasn't getting drunk.)
4. Service. Danette Beaver was the sales and catering manager that we dealt with when it came to everything food, price, reception setup, and vendor referral. To put it simply - she's very good at what she does. Somewhat disorganized, yes, but that's only because she's dealing with weddings on top of weddings. What really mattered to us was that she got everything right - and there was another wedding going on the same night as ours in a different room - but none of the food got mixed up, none of the guests were crashing anyone else's party (Danette sort of acted as the "reception police" during cocktail hour), and she constantly checked on us throughout the early evening to make sure the food was okay, the lighting was perfect, the booze was strong enough, etc. She tried everything in her power to sort of give us a few discounts (like the ice sculpture and two extra hors d'oeuvres servings) which we really appreciated. She's a straightforward gal and I didn't feel like we were getting cheated at all by the hotel.
Overall: Five stars because the night was perfect and it was worth every penny. I'm just sad that it was over so soon! I haven't heard any bad things about the reception or the hotel staff, the setup, or the quality of the rooms. I'd give four and a half stars if it was possible, really, because the price of the rooms was pretty high. I believe if I'm bringing in 100-some guests that want to stay the night there, and if we're dropping $8,000 in one night, the hotel could have afforded to accomodate the guests for a cheaper rate.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
staceums
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Member: Stacey
Location: St. Louis, MO
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 18 members
About Me:
I'm officially a doctor. And unemployed. Awesome.
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