Drury Plaza Hotel St. Louis at the Arch

The honest review

Drury Hotels is a Midwestern regional chain that most travelers outside the region have never heard of, and that's a genuine miss. The Drury Plaza at the Arch is the best all-in-value family hotel in St. Louis, and it's not particularly close.

Let's start with what's actually included in the rate, because this is the whole story. Every night: hot breakfast buffet with scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, waffles, fresh fruit, pastries, and yogurt — for every person in the room, included. Every evening from 5:30-7pm: the Kickback. This isn't a glass of wine and a fruit plate. It's full hot appetizers: wings or equivalent protein, nachos or something substantial, soup, and a rotating spread. Adults get three free cocktails or beers. For a family of four doing a week in St. Louis, the included meals save $150-200 in food costs compared to a hotel that charges extra for everything. The soda fountains in the lobby run all day with free refills. That's a real convenience with kids who ask for drinks every 45 minutes.

Location is genuine. The Gateway Arch is a 3-minute walk from the hotel entrance. The Arch grounds are large (91-acre Jefferson National Expansion Memorial), well-maintained, and free to walk. The tram ride to the top of the Arch costs $15 for adults, $8 for kids 3-15 — book online before you arrive because slots fill up, especially in summer. The view from the top is legitimately remarkable, and kids almost universally find the tram capsule experience thrilling.

City Museum is a 5-minute rideshare from the hotel. This is worth dwelling on: City Museum is one of the most genuinely unusual family attractions in the United States. It's an eight-story building in a former shoe factory that artist Bob Cassilly converted into a surrealist playground using architectural salvage, found materials, and some creative engineering decisions that would never pass modern building codes if they hadn't been grandfathered. There are tunnels that go through the building's facade, a 10-story slide, a rooftop Ferris wheel, caves, and a ball pit that's actually a repurposed industrial storage bin. Kids from age 4 to 14 typically want to spend the entire day. Teenagers who think they're too old for stuff inevitably get absorbed. Budget a full day, wear clothes you don't care about, and know that adults need to get down on hands and knees in some sections. It's the kind of experience that doesn't exist anywhere else.

Forest Park is a 10-minute rideshare from the hotel. At 1,371 acres, Forest Park is larger than Central Park and houses the St. Louis Zoo (free admission, genuinely excellent), the St. Louis Art Museum (free), the Missouri History Museum (free), and the Jewel Box conservatory. The zoo alone can fill a morning. A Forest Park day — zoo in the morning, Art Museum café for lunch, natural playgrounds in the afternoon — is a complete free family day.

Six Flags St. Louis is about 25 minutes southwest of downtown. It's a full-day commitment, requires a car or rideshare, and Six Flags is Six Flags — the rides are good, the park is crowded in summer, and prices add up quickly with food and parking. Worth doing if your kids are coaster age (roughly 8+). Less valuable for families with kids under 8 compared to the free Forest Park options.

The pools: Drury Plaza has an indoor pool and an outdoor pool. Both are full-size and functional. Not a resort pool situation — no lazy rivers, no waterslides — but genuinely useful for a pre-sleep swim. Indoor pool means year-round availability, which matters in St. Louis where October and March can be unpredictable weather.

Rooms: suites sleep 5-6 with a separate living room and sofabed. This is the right configuration for families with 2-3 kids. The standard double queens sleep 4 adequately. Rooms are mid-scale — Drury doesn't pretend otherwise — but they're consistently clean and the beds are comfortable.

Where it softens: there's no spa, no meaningful parent-recovery amenities, no concierge programming. The Kickback food is good for what it is but don't confuse it with a restaurant-quality dinner. The guest rating is remarkably high (9.4/10 on Hotels.com) specifically because expectations are set correctly and value is delivered — this is not the Hyatt Regency, and the pricing reflects that.

For families where budget is a serious constraint, or for families who want the best value per quality-adjusted dollar in St. Louis, Drury Plaza at the Arch is the answer. It's also the right pick for multi-gen trips with grandparents who want a comfortable room and a reliable free breakfast without navigating upscale pricing.