I’ve heard that Phantom is in town, but is it something we should see, or are there better shows out there?

What show do you think is a don’t-miss?

Anyway, one of the recent promotions that she got was a hotel stay.  I’ve been wanting to check out the hotel and conference area for the upcoming Market Saint Louis Conference, so we decided to stay there last night and tour the conf area this morning.

Lobby, Atrium & Walkway

The lobby is small but gets the job done.  For those visiting for a conference, there’s a nice 40 inch flatscreen that tells of the days events, where they are being held, etc.

The atrium is awesome.  Plenty of tables and chairs, and even a nice area for a networking event.  There’s a bar called ‘Cascade’ which overlooks an indoor waterfall that’s about 4 stories tall.  Pretty cool.  If we end up choosing the Lumiere, it will be a great place for an after or night-before cocktail party.

The room was on the 4th floor, the same floor that hosts a walkway to the casino.  I have a feeling that Lumiere’s software automatically assigns the 4th floor first for that reason.  When I went to park the truck (it was about 66:30PM or so) I noticed that most all the fourth floor rooms had lights on, the other floors didn’t.

Room Overview

The room (called a suite on the sign, but they all said that) was pretty nice.  When you walk in there’s a nice 2-person table and chair set, and there is also a small couch, chair and flatscreen TV.  It’s a nice little room to chill in.

Walking a little further in you see the minibar (which costs if you touch it) and then a very small bathroom.

Beyond that is the bedroom through a doorway, which had a door you could close.  My wife liked that.  I’m not sure it really had a point, but it was kinda cool that our hotel room was actually two rooms.

The bed was uber comfortable and there was a larger flatscreen in there too.

Hotel/Room Cons

There were a few things we didn’t like about the room and policies.

• No microwave
  We had dinner at Asia, their chinese-themed restaurant.  Carol had some rice and chicken left that I thought I could heat up later.  No such luck.
• Small fridge area
  There was a fridge (aka minibar) but not much room to put anything in.  There was a small shelf that they left you for items, but it was too small for the leftover box from the restaurant.  It would have held a 20 oz. coke or something, that’s about it.
• Pay for Parking
  Ok this is probably the biggest complaint of all.  They “allow” you to self park for only $10 a day.  Or, you can valet park for $20 per incident.  Seriously? What other hotel charges their patrons to park their own cars, especially on a Sunday evening when the casino isn’t really busy?  Not cool.
• WiFi
  I’m not sure if the room came with free wifi or not.  I connected on my phone to a Lumiere unsecured router, but I could never get any pages to come up.  I have a feeling they probably charged for it, but I’m not 100% sure.  Since I wasn’t there to surf the ‘net, I didn’t really care.

Overall the stay was nice.  The rooms are comfy and the little sitting area is cozy if you’ve got a few friends to hang out with.  The atrium is gorgeous.

Have you stayed at the Lumiere Place? What did you think?

We usually let them open one present on Christmas Eve, and then the rest on Christmas Day.  It’s one of the few days of the year when they are eager to jump out of bed.  I usually get my videocamera ready, find some coffee, and otherwise lollygag around until they are ready to burst.  It’s a fun time for all.

I hope that everyone has a great holiday, and enjoys the family that you are able to be with.

The officer finally walked up to the truck and I asked him what was up.  He asked where I was going, where I lived (umm, right around the corner where you just saw me leave from).  Asked for my license and then gave me some BS about ‘looking for a white Dodge pickup in the area’.  Yeah, ok.

There just happened to be one in the driveway across from where he pulled me over, so I pointed to it and said “there ya go”.  He smiled, gave me back my license and said have a nice day.

Not sure what that was all really about, but whatever.