Caprice F.
Yelp
Hotel Review 2.5/5
Man this is a hard review to write. Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Joe Edwards, the mastermind behind Moonrise Hotel and many of the other businesses keeping the vibe and culture of The Loop alive. I'm a St. Louis native and remember when Moonrise first opened. Moonrise is a very cool, retro-futuristic, space/moon-themed boutique hotel that has always marketed itself as being on the nicer end of the spectrum. This was THE place to go when this place first opened in the early-20-teens. This was one of the few nice rooftop bars in town and the rooftop was always packed and thriving. Because of the unique lobby, the cool rainbow lit staircase, the rotating moon on the roof, and its cool concept for a boutique hotel, this was the hottest place in town at that time. Fast forward to present day, 10-15 years after its opening, as with everything in life, things tend to change....
I stayed here last week, and this was my first time actually staying at the hotel. I'm struggling with writing this review as my mind is juggling between the memories that I have of what this hotel once was, understanding the ideal of what this hotel is trying to be, and now knowing in present day what this hotel has become. While the aesthetics of this hotel are very nice, sadly the execution of this place in terms of cleanliness is severely lacking. (Seriously, give the interior design team a raise because they did a great job designing this hotel!)
Upon first arriving to my room, I checked the bedding as I always do when staying at a hotel. I pulled back a tucked flat/top sheet, and noticed A LOT OF STAINS all over the fitted sheet. Like, a lot! Like, throw this thing away and buy a new fitted sheet! Are you guys washing these sheets at all? Or can you just not get the sheets clean? The solution they chose for this was to hide this sheet under a top/flat sheet. I noticed that this bedding ultimately has a fitted sheet, a top sheet tucked to cover the dirty fitted sheet, another top sheet to use as cover, a thin quilt/comforter, and a topper/duvet-esque layer. Seriously people, buy a new fitted sheet!
While disgusted with the bedding issue, I thought that this was where my disenchantment with the room would end. I was so wrong. When I first went to bathroom in my room, I could tell that the shower floor wasn't as clean as it could be. It seemed to have permanent discoloration on the floor. I thought, "well that's a shame but it's a nearly 10-year-old hotel so what can ya do?" Then I had my first actual shower... Upon walking up to the shower, I saw that there was a clump of blond hair on the floor in the corner of the shower. GROSS! Then I looked at the opposite corner of the floor and noticed a clump of pink sludge (I seriously don't know what it was, I just knew that it was disgusting!). There were also black flecks near it. I don't know if they were dead small bugs or just motes of debris. I took a hand towel and wiped up all of these things. As I did this, I noticed that some of the dirt was coming off from the floor of the shower. I didn't apply any pressure or soap/cleaner. Bottom line was that the shower had not been cleaned AT ALL!!!! DISGUSTING!!!! It's bizarre considering the rest of the room, seemed cleaned. The floors were clean. There wasn't anything in the mini fridge or trashcan. It was just the shower hadn't been cleaned, and the fitted sheet, of course. This is a problem.
Your quick fix for the dirty bedding is one big strike, but an unclean shower is a whole other level of dirty. There are only two main things in a hotel room where you distinctly want to make sure it's clean - the bed because you lay there, and the shower/bath because you wash yourself there. You can ultimately avoid the other surfaces of the room aside from the floor, sink, and toilet.
This comes down to being a housekeeping and management issue. As nice as the furniture, decor, theme, service, and colors of this hotel are, if the place isn't clean, then no one will want to stay here. Again, this makes me sad as I love the vision that Mr. Edwards had for this hotel. Without proper management and upkeep with cleaning, this place will never be as great as it could potentially be, or as it once was.
Based on this experience, I would not stay here again, nor would I recommend someone else stay here. I really hope that changes are made so that this hotel can get back to the level that it once promoted itself as being 15 years ago when it opened. How truly disappointing.