ST. LOUIS — Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton, a new hotel opening this fall in downtown Clayton, Missouri, recently announced plans for socially distanced conferences and meetings. Located at 7730 Bonhomme Ave., just west of Hanley Road, the 268-room hotel will open after a multi-million dollar, full-scale transformation by Silverwest Hotels. With its proximity to Clayton’s Business District, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton offers redesigned in-person meetings as well as hybrid and satellite meetings options for less contact and more connection. The property has more than 17,000 square feet of meeting space, including an open-air pool deck on the third floor.
“We all hope for a way to overcome this pandemic in the near future. In the meantime, conference planning and meetings must evolve as we navigate new social distancing guidelines together,” said Andrew Hargis, general manager. “With less contact and more connection, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton is committed to keeping meeting attendees safe, comfortable, and creative. Adaptability and memorable experiences will be crucial for groups looking to gather safely this fall and winter.”
With extensive conference space and a dedicated conference-level floor, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton can provide distinct areas for private, socially distanced general session meetings at its Pavilion Room, which has more than 3,371 square feet of conference space, three breakout rooms, and pre-function space for private meals and breaks. Two ballrooms—The Forest Park Ballroom and Grand Salle Ballroom on the lobby level—offer nearly 7,000 additional square feet of function space for socially distanced events. For smaller groups that choose to stay and meet on the same floor, the Bonhommme Boardroom is available on the second floor, and suites can be used for private meetings, including one with its own outdoor rooftop patio. The pool deck on the third floor of Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton can host private events for up to 200 people in an open-air space with views of the Clayton cityscape.
Safety precautions will be put in place to align with CDC guidelines, including, among other measures: designated entrance and exit for meeting rooms; sanitation stations, including PPE; reduced seating capacities to 50 percent or less; AV and break sanitation; mobile service requests and mobile bill review and approval; self-parking; dedicated private meeting space floor; staff sanitation training and wellness checks. For streaming and hybrid meetings, guests will have access to free internet up to 250mg with flexibility to 1 GB as well as large broadcasting capabilities, satellite huddle areas throughout the hotel to create smaller gatherings, and an in-house partnership with PSAV for event needs.
For food and beverage, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton can replace self-service buffets with individually boxed breakfast and lunch options; redesign hydration station set-ups; offer standard as well as elevated packaging and menu items; eliminate or modify all shared and reuse items; and eliminate or reduce non-essential items such as linens, paper, and glassware.
In addition to social distancing measures, Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton will also offer an “Experience Menu,” where meeting attendees can take part in interesting breakout activities, such as:
- “Giving Experience,” where teams work together to build snack donations for local schools. The hotel provides the snacks, sanitation materials, scoops, and labels, and the team works to divide the tasks into stations and roles. At the end of the experience, the donation is delivered to a school in St. Louis in the group’s name.
- “Game Time Experience,” through which the hotel will provide giant Jenga, Connect Four, and other oversized games for meetings and network groups to utilize and play at a social distance.
- “Communal Art Experience,” where groups are provided with a canvas, ink pads, and pens to design their own piece of art.
- “Sparkling Cocktail Lab 101,” through which guests will learn cocktail skills with a guided class from a mixologist with Le Meridien’s special focus on sparkling cocktails.
Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton will also feature a new restaurant, cocktail bar, coffee bar, and more than 50 works of art, including several by local St. Louis artists.
Global design firm HOK is leading the overall design of Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton. Denver-based Silverwest Hotels purchased the property in 2018, and Crescent Hotels & Resorts will manage the Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton.
