We were delighted to spend time with other family bloggers this weekend to see a sneak preview of some very exciting new family entertainment options coming to one of our favorite drivable destinations…St. Louis!
Union Station Hotel under the operation of LHM Lodging Hospitality Management has invested $187million to develop a new indoor and outdoor entertainment complex! Complete with the centerpiece of a new aquarium, a 200-foot wheel that will provide views up to 17 miles away, mini-golf, carousel, rope course and of course delicious new dining options. The old hard rock café is being transformed into an old school soda fountain with classic and modern freak shake concoctions sure to be instagram-worthy and delicious! This complex will be perfect for family getaways, dates, field trips, school trips and a change of pace for all ages.
The most exciting part of our tour was the behind the scenes look at the 120,000 square foot two-story aquarium in development. They have transformed the 19th century iron umbrella train shed that is designated as a National Historic Landmark into a state of the art aquarium! You can watch a nice preview video on the new aquarium website.
I was most impressed with the discussion of what will make this aquarium unique. It’s going to be a “hands-wet” aquarium with lots of touchable tanks, interactive options to get up close to the animals. More than 267 different species will be represented from freshwater to marine life saltwater and native river water species. We previewed the 250,000 gallon shark habitat that will soon be housing more than 60 sturgeon, devil rays, and sharks. Otters have their own large space complete with plenty of slides. Can’t get enough? There is even a suite of hotel rooms that overlook the aquarium! They broke ground Fall 2017 and will be opening by the end of 2019- hopefully in time before the holidays!
Learn more: AQUARIUM INFOGRAPHIC_STL
I highly recommend staying at the Union Station Hotel. I have great memories of staying here back in the 80’s when Union Station was filled with shops and the dancing and singing fudge makers. Today it’s been renovated in full glory! You’re in the heart of St. Louis with around 600 rooms, plenty of dining options onsite and an absolutely beautiful Grand Hall to hangout, dine and relax while you watch 3-D animated light shows dance across the arched roof of the Hall. 
They also home to the popular Polar Express Packages in December for a holiday memory you will never forget! Parents this means you wear your pajamas too!
The hotel’s location is convenient to walk to visit the arch, downtown sports (Blues hockey and Cardinals baseball) delicious dining options, and you can take the underground metro link other attractions.
Of course, not far away from Union Station, Forest Park is full of FREE family attractions the history museum, art museum, science center and the zoo are all FREE of charge for admission! Did you know The Muny outdoor show has 12,000 seats and every night they provide 1,500 seats FREE first come, first serve!
We’ll share more reviews of St. Louis dining and lodging options in upcoming blogs. In the meantime, we will keep you posted on updates and the official launch dates of the big wheel and the aquarium both to be launched by the end of 2019! Thank you to the staff at the Union Station Hotel, The St. Louis Aquarium and congratulations and thank you to all of the leaders at LHM for having the vision and perseverance to bring this to life for future generations!
