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Please note: If you're someone that has stumbled upon this page and is just looking for reasonable hotel room over the 4th, if you're not one of our guests, we will be canceling your reservation.

After MUCH planning and consideration and comparing, we have made a block of reservations at the Casino Queen Hotel for our wedding guests. It is located at 200 South Front Street, East Saint Louis, IL 62201. Don't be put off by the fact that it has an East St. Louis address. This contemporary mid-rise hotel was built in 1999 and renovated in 2002; the casino portion is being rebuilt in 2007. The big sign in the photos on the website blew over in the terrible storm here July 19, 2006

NOTE: If you are making reservations and find that if all the rooms at Casino Queen are taken, contact us for backup.

We have negotiated a special rate for the hotel for July 3 (check in) to July 12 (check out) and have blocked ONLY 35 rooms, so make your reservations NOW. You may reserve your room for any dates in between--not necessarily all the days from the 3rd to the 12th. Keep in mind the Stag/Bachelor night and Hen/Bachelorette night is Thursday the 5th, so be here before that if you plan to participate. Rehearsal is the 6th for members of the bridal party, so you need to be here for that if you are in the party. (Please note that from England, there are no flights that will arrive on the 5th or 6th to get you here in time for activities the same evening--plan to arrive the day before at least.)

You will need to guarantee the room with a credit card. Do NOT book on line or you will not get out blocked rate. The rooms are blocked under the name Earhart Wedding. You will reserve a room in your own name. We had to do some fancy negotiating to get rooms for the duration because June 30 to July 4 are blackout dates due to the major Fair St. Louis that takes place on the Arch grounds. It was a minor miracle that we were able to get the same rate for all but the actual 4th. Be sure to make any special requests (non-smoking room, Arch view room, etc.) when you make your reservation. No guarantees, but make it known. If what you want is not available during the blockout dates (July 3-4) but you want to move to a room that has your request on the 5th or as soon as possible, make that request known when you make your reservations, too. If you need to cancel, you must do so 72 hours before your planned arrival or your credit card will be billed.

Make the reservation by calling this number: 1-800-777-0777. (Pretty good number for a 07-07-07 wedding, eh? J) Then go to reservations and then to Earhart-King wedding . If you are calling international, you have the alternate option of emailing our contact who has set up this deal for us. Send an email to Pam Shelton at: PShelton@CasinoQueen.com. Make your reservations no later than June 15, 2007, or the rooms will be released to the public.

The rate is for the ROOM for single OR double. The cost is $85 per night + 13% tax = $96.05 for every night EXCEPT July 4th. The rate for the 4th of July is $149 + 13% tax = $168.37. We realize this is a lot for one night, but it is worth it to have the rooms for the duration, plus if you plan to be in St. Louis over the 4th of July, this is a premier place to be. You can easily take the MetroLink to downtown St. Louis to the Arch grounds to participate in the festivities (which include concerts and family activities) and you can watch the fireworks over the Arch from the hotel or from the Arch grounds. The 4th of July (American Independence Day) is a major holiday in this country. Continental breakfast is available in the hotel and is included. There is also a very good breakfast buffet available at the Casino for an additional charge of about $8 that has enough food to fill you up for the day. You may feel free to eat there any morning that you would rather have something more substantial. (Trust me when I tell you that this is a competitive and reasonable room rate for the area and timeframe.)

We also realize that if you're spending the whole week with us, this represents $1000 for the hotel plus the airfare you are spending, and this is an enormous gift to us, which we appreciate no end, and consider this enough of a wedding gift to us. Transportation to the wedding and for sightseeing will be provided and there will be a few admission charges. We will give you an idea of prices. There should be very few other expenses for you during the week, other than your meals.

The hotel will provide a bus for everywhere we want to go all the days we're there as long as we have a minimum number of rooms booked and minimum number of people riding the bus. This is a huge savings in transportation and convenience for everyone attending our wedding.

The MetroLink is our light rail system, and it is a good deal. The East Riverfront Station is right in the Casino Queen parking lot and the track is reachable via elevator (lift) or stairs. This is the best way to get from and to the airport and this will be the mode of transportation for Steve's stag night. This is also the way to visit the Arch (which I know is high on most visitors' to-do list) and also historic Union Station and Busch Stadium/Cardinals Hall of Fame/International Bowling Museum. It is also the way to get to a major shopping mall called The Galleria via transfer to a new spur line on the MetroLink. You can also transfer between the MetroLink and the city bus, but I have never done that and can offer no tips or suggestions about that. Go to http://www.metrostlouis.org and you can print out timetables and maps and get a feel for public transportation in St. Louis.

The Casino Queen hotel offers incredible views of the Gateway Arch and St. Louis skyline. The adjoining casino includes slots and table games, and the adjoining Guest Pavilion houses two restaurants and a sports bar. You must be 21 or over to enter the casino itself.

Indoor Heated Swimming Pool
Fitness / Workout Room
Elegant Breakfast Room
Fully ADA Compliant
Direct MetroLink Access
Safe-deposit box at front desk
Porter/bellhop
24-hour front desk
Express check-out
ATM
Restaurant(s) in hotel
Adjoining Casino
Elevator/lift
Room service (limited hours)
Bar/lounge
Gift shops or newsstand
Fireplace in lobby
Dry cleaning service
Coffee in lobby

This seven-story hotel has 157 guestrooms, accessible via interior corridors. All guestrooms include coffeemakers, work desks, and two phones with voice mail. Complimentary newspapers are available on each floor. Not all rooms have a romantic Arch view, but you should try to make that request when you make your reservations. You will especially enjoy the view of the Arch on the 4th of July for fireworks, if you are staying here that night.

High Speed Internet
Remote Control Cable Television with HBO, CNN CSPAN, ESPN, TBS, USA, Weather Channel, &Fox News
Lodgenet Pay Movie Selections - G, PG, NR-17,& Adult movies available
Nintendo Video Games with Multiple Games to choose from (surcharge)
AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio
Oversized Desk and Two Chairs
Wheelchair accessible
Internet Access
climate control
Iron/ironing board
Laundry Valet Services
Blow Dryers
Shower Caps
Rollaway beds available
Neutrogena Bath Products, Body Lotion, Shampoo & Conditioner, Bath Wash and Cleansing Bar.
Coffee Maker, Cups, Cream, Sugar, Regular and Decaffeinated Coffee
Wake-up calls
Window opens
Shower/tub combination
Cribs (infant beds) available

Driving directions:
Nearing the river from the east (Illinois) side, I-64, I-70, and I-55 all come together to create a traffic nightmare. As all the highways merge, take the Third Street exit- EXIT 2B- on the LEFT and follow the brown signs that say CASINO. If you cross the river, you've gone too far. From the southwest (Missouri side), take I-255 North (toward Chicago) and then exit onto I-64 West (toward St. Louis) and take the Third Street exit as above. From the west (Missouri) side, all I-70 and I-55 converge to cross the river at the Poplar Street Bridge just south of the Arch. Stay to the right and take the 4th Street exit (NOT the Cahokia exit) and follow the brown signs that say CASINO. Stay to the right and the road splits and follow the signs to the entrance. The hotel is at the far end from the entrance, past the casino.

From the airport (you really don't need to rent a car):
I-70E toward St. Louis. As you pass Grand Blvd, look to your right and note the stone water tower. There are only five of these left in the country and three of them are in St. Louis, and two of them are on Grand. You will take the exit for Illinois. NOT the exit for the Martin Luther King Bridge, which also says Illinois--this puts you on the other side of the river on a highway past the Casino Queen. Exit where it says ILLINOIS North I-55 East I-64, I-70, highway 40. There is NO exit number for this exit, but it is next to exit #251A which is I-55 South to Tulsa. Stay to the right two lanes (but NOT the Cahokia exit which veers right first). Follow the brown signs to the Casino and take the 4th Street Exit. There will probably be a large billboard somewhere at the river that says Casino Queen. Continue following the brown Casino signs and/or the large Casino Queen signs.

MetroLink instructions:
After you claim your luggage, go upstairs to the ticketing area. There are escalators and elevators just beyond the baggage carousels. Go beyond all the ticket desks, beyond American Airlines and there will be signs leading you to the MetroLink. There is a machine to purchase your ticket. Just buy a one-way ticket because all the other tickets you will need are less expensive at every station other than the airport. It will cost you $3.75 or $4.75 dollars, depending if you are getting a regular ticket or a senior citizen ticket and if you are getting a two-hour pass or an all-day pass. You need cash, not credit card. Tickets at the airport are prevalidated, but if you have a prepurchased ticket or get them at other times, you MUST validate it. Stick the ticket in the red pole-like thingie and it will time stamp your ticket. You don't have to show your ticket to anyone unless asked to do so once you are on board, but if it is not validated, you WILL get a violation citation and asked to leave the train. After you have your ticket, go to the end of the hallway and take the escalator or elevator up one more level which only goes to the train platform area. Trains only go one direction from the airport, so get on any one that is there. You will get off at the East Riverfront Station, which is the first one after you cross the river. It will be a rightside exit off the train. The East Riverfront Station is the Casino Queen station. It will let you off the train at the parking lot to the Casino Queen and it is a short-ish walk to the hotel. NOTE that when you go back to the airport, there are trains with TWO different destinations that stop westbound at East Riverfront. Be sure to get on the one that says Lambert Airport and NOT Shewsbury/I-44. If you accidentally get on the wrong one, get off at another stop and wait for the right one. Trains run approximately every 7 minutes during rush hour and 15 minutes apart at non-peak times. The price at the airport is approximately twice the price of tickets at any other station and is a real rip-off, but you have to get from the airport to the hotel. You can get tickets as you need them at other stations later.