Park Avenue Mansion Bed and Breakfast

I feel honored to have been able to stay at this beautiful and historic home. The owners tell me it was once a birthing hospital and that made me very happy since I am a nurse-​midwife. The home is gorgeous and the garden is so beautiful. Make some time to sit out in the garden. It would be such a great place for a wedding. Thank you for allowing me into your beautiful home and your loving service.

This was our first time at a B & B. We loved it. The home is beautifully restored and decorated, Mike and Kathy are gracious and welcoming, and the breakfast was to die for! Our room had a view of the amazing garden and the arch. Their golden doodle Daisy was the highlight of the stay. She is so sweet and adorable. The neighborhood is equally stunning and Lafayette Park across the street was great for a morning stroll. I highly recommend staying here when you are in St. Louis. We will be back!
Robin & Mike Kinney

I stayed at the Park Avenue Mansion Bed and Breakfast in early April when I came into town to find a place to live. Kathy and Mike were extremely accommodating (I got into town very late). They were wonderful resources of knowledge– even providing referrals to real estate agents and tips about St. Louis. It’s pretty apparent that these two love their neighborhood and their enthusiasm is contagious.
The accommodations are very nice and the food is delicious. The location is ideal– you can walk to several nice restaurants and you are on Lafayette Square. After staying here, I’m not sure I ever want to go back to staying at a hotel.

My husband and I stayed here on January 1^st so the place was decorated in the wrappings of a Victorian Christmas. It was gorgeous. Despite being on the third floor, we were able to sneak in and out of the building for a late dinner without causing much noise on the staircase.
In the morning, we were treated to a hearty breakfast of Eggs Florentine and a bottle of champagne. The owner seemed genuinely thrilled that we chose her B&B for our wedding night. The bottle hasn’t been popped yet; we’re saving that for an anniversary.

We had a really nice time staying at the Park Avenue Mansion B&B, we stayed there before our wedding in April. The owners Mike & Kathy were really great with providing information both about the neighborhood and city itself. Also our room was always well attended to when we left for the day.
The breakfasts in the morning were quite nice, my now husband and I are vegetarian/​vegan and Kathy made us something special every morning to accommodate. Also, great juices! The home is quite nice and relaxing, I enjoyed reading in the living room space in the morning. The room was very nice and had a great view of the city as well. We really couldn’t have asked for anything more, we’re looking forward to visiting perhaps again on an anniversary perhaps in a few years :)

Not quite a three, but much better than a two. Two and three-​quarters?
My wife and I were looking for a quick little weekend getaway from Chicago to celebrate our anniversary. We settled on St. Louis, as I had lived there for a number of years and she hadn’t ever had the opportunity to visit.
Lafayette Sqare, the neighborhood within which the B&B is located, has come a long way. Kathy, one of the owners, was very keen on letting us know all of the amenities that the neighborhood had to offer. Initially very welcome information, but more on that in a moment.
The B&B itself? I’ll dissect it into three parts: Bed, Breakfast, and Booking.
Bed: We felt that the room was a fantastic value. We had a fine queen bed, beautiful marble-​tiled bathroom, wonderful view of both the small and peaceful garden in the adjacent lot and of the Arch. The remainder of the appointments in the space were welcome as well. The modern conveniences… a mini-​fridge, telephone, alarm clock and LCD TV were unobtrusive for the most part. The decoration in the home was considered carefully, with some tongue-​in-​cheek portraits of dogs wearing military uniforms hung in the staircase, complementing the otherwise fairly consistent Victorian-​era décor. Amusing. Considered on the whole, we really enjoyed our room.
Breakfast: Not great, but not terrible. Perhaps the home was catering to a different sort of visitor who didn’t have such a rigid schedule, but when we were told breakfast would be served at 9 and to «please ensure that we were there on time.» We assumed that meant pretty close to 9AM, and with a full day of sightseeing planned, we also hoped that would be the case. Due to what we were told was the humidity in the area having a negative effect on the quiche/​soufflé rising in the oven, we were not invited to the breakfast table until 9:50. Coffee was available and the rest of the guests were enjoyable to speak with, but neither my wife nor I really wanted to be continually told, «It’ll just be a few minutes» and then have breakfast nearly an hour later. The breakfast was pleasant enough… a small quiche with some ham, cheese and sprigs of rosemary on top. The side was about a half-​dollar sized portion of hashbrown, and two strawberries that had been chocolate-​dipped. No real complaints, just nothing we felt we could rave about. Coupling that with the fact that it came so much later than we anticipated, we skipped breakfast on Sunday in favor of striking out and finding somewhere else to eat at… you know… an ordinary breakfast time. If you have the time to wait though and enjoy a couple hours of small talk with the other guests, then perhaps this may be for you. Also, grab your appropriate grain of salt – I am basing my opinion on one breakfast. In speaking with some of the other guests, I believe that our experience was not the norm. (Both the quality and timeliness.)
Booking: The last area we feel compelled to comment on was with the booking of the visit. We explained that we would require a late check-​in on the online booking form, and the owners were very accomodating, telling us that they would leave us a key in a predetermined location. Great. Easy enough. We received a call to our cell phone from one of the owners around 7 PM asking: «Where are you?» Fair enough question. I told them where we were and that we planned on arriving at the time we had previously agreed upon. I was told: «No, you should be here in about an hour and a half», and got a weird vibe from the tone… like one part travel advice and one part command. Ever feel like you’re talking with somebody but not really communicating with them? This was that moment. She just couldn’t understand that we were going to take our time to get there, as previously arranged. We arrived at about 10 P.M., greeting some of the other guests who were playing a board game in the parlor, and went straight up to bed as we had an action-​packed Saturday planned.
The next morning (while the humidity was causing the quiche to not rise) we received what we felt like was another interrogation about what took us so long to get there. Again, for the security of the B&B and the comfort of the other guests, I completely understand why they want people to arrive within a predetermined window, but if a late arrival was going to be a problem, I suppose we would have just appreciated hearing that up front, and we’d happily have found somewhere else to stay with no hard feelings.
In sum: +1 star for the room and home. +1 star for the centrally located and easy-​to-​find location. If you’ve never been to St. Louis before and have no idea what you want to see, these folks are great. If you know what you want to see, just realize that the owners are very proud of their neighborhood, and will try hard to keep you there regardless of whether or not you had other plans! ;o)

I love me a B&B but the only deterrent is usually that they are bit to tip-​toey for me. I do not like to feel like I am invading somone’s private space and also do not wish to feel under a microscope with regards to my comings and goings. There have been times were I think, «hope I dont get a reprimand for coming in so late!»
So I approached Park Avenue Mansion with caution. The website was reassuring. It relayed very accurately and professionally the quality of the establishment and it seemed it was large enough to afford privacy.
It exceeded expectation. The booking was friendly and warm. Kathy and Mike are both great people who understand how to be there but not be intrusive. I was welcomed in European style, (Let me show you around and show you your room and what do you want for breakfast? As opposed to gimmie your credit card and fill out these forms). The décor was over the top French provincial with tongue in the cheek nuances. It was planned so it was not wierd or awkward. All was clean and cozy with fireplaces roaring and the docile rescue dog pets dozing here and there.
The room was perfect for my needs. Super clean and nicely appointed. The bathroom was marble tiled and super clean. It is situated on a beautiful 1 square mile park that is reminiscent of Hyde Park in London and the neighborhood has become quite quaint with restaurants and shops. WIFI without incident. Breakfast was a homemade wholesome organic hardy breakfast. I highly recommend this spot for business travelers and vacationers alike.
ps. Kathy gives great hugs