Earlier this year Todd and I talked about how there are so many places we want to go and how easy it has become to take Iris with us on our adventures. We decided that there were no more excuses and that we would travel to places on our list whenever we could. This past weekend we stayed true to that promise and took off on a St. Louis family vacation.

We were excited to stay at one of the most renowned properties in the area, The Chase Park Plaza. While we got out and explored St. Louis quite a bit, some of our best experiences were right there in the hotel. From the dining, to the historic movie theater, to our hotel room, to the Mediterranean-style pool, we fell in love instantly. In fact, as soon as we arrived, Iris took one look around the lobby and said, “I wish this was our home.” Me too, Iris. Me too. And when it was time to pack up and leave on Sunday, Iris kept saying she didn’t want to go. No one did.

We hit the road towards St. Louis bright and early on Friday morning so that we could get the most out of our stay. When we rolled into town, it wasn’t quite check-in time yet, so we stopped by one of St. Louis’ most famous breweries, Schlafly, and took a look (okay, and maybe a sip) around.

And finally, it was check-in time! If you know me, I love anything with vintage charm, but of course I love anything luxurious too – and The Chase Park Plaza was the best blend of both.

We made ourselves at home in our suite, which was the perfect set-up for traveling with kid. At night we could shut the door and Iris had her own space (and more importantly, we had ours). This helped it truly feel like vacation. We were also greeted by an enormous gift basket full of goodies from the hotel and other local companies. Soft Surroundings gifted me several things that Iris immediately tried to swipe (the La Chanson Ea de Parfum and the Pink Holiday Luxury Cream Lipstick were our faves). We also got a HUGE suitcase-shaped box of locally made potato chips from The Billy Goat Chip Company, a St. Louis t-shirt from STyLe, and movie tickets for the Chase Park Plaza Theater. Hashtag, spoiled.

Situated in the Central West End neighborhood and just across the street from Forest Park, the hotel’s location was supurb. There are restaurants and shops all right there within walking distance. So once we were settled, we decided to head to the St. Louis Zoo, which is just five minutes away from the hotel. Not only is the zoo completely free, but they serve alcohol (insert the sound of singing angels). Walking around looking at elephants and penguins while drinking a margarita? Sign me up!

Once we got back to the hotel, we cooled off with a special delivery of champagne and got ready for our first night’s dinner at The Chase Club, which overlooks the hotel pool. The atmosphere was relaxed, and the food was top notch.

After dinner (and dessert, duh) we took a stroll around the quaint neighborhood just as it started to get dark. There was live music at a sidewalk cafe, cute little shops, and a fountain that was near impossible to drag Iris away from.

The next morning we slept in as much as we could (8:30 a.m. is pretty late to us these days) and then ordered room service for a treat of breakfast in bed. Talk about the perfect start to the day.

One of our absolute favorite things to do in St. Louis is visit the City Museum. Pictures don’t do this place justice, but once you go – you just get it. I swear you could spend days exploring the little nooks and crannies of this place and still not discover everything. And the best part is that it’s just as much fun for adults as it is for kids – maybe more.

After a sweaty afternoon at the City Museum, we ventured over to another St. Louis brewery that Todd had been wanting to visit. Perennial Artisan Ales was a nice and cool spot to play a couple rounds of Candy Land with Iris while we tried a couple specialty beers (yes, this brewery had Candy Land – genius!).

After our long day, it was such a good feeling to come back “home” to The Chase Park Plaza. We sneaked in a short nap, then had a lovely finale dinner at The Preston. The food and cocktails were spectacular. They encourage you to share your plates, so that’s just what we did. Everything was delicious and unique, but they also had a great kids menu for those kiddos that aren’t quite as adventurous. Surprisingly though, Iris even ate some octopus! We started with a bread board, which included pretzel croissants and then the pastry chef came over to our table to make sure we were going to order dessert. Going all out, we ordered a couple options, including my fave: hot chocolate-chip cookies on a warm marble slab, with a sweet milk sauce to pour on top. I want to go back, like right now, just for those.

Even though we finished our dinner (and all of our desserts) after Iris’ bedtime, we broke all the rules and had a family movie night right there in our hotel. Iris thought it would be pretty cool that we could take an elevator ride straight down from our hotel room to the movie theater. We saw a late showing of The Secret Life of Animals before we hit the hay.

The next morning, before we said goodbye to our hotel room, we had breakfast in the Chase Club Lounge. Then, it was off to the pool! I had been eyeing this pool on their website long before we arrived, so it was a great final retreat before being in the car for five hours.

As we made the drive back home, I looked back through all the photos from over our getaway. So many new memories were made and I can’t wait to come back for more one day.

A very special ‘thank you’ to The Chase Park Plaza for hosting our stay. While this trip was sponsored, all opinions are my own.