Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

I am taking a roadtrip in 2wks with the fiance through atlanta, nashville, st. louis, MO, and boulder, CO.

we are checking out possible places to live when she finishes school.

any suggestions of what part of town or specific places to stay in nashville, st. louis or even boulder would be cool.

price doesnt matter too much, as long as it not over $250 a night.

also, the names of any 'cant miss' restaurants or local activities would be awesome.


thanks in advance for any help,

fsuplayer

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

going to pass through louisville?

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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going to pass through louisville?

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hadnt planned to, but i guess its possible.

cool place?

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

I didn't like the giant arch when I was in STL. It draws lots of people so I guess they're doing something right.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

eh, it depends. it is my home town and where i am spending the month.

kind of something for everyone. pretty decent hipster/artsy area. yuppiesh parts of town. and if you are a thug you can be right at home as well.

sucks that the meet is over at churchill downs as that can be nice.

some nice vintage hotels downtown that overlook the river.

and caeser's in. is 2 mins away across the bridge and home of one of the softest non-capped 2/5 nl games i have ever played in. when 5-10 is running it is usually great as well.

but i am doubting the fiance is going to be wanting you in a casino.

i guess it kind of depends on what kind of stuff you like to do.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

I used to live in Louisville .. go cards!

Kentucky people are good people ... unless you go to east Kentucky where it just gets weird.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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boulder, CO

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Do you smoke pot?

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

The Big Bang Bar on the Landing in STL is kickass.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

nice. i myself am a cat fan, so go big blue.

anyhow, i also recommend the sweet aquarium that is in newport/cincinatti if you are into that kind of thing.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

Boulder's all about being outside. Go hike in the flatirons or rent some mountain bikes.

Eldorado Springs is also close, and there's the Celestial Seasonings tour (which is fun).

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

[ QUOTE ]
Boulder's all about being outside. Go hike in the flatirons or rent some mountain bikes.

Eldorado Springs is also close, and there's the Celestial Seasonings tour (which is fun).

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree except right now it's pretty hot during the daytime. I am in Denver and it's above 100 right now. Mabe you should go to Eulich Garden (denver only about 30 minute drive) and there are plenty of hotels you can stay at downtown.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Boulder's all about being outside. Go hike in the flatirons or rent some mountain bikes.

Eldorado Springs is also close, and there's the Celestial Seasonings tour (which is fun).

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree except right now it's pretty hot during the daytime. I am in Denver and it's above 100 right now. Mabe you should go to Eulich Garden (denver only about 30 minute drive) and there are plenty of hotels you can stay at downtown.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, i saw the recent heatwave you guys are having and while its hot, it looks like its cooling off later in the week.either way though, its got to be better than the 95 degrees with 100% humidity here in tally.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

St Louis Casinos include Harrahs and Ameristar about 15 miles from downtown and the President about 5 blocks from downtown. All three have poker. The Casino Queen across the river from downtown does not have poker.

If you like sports I would suggest Cardinal or Gateway Grizzly games. www.stlcardinals.com and www.gatewaygrizzlies.com Grizzly games are really cool. 24 oz cans of beer are $4, tickets are cheap and you can sit really close to the field. After the game the players sign autographs. My son especially got a big kick out of it. (he was 10 years old). I always have a great time there.

If you like history you may want to check out the Cahokia Mounds and museum. Additional information can be found here http://www.state.il.us/hpa/hs/Mounds.htm

The St Louis Zoo is free and supposed to be one the best in the U.S. You can tour the Busch brewery and receive samples (tour and samples are free). For additional information on St Louis visit http://www.explorestlouis.com/unique...asp?PageType=4

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
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Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Boulder's all about being outside. Go hike in the flatirons or rent some mountain bikes.

Eldorado Springs is also close, and there's the Celestial Seasonings tour (which is fun).

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree except right now it's pretty hot during the daytime. I am in Denver and it's above 100 right now. Mabe you should go to Eulich Garden (denver only about 30 minute drive) and there are plenty of hotels you can stay at downtown.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, i saw the recent heatwave you guys are having and while its hot, it looks like its cooling off later in the week.either way though, its got to be better than the 95 degrees with 100% humidity here in tally.

[/ QUOTE ]

the humidity must suck big time!!! I am glad to hear it is supposed to cool off soon. I went on a 30 mile bike ride today and thought I was going to pass out!

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

In St Louis check out The Hill (Italian section of town) for great Italian restaurants and delis. I lived there for a summer 5 years ago and I believe Soulard is where most of the nightlife was. The brewery tour is interesting and worth it, and they are not stingy with the free beer at the end. If religious architechture interests you, the Catherdral Basilica of St Louis is one of the most amazing I've ever seen (In the States anyway). Not sure of your budget, but if you can swing it the Ritz-Carlton there is very nice.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

Boulder: Drinks at the Catacombs. That's all.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

St. Louis: Dinner at Sydney Street Cafe. Dominatingly great.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

Meh. There is really no reason to come here unless it's the first Saturday in May.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

thanks for all the responses thus far.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

i only know about boulder.

best bar: the sundown saloon

there isn't much good food in boulder, except for sushi. sushi zanmai is really good, and worth checking out.

i recommend hiking the flatirons. it's really not a difficult hike, but it's fun and a great view. also, it's only like less than 2 hours round trip to the top. definitely worth it. also go to red rocks. if there's no concert going on you can go in and just wander around...gotta see it at least once. rocky mountain national park is a bit further away, but also a must-see.

for going out in boulder in general, stick to pearl street. the hill is mostly college age people, and judging by the fact that you're engaged i'm guessing that isn't your scene. if you want to play pool, go to the foundry.

also be forewarned that boulder is it's own little world, full of yuppies and trustafarians. i'm sure you'll have a good time visiting though. good luck!

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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Boulder: Drinks at the Catacombs. That's all.

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the only good thing about that place is the air hockey table.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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[ QUOTE ]
Boulder's all about being outside. Go hike in the flatirons or rent some mountain bikes.

Eldorado Springs is also close, and there's the Celestial Seasonings tour (which is fun).

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree except right now it's pretty hot during the daytime. I am in Denver and it's above 100 right now. Mabe you should go to Eulich Garden (denver only about 30 minute drive) and there are plenty of hotels you can stay at downtown.

[/ QUOTE ]

doing some hiking early in the day before it gets TOO hot wouldn't be a bad idea. if they really want to beat the heat though, forget about elitch, it's all about water world!

one thing i forgot to mention: in colorado you're at least a mile closer to the sun than most other places...if you burn easily, be careful.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

If you’re a whisky drinker the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg is about a 30-minute detour off of 24 on the way from Atlanta to Nashville. The tour is quite interesting.

In Nashville don’t miss Printer’s Alley – lots of little clubs and bars.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

[ QUOTE ]
If you’re a whisky drinker the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg is about a 30-minute detour off of 24 on the way from Atlanta to Nashville. The tour is quite interesting.

In Nashville don’t miss Printer’s Alley – lots of little clubs and bars.

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Dont get your hopes up, NO free samples at the distillery. Its located in a dry county, you can't even buy any alcoholic beverages their.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

Demonbreun Street in Nashville is a row of bars and restaurants. More modern, 20s to 30s crowd and no country music places.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

The midwest is horribly boring and full of dull people. I'd rather put a gun to my head than spend my vacation on a roadtrip out this way. On a more serious note, Caesars Indiana is the shiznit. Its the largest riverboat casino in the world and the only one in Indiana where you can stay in the attached hotel without contracting meningitis.

Indy

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

If you are interested in an excellent buffalo steak, you might check out The Fort. Probably about an hour's drive from Boulder, but check on that if you're interested. To me, dinner there is worth a much longer drive than that.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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If you are interested in an excellent buffalo steak, you might check out The Fort. Probably about an hour's drive from Boulder, but check on that if you're interested. To me, dinner there is worth a much longer drive than that.

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for that matter, the buckhorn exchange in denver is an absolute must. they have colorado liquor license #1.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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If you are interested in an excellent buffalo steak, you might check out The Fort. Probably about an hour's drive from Boulder, but check on that if you're interested. To me, dinner there is worth a much longer drive than that.

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Wow. I live in Littleton (near C-470 and Ken Caryl) and I've never been to this place. I better check it out. Looking at their map, it won't take an hour to get there from Boulder. Last summer, I worked on-site at a place Northeast of Boulder, where I drove through boulder from farther away than this restaurant is and I did it in about 50 minutes. Let's call it 40 minutes tops from Boulder to this place.

If you're going to go to Red Rocks, you might coordinate these two trips, as Red Rocks is on the way from Boulder to The Fort. If you look at their map, Red Rocks is in/near Morrison.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

There is a new hotel in Boulder that seems to be the "in" place to stay. I do not know what it is called but it is aorund 11th and Walnut (so right by Pearl St that Lucas correctly suggested).

You can find some pretty alright food there. Nothing earth shattering. BJ's Pizza is pretty solid. I liked Foolish Craig's Cafe. Lucas' suggestion for sushi is right on the money too.

If you like micro-brew beer you can find a good selection of local, fresh beer at just about every bar. I would recomend anything from Twisted Pine Brewery.

Styr -- a martini bar by day / dance club in the basement at night -- that is between Pearl St and Walnut St is a pretty fun and chill place to go.

Lucas will disagree with me, but I miss Boulder. I am sure you will find a good time there.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

If you want to take your girl to a great restaurant take her to the Flagstaff in Boulder. When I stay in St. Louis I stay at the MAC downtown. It is a neat old hotel near the Landing but it may be private not sure.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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If you are interested in an excellent buffalo steak, you might check out The Fort. Probably about an hour's drive from Boulder, but check on that if you're interested. To me, dinner there is worth a much longer drive than that.

[/ QUOTE ]
Wow. I live in Littleton (near C-470 and Ken Caryl) and I've never been to this place. I better check it out. Looking at their map, it won't take an hour to get there from Boulder. Last summer, I worked on-site at a place Northeast of Boulder, where I drove through boulder from farther away than this restaurant is and I did it in about 50 minutes. Let's call it 40 minutes tops from Boulder to this place.

If you're going to go to Red Rocks, you might coordinate these two trips, as Red Rocks is on the way from Boulder to The Fort. If you look at their map, Red Rocks is in/near Morrison.

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I recommend:

Uncle Dick's Buffalo New York Strip
14 oz. Kansas City style (bone in) sirloin strip for full flavor, grilled to perfection.
Served with Fort Potatoes and chef's choice of vegetable.
$36.95

or

Scout Jim Baker's Mountain Man Steak
20 oz. Bone in Buffalo Ribeye - full of flavor for the mountain man in us all!
Served with shallot-cheddar mashed potatoes.
$47.95

suprisingly, the guacomole is fantastic also

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

In Nashville, I like staying at the Hermitage. It's right downtown, so you don't really have to drive anywhere.

Printer's Alley is a great place to have a bucket of beer. Especially Lonnie's Western Room. I have never taken an out-of-towner there who hasn't loved it.


As far as food goes, I like this place... Midtown Cafe.

That's all off the top of my head. I'll try to think of more...

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
If you are interested in an excellent buffalo steak, you might check out The Fort. Probably about an hour's drive from Boulder, but check on that if you're interested. To me, dinner there is worth a much longer drive than that.

[/ QUOTE ]

for that matter, the buckhorn exchange in denver is an absolute must. they have colorado liquor license #1.

[/ QUOTE ]


Buckhorn never impressed me that much, but was OK I guess. In all the years I lived there never went to the Fort which was probably stupid. Dunno why we never got there. Have always heard good things about it.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

St. Louis: City Museum. Full of oddities, weird things to stare at, things to take pictures of, and just generally cool [censored] for people who are easily bored by conventional touristy stuff. There are things like the Arch, Grant's Farm, etc. but I have no idea what the appeal is for things like that, other than to find things to do with visiting relatives other than sit and stare at one another for hours at a time.

Blueberry Hill is a good, cheap place to eat that happens to be located in the loop, which is a nice place to walk around, shop, etc. There is a good record store nearby and an older theater that was recently rehabbed that shows smaller indie films and also has classics at midnight, like The Big Lebowski, Dr. Strangelove, and the Goonies. I think the summer midnight thing is probably going on right now.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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Blueberry Hill is a good, cheap place to eat that happens to be located in the loop

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Also Chuck Berry still plays there a couple of times a month.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

C'mon, coloradoans, everyone knows that the premier cultural and gastronomical center of CO is Casa Bonita.

Where else can you get food worse than Taco bell and a pirate diving show thing-a-majig? Also, there is a puppet show and black Bart's "scary" cave.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

Nashville:

1) There's a good place to eat downtown called Merchants (on Broadway I believe).

2) Also downtown, a cool bar called Buffalo Billiards, and The Havana Lounge it upstairs. Neither are "country" places. The Havana Lounge has a nice humidor. I think they're both on 2nd.

3) I wouldn't recommend Printers Alley, as several others have. It's a little too cliche of what you would expect Nashville to be, and the titty bar there sucks. I've never been to the bars on Demonbreun that the other poster recommended. I know there's another area of 20-something inhabited bars near Vandy, but it's not all college kids. The only problem with these areas is that they're semi-isolated. Downtown is not and it has plenty of bars and restaurants, not all of which are touristy.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Bould
 

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I know there's another area of 20-something inhabited bars near Vandy, but it's not all college kids.

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=

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I've never been to the bars on Demonbreun that the other poster recommended.

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There's not a whole lot of Vandy kids around right now anyways, since most students are out-of-state.

Re: Cool Hotels/Things to Do when in Nashville, St. Louis, MO or Boulder,
 

Yes, the titty bar sucks. Bad. But as for the cliche, it's not like it is a place manufactured to be "country." Lonnie's has been there for years and is well known to have famous people stop by from time to time.

I am not suggesting staying there for the entire trip, but a visit is definitly worthwhile IMO.

Buffalo Billiards is a giant pool hall with better than average bar food. Havana lounge used to be the place to be, but it seems to have become hit or miss lately. With that said, it is my standard "no cover charge" place to go when I head downtown.

Hillsboro Village and Elliston Place are some fun places to go also. They are on the edge of Vanderbilt's campus, and are jumping no matter what time of year. My favorites in those areas are Jackson's in Hillsboro Village and the Gold Rush off Elliston Place.

Also, for good southern eats, try Monells. For good burgers, try Rotiers or Browns.

For James, I'm not trying to knock what you are saying, but every city has college bars and pool halls. Lonnie's is all Nashville.