Several months ago my family and I planned a weekend trip to St.Louis for a couple Cardinals baseball games, sightseeing, Six Flags, etc. At that time I was trying to find a hotel with EV charging in close proximity to Busch Stadium where we like to stay in hopes of being able to drive the Model S to St. Louis for the first time. Alas, while there is a hotel called the Moonrise, they were sold out already AND it's a bit further away from the action than we like to be.
Ultimately we found a great hotel with a decent rate, the Hyatt at the St.Louis Arch. We'd stayed there in the past, it's a nice place and we made reservations figuring if we couldn't charge we'd just take a gasser. But I thought I'd take a shot and give the hotel a call to see if they might help me out. I got bounced a couple of times on the first call, until I ended up on the line with Bryan, the Valet Manager. I explained the situation, asked if they might consider installing some sort of charging option for me and he said he'd check into it and get back to me. Sure enough, a couple weeks later her called, said he'd spoken with engineering and they'd be glad to put something in and what, exactly, did I want! I told him about the NEMA 14-50 with the option of a J-1772. The never heard back.
Last week I called, left a message, and Bryan called me back the next day. He told me they had, indeed, put in the NEMA 14-50 outlet I'd asked for, that all the valets knew about it, and when I got there to ask for him and they'd take care of me.
I drove up (conservative with speed) and arrived with ~40 miles range left. When I got there it was crazy as lots of people were arriving for the Friday night Cardinals game. But there were valets there that knew what was going on, I followed one valet down into the secured valet-only parking area (he ran, I drove) straight to a corner spot right by the elevator that had been blocked off with a cone for me. I backed right in, plugged in and started charging! I tipped him $10, gave Bryan and a couple other guys the 1 minute Tesla tour including the usual questions, and was off to the game.
They left one of the RFID cards for the valet area in my room so I could come and go from there as I pleased and left me the cone to block the spot while I was out. Totally impressed with the customer service!
The did install the outlet upside down, so I had to do some things to try to reduce the pressure on the cord. And it showed 40 amps, but only ~200V, so I was getting only 23MPH charge rate. But all in all this was just great service.
Bryan even mentioned that the second spot right next to mine may also be converted to an EV charger...I suggested in person, and will send in writing, that they consider a J1772 so that most other EVs will also be accommodated. I've put the outlet on most of the usual EV charger apps.
Ultimately we found a great hotel with a decent rate, the Hyatt at the St.Louis Arch. We'd stayed there in the past, it's a nice place and we made reservations figuring if we couldn't charge we'd just take a gasser. But I thought I'd take a shot and give the hotel a call to see if they might help me out. I got bounced a couple of times on the first call, until I ended up on the line with Bryan, the Valet Manager. I explained the situation, asked if they might consider installing some sort of charging option for me and he said he'd check into it and get back to me. Sure enough, a couple weeks later her called, said he'd spoken with engineering and they'd be glad to put something in and what, exactly, did I want! I told him about the NEMA 14-50 with the option of a J-1772. The never heard back.
Last week I called, left a message, and Bryan called me back the next day. He told me they had, indeed, put in the NEMA 14-50 outlet I'd asked for, that all the valets knew about it, and when I got there to ask for him and they'd take care of me.
I drove up (conservative with speed) and arrived with ~40 miles range left. When I got there it was crazy as lots of people were arriving for the Friday night Cardinals game. But there were valets there that knew what was going on, I followed one valet down into the secured valet-only parking area (he ran, I drove) straight to a corner spot right by the elevator that had been blocked off with a cone for me. I backed right in, plugged in and started charging! I tipped him $10, gave Bryan and a couple other guys the 1 minute Tesla tour including the usual questions, and was off to the game.
They left one of the RFID cards for the valet area in my room so I could come and go from there as I pleased and left me the cone to block the spot while I was out. Totally impressed with the customer service!
The did install the outlet upside down, so I had to do some things to try to reduce the pressure on the cord. And it showed 40 amps, but only ~200V, so I was getting only 23MPH charge rate. But all in all this was just great service.
Bryan even mentioned that the second spot right next to mine may also be converted to an EV charger...I suggested in person, and will send in writing, that they consider a J1772 so that most other EVs will also be accommodated. I've put the outlet on most of the usual EV charger apps.
