Courtesy of Evolve Vacations
The Jedi Temple
It might be too late to book a ticket for the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story, but if you and your friends are looking for a place to stay after the next late-night showing of a Star Wars film, then you might consider booking The Jedi Temple in downtown St. Louis.
It's one of a number of themed suites recently opened by Sonny Saggar, a London native who chairs the emergency department at St. Alexius Hospital and owns a number of area urgent-care clinics, as well as the The Den, a semi-exclusive club downtown. As a physician, Saggar "deals with life and death a lot,” says The Den's event coordinator, Amanda Canete, so he "likes to just have fun and focus on stuff that is not so dark and heavy" in his spare time.
Saggar is marketing these themed spaces as "mindful and meditation retreat suites," rather than calling them Airbnbs. His goal is to target visitors who are coming to St. Louis for a getaway focused on health and wellness in an urban setting. Extra services include acupuncture, massage, meditation, medical evaluation, and therapeutic outings (such as horseback riding).
The Jedi Temple is filled with bunk beds and can accommodate 12 to 28 guests. It’s described as a “sanctuary for Padawans young and old. Use The Force to find some peace, meditation, and camaraderie in this small piece of Coruscant,” a city-covered planet in the Star Wars universe. The space features a 6-foot-tall replica of Han Solo in carbonite (pictured at right).
The suites—including others themed in Harry Potter, Sherlock Holmes, and Downton Abbey styles—are located within a 5- to 10-minute walk of The Den, which often hosts trivia nights and such events as the Yule Ball (normally a Harry Potter-inspired holiday party) and the annual Burns Night supper, in honor of Scottish poet Robert Burns. The Hogwarts residence, located next door to the Temple, sleeps 16 and features rooms for each of the four houses at the wizardry institute, painted with their respective crests. (A gargoyle's also in the works.)
Courtesy of Evolve Vacations
Then there is The Sherlock (with room for up to 10 people) and the DowntoWn Abbey (also able to sleep 10 and which might eventually offer dinners featuring costumed characters).
Courtesy of Evolve Vacations
DowntoWn Abbey
Courtesy of Evolve Vacations
DowntoWn Abbey
Saggar says he hopes the energy at The Den and the nearby fantastical residences adds more “magic to downtown."
The Den is located at 711 N. 13th. Memberships are $400 annually; daily admission for non-members is $10.
