Living in St Louis, I would say for WashU you want to be in Clayton and not the city and Clayton doesn't have many good choices other than the Ritz which is expensive. I would look at the Cheshire which is an independent hotel very close to WashU or the Residence Inn or Homewood suites by Hilton both of which are by the Galleria. If you want the convenience of being right in Clayton the Sheraton is probably as good as it gets. The Springhill Suites is close also but that area is a traffic nightmare.
Thanks. I actually stayed at the Cheshire about 10 years ago. I did look there but the rate was >$200 vs the Sheraton at $150 or so. I won't be in the room much, so I wanted to keep budget down. I'll look at RI, Homewood, and Hilton to see if any of those might be better. The reviews on the Sheraton are awful! I did check the Clayton Plaza Hotel and they have rooms, but there's a bunch of TA reviews saying loud construction this summer is a major problem.
UPDATE: so I just looked and all are running >$200. The Sheraton says 3 min drive to WashU. Springhill is 8 min. I've got to just decide between these at this point. I hate it when a hotel gets as dumpy as this Sheraton seems to be. I stayed in one in Meriden, CT in the fall and it was a SUPREME DUMP. I could not believe how bad it was. A Motel 6 would've been better.