Downtown St. Louis has a hotel with a dramatic backstory, and it's about to write a new chapter. The Last Hotel, a 141-room property that bolted from Hyatt's portfolio in 2021 — stranding guests with award bookings in the process — is set to reopen as a Hyatt Centric on October 15.
The backstory is messy. Hyatt announced the hotel had joined its Unbound Collection in June 2020, with HRI Lodging managing. Less than a year later, in May 2021, the affiliation was gone. Paid bookings stayed valid, but guests lost their points and elite benefits, and Hyatt confirmed existing award reservations simply wouldn't be honored. Members were told points would be refunded and Hyatt would try to relocate award stays to other hotels.
Money troubles followed the hotel out the door. The original developer sold its stake, U.S. Bank sued over financing, a replacement management company stepped in, and a previous operator sued over wrongful termination. Another manager, Maverick Hotels and Restaurants, took over in 2024 — also briefly. Then the property slid into receivership and shut down abruptly on March 6, 2025, leaving roughly 82 guests to fend for themselves with a door note telling them to find another hotel ASAP.
Rescue came in March 2026, when Georgia-based Singh Investment Group bought the shuttered building for $14 million — about $99,000 per room, and below the $16.5 million asking price. A $4 million renovation is underway ahead of the October reopening under the Hyatt Centric flag, and Hyatt already has a booking page live for Hyatt Centric Downtown St. Louis.
Why should travellers care? If you collect Hyatt points, a rebranded Centric in downtown St. Louis is a genuinely useful redemption option — World of Hyatt's strength has always been its hotel footprint rather than its size, and properties like this often open with reasonable award availability. It's also a rare case of a property returning to a loyalty program after previously burning award guests, so book with reasonable confidence this time. For anyone heading to St. Louis for a Cardinals game, a conference at America's Center or a weekend on Washington Avenue, it puts a lifestyle-brand option steps from the city's core.
Story via View from the Wing.
