The Principal Hotel

3.5 star property

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Photo gallery for The Principal Hotel

Breakfast, dinner and brunch served
Room amenity
Reception
Exterior
In-room safe, blackout drapes, iron/ironing board, free WiFi

Reviews

9.8 out of 10
Exceptional

Popular amenities

  • Free WiFi
  • Restaurant
  • Air conditioning
  • Gym
  • Business services
$125
$113 nightly
$125 total
Total with taxes and fees
Mar 15 - Mar 16

Explore the area

View in a map
310 S Main St, Columbia, IL, 62236
  • Place, Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery
    ‪11 min drive‬
  • Place, Jefferson Barracks Historic Park
    ‪11 min drive‬
  • Place, Arsenal BG Ballpark
    ‪14 min drive‬
  • Airport, St. Louis, MO (STL-Lambert-St. Louis Intl.)
    ‪39 min drive‬

Room options

Freshman K

9.8 out of 10
Exceptional
(13 reviews)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

ADA Freshman K

8.6 out of 10
Excellent
(4 reviews)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

Freshman Honors K

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

Sophomore Honors K

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 King Bed and 1 Double Sofa Bed

Junior Honors K

  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 King Bed

Senior K

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 King Bed and 1 Double Sofa Bed

Senior Honors K

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 4
  • 1 King Bed and 1 Large Twin Sofa Bed

Sophomore QQ

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 6
  • 2 Queen Beds and 1 Large Twin Bed

Sophomore Honors QQ

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 6
  • 2 Queen Beds and 1 Large Twin Bed

ADA Sophomore Honors QQ

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 6
  • 2 Queen Beds and 1 Large Twin Bed

ADA Junior QQ

  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

Junior Honors QQ

  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

Senior QQ

10.0 out of 10
Exceptional
(1 review)
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 4
  • 2 Queen Beds

Junior Q

  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Queen Bed

Similar properties

About the neighborhood

Columbia

With a stay at The Principal Hotel in Columbia, you'll be 8.9 mi (14.3 km) from Missouri Civil War Museum and 11.9 mi (19.2 km) from River City Casino. .This hotel is 12.3 mi (19.7 km) from Arsenal BG Ballpark and 15.2 mi (24.4 km) from Busch Stadium.

What's nearby

  • Sylvan Springs County Park - 10 min drive - 9.4 miles
  • Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery - 11 min drive - 8.3 miles
  • Jefferson Barracks Historic Park - 11 min drive - 10.0 miles
  • Arsenal BG Ballpark - 14 min drive - 13.3 miles
  • River City Casino - 15 min drive - 12.4 miles

Getting around

  • St. Louis Gateway Station - 23 min drive
  • St. Louis Lambert Intl. Airport (STL) - 38 min drive

Restaurants

  • ‪McDonald's - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪Taco Bell - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪Top Shooters Sports Bar - ‬6 min drive
  • ‪Jimmy John's - ‬3 min drive
  • ‪Dairy Queen - ‬11 min walk

About this property

The Principal Hotel

The Principal Hotel offers 40 air-conditioned accommodations with safes and coffee/tea makers. 40-inch flat-screen televisions come with digital channels and Netflix.

Bathrooms include showers and hair dryers. This Columbia hotel provides complimentary wireless Internet access. Additionally, rooms include irons/ironing boards and blackout drapes/curtains. Housekeeping is provided on request.

Recreational amenities at the hotel include a fitness center.
Make yourself at home in one of the 40 air-conditioned rooms featuring microwaves and flat-screen televisions. Complimentary wireless internet access keeps you connected, and digital programming is available for your entertainment. Bathrooms feature showers, hair dryers, and toothbrushes and toothpaste. Conveniences include phones, as well as safes and coffee/tea makers.
Take advantage of recreation opportunities such as a fitness center, or other amenities including gift shops/newsstands and a television in a common area.
Stop by the hotel's restaurant, Graphite Restaurant, for dinner or brunch, or grab snacks at the coffee shop/cafe.
Featured amenities include dry cleaning/laundry services, a 24-hour front desk, and luggage storage. Free self parking is available onsite.
Graphite Restaurant - This fine-dining restaurant serves breakfast, brunch, and dinner. Guests can enjoy drinks at the bar.
Cafe on the Abbey - This café serves breakfast and lunch. Open select days.

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi

Parking and transportation

  • Free uncovered self parking on site

Food and drink

  • A coffee shop/cafe
  • A restaurant
  • Coffee and tea in common areas

Restaurants on site

  • Cafe on the Abbey
  • Graphite Restaurant

Things to do

  • Gym
  • TV in common areas

Family friendly

  • In-room microwave

Conveniences

  • 24-hour front desk
  • ATM
  • Gift shop/newsstand
  • Luggage storage
  • Water dispenser

Guest services

  • Dry cleaning/laundry service
  • Housekeeping (on request)

Business services

  • Meeting rooms

Accessibility

  • Hardwood flooring in room
  • No elevator

More

  • Designated smoking areas (fines apply)

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Bedsheets provided
  • Blackout drapes

Bathroom

  • Hair dryer
  • Shampoo
  • Shower
  • Soap
  • Toilet paper
  • Toothbrush and toothpaste (on request)
  • Towels provided

Entertainment

  • 40-inch flat-screen TV with digital channels
  • Hulu
  • Netflix
  • Streaming services

Food and drink

  • Coffee/tea maker
  • Microwave

More

  • Air conditioning
  • Heating
  • Iron/ironing board
  • Phone
  • Safe

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 3:00 PM; Check-in end time: anytime
Minimum check-in age: 21

Check-out

Check-out before 10:00 AM

Special check-in instructions

Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property
The credit card used to book the reservation must be presented by the cardholder at check-in along with matching photo identification, and other arrangements must be coordinated with the property prior to arrival
This property enforces quiet hours from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM
Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

Pets not allowed

Children and extra beds

Children are welcome
Rollaway/extra beds are available for USD 20.0 per day

Property payment types

Important information

Fees

You'll be asked to pay the following charges at the property. Fees may include applicable taxes:

  • Deposit: USD 100.00 per accommodation, per stay

We have included all charges provided to us by the property.

Optional extras

  • Rollaway bed fee: USD 20.0 per day

The above list may not be comprehensive. Fees and deposits may not include tax and are subject to change.

You need to know

Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guestroom reservation
This property accepts credit cards; cash is not accepted
This property reserves the right to pre-authorize the guest's credit card prior to arrival.
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher

We should mention

This property does not have elevators
Only registered guests are allowed in the guestrooms

The Principal Hotel Reviews

Reviews

9.8

Exceptional

Rating 10 - Excellent. 187 out of 207 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 11 out of 207 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 6 out of 207 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 0 out of 207 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 3 out of 207 reviews

10/10

Cleanliness

9.8/10

Staff & service

9.6/10

Amenities

10/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

10/10 Excellent

Kenneth

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Good staff, easy check in, very comfortable and safe.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Samantha

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Louis

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
All of the above
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Eric

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Very neat theme and use of the original space.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Joe

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
My only discontent was that I couldn't figure out how to watch regular TV.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

NEELA

Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great cozy room. Restaurant was amazing. I ate there 3 days in a row!
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2025

8/10 Good

Jennifer

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Second time staying, disappointed in the fact that it just wasn’t clean. Otherwise, a good stay.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Nancy

Business traveler
Liked: Cleanliness
Everything is great. Love this place!
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jeff

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Great place. Very nice rooms, new and clean.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

8/10 Good

Karlin

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Hotel accommodations were great, but we had big trouble with the heating unit not switching over to cool and had to sleep in an 80 degree room
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Cheri

Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2025

2/10 Terrible

Oren

Traveled with group
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Overall stay was just terrible. We booked three rooms based on the high rating this hotel received in the past. When we arrived, my own room had a strong smell of sewage (I had another colleague corroborate this). I immediately asked to change rooms (a thing I have never done in all my years of travel) and was assigned another room. Unfortunately, whereas I booked a room with a kingside bed I now received a room with two queen size beds. No apology was offered at the time for the inconvenience. The new room had a loud screeching sound coming out of the air vent. I recorded it and came back again to reception. I was told that I could not be moved even though I explained that the noise was so loud no one could sleep there. I did stay up awake all night and had the pleasure of loud noises from the plumbing system added to the air vent noise. I recorded those too throughout the night. In the morning when I checked out the person at reception finally apologized and offered a free breakfast. I have never written a negative review of hotels. This is a first but the experience was truly aweful. By the way, after check out a maintenance person was at reception after checking my room and he acknowledged the loud noise.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

D

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Everything was great.
Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

tony, Ofallon

Place was emacetalent
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Michael

Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jeffery

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Loved this place! It was clean, quiet and comfortable. The little touches all around were so charming. Will definitely stay here again if in the area!
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Ashley

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Extremely quiet rooms. Rooms were spotless. Very unique hotel.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Rachel

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Very comfortable beds and clean rooms
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Janet

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
The history and design of the hotel were cool, the room was spotless, and the beds were comfortable. We also appreciated the friendly staff at check-in, and at the attached restaurant and bar. We'd happily stay again.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2025

10/10 Excellent

Shawn

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

Katie

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Such a cute little hotel with great decorative details. The staff was super friendly, the room was very clean. Check in only took a minute or two and they were very accommodating for early check in/late check out. It shares the parking lot with The Abbey where a friend’s wedding took place, so it was so convenient. If I ever find myself in Columbia, IL again, I will have to stay again.
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

Keenyn

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Room was clean, was able to get checked in early so i could relax before my nieces wedding rehearsal. The do not disturb sign was missing, talked to the front desk and got it. I just wish you guys had a hot breakfast, but with the restaurant attached, i understand
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

Deborah

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
Staff was friendly, and was able to get checked in to the room early, so we could relax before a wedding rehearsal. Room was clean
Stayed 2 nights in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

Jessica

Stayed 5 nights in Oct 2025

10/10 Excellent

Penny

Traveled with family
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Temperature great room was clean
Stayed 4 nights in Oct 2025