The National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows

Well the drive thru was nice this 2015 season but they really screwed the pooch for kids this year. No inside crafts just a puppet show and things that cost money. which we all don’t have a lot of. And at the end a book no stuffed animal. And to eat in buffet is to costly for family. Will I be back just to give dioceses more money. Doubt if this Catholic man will.

Went to see the lights and have dinner. The buffet continually ran out of items. Plates were nowhere to be found. They were out of salad and mom waited 10 minutes for more to be put on buffet. The pasta station has been cut back to just pasta and choice of sauce. The pasta station in years past had a wide selection of fresh vegetables. No more. Desserts are limited.

A fantastic community including a walking trail, theater, and retirement community. Come here during the holidays and you’ll be wowed by the Way of Lights.
If you drive to the far west side of the grounds, there is a fantastic view of St. Louis.

The ONLY reason that the Shrine restaurant gets a 4 instead of a 5 star review is because I got zero cell reception on my Verizon phone. Everything else was awesome. It was like walking into a slice of history. The décor and music is straight out of the 60s and 70s and it’s only (though very well maintained not old and dingy) opened until 9 on Fridays but the food was great! And with $ 2.50 margaritas this would be a great place to start before a night out. Not crowded, excellent service, and if you can, sit in Jeff’s section. He totally took care of us.

I’m sure there are a lot of people who come here for the shrine. From what little I observed of that, it seemed well cared for and seems like a worthwhile thing to go out of your way for. We came here for the hotel, as the weekend we were visiting family was also the same weekend as the annual art on the square event.
For $ 78 per night, the room suffices. The beds were comfortable, the A/​C did a good job, and there was a working hair dryer and iron in the room. Sure, there were dings on the wall and a patch on the carpet that was floppy. The furniture was worn, but it sufficed for us.
There was breakfast included in the price, but it consisted of boiled eggs, make your own waffles, donuts, cereal, and instant oatmeal. This was also fine for the price. The coffee was extra hot, so double cup. Black and green tea was also available.

This place was overwhelming in a good way. There was enough breakfast and lunch items so if you didn’t want to brunch you could. There was a salad bar, the traditional breakfast, pastries, dessert and a carving and omelette station. It’s $ 15 bucks per person so a little pricey. Nothing especially wowed me. I did like the bread pudding. But there was enough to satisfy you.

Spent a weekend with a group here, perfect if you want to get away with some folks. Hotel amenities are great, especially for it being a retreat center (actually has wifi and cable tv in the room!). Good catered food for groups.

The location is a bit out of the way. not very obvious. It has really delicious soup and salad bar. Especially the soup… daily your choices of about 6 or 7. Nice price too.

Great christmas lights. We also love the laser light shows, I recommend seeing both. They have the one with classical christmas music and then one with more updated music. The wreaths are amazing as is the tree display. The buffet at the restaurant on the other hand is slow and gross. Service couldn’t possibly be any slower. Small food selection. The food was bland, whatever the roast beef was, was old, it had a fishy green tint to it. The chicken had very little meat to it. The mashed potatoes were fine. The upside was a pasta station where you choose what you want in it and that was okay, the veggies were fresh but the chicken for that tasted prepackaged frozen. Like I said go for the lights skip the food.

Christmas Light Show that they do every year; was a nice drive around with a small petting zoo and rides for anyone who’s children wanted to ride a camel or pony. They had a laser light show as well to see, and at the end have a $ 12 donation fee which get you a little push animal each year (this year is an elephant). Was nice quick drive and stopped by Flying J down the road for hot chocolate to keep us warm while driving around and waiting for other cars and trucks to go through.

As a spiritual shrine, this place was very beautiful. This place looks like a public park, but this is a Catholic getaway and a dedication to the Blessed Virgin.
I was very surprised to see the chapel open for personal reflection and worship. I walked in and everything was so beautiful with the most modern of decorative appointments.
I also enjoyed the gift shop, which offered a surprising amount of Catholic items. I thought of it more like a «Catholic Supply» mini-​mart. However, the prices do tend to get to be outrageous. I found the same St. Michael statue at Catholic Supply for $ 30 on sale, but this establishment priced the same relic for $ 85! Sacre bleu!
I asked the lady for a St. Michael rosary, but couldn’t afford the $ 50 price tag. The lady was very diligent in attempting to find a lower priced item, but eventually failed. She was very nice and stubborn to find me a comparable rosary at a nice price.
I ended up leaving the establishment purchasing a beautiful poster of the sacred heart of Jesus for $ 4. They offered to protect the poster with some cardboard with no additional price.
I would give this place five stars, but someone needs to look into the price points at their gift shop. It looks like I will be sticking to Catholic Supply and
for now.

The quality of the food and the service here is very good. I am a vegetarian and I was able to find some non-​meat options. My husband enjoyed the fried chicken and the clam chowder soup. The food is very heavy in my opinion, however. It is just not my kind of food at all. I should have realized this before I went. I do not generally do buffets.
I am giving 4 stars because the service is so good and if you enjoy heavier home coooking” kind of food, you’ll love it here. The prices are also reasonable.
If I go again I would have the soup and salad.

Nice place to visit. They have nice clean st areas for meditation. Restaurant is ok, not the greatest but ok. The gift shop is nice. Parking available, restrooms clean.
Good place to rent for conventions. Hotel within the grounds and there is a retirement community on site. Catholic Preist available. Oblates.

Great place to eat. Also great Christmas light show. Over 1 million lights.

Great food selection! Love the soup and salad bar, & tilapia sandwich is very tasty

Excellent food. Nice store (pricey, but a lot of the $ goes to donation and that’s what you expect). I got married and had reception there and the food was the best from any wedding I had ever had. Facilities in and out are excellent. God Bless!

It’s a shrine and retreat house. If you are looking for a 5-​star bed and breakfast, there are many in the surrounding area. Go to one. If you are looking for a prime hotel, go on to St. Louis.
First and foremost, Our Lady of the Snows is a place to PRAY. It is a place to get in touch with one’s SOUL. The priests and brothers rent out the space to various attractions and civic groups, but the idea behind the place is GETTING IN TOUCH WITH GOD.
However, I’ve been on many a retreat, including those run by the Benedictines, who are known for their hospitality. OLOTS beats the Benedictines when it comes to food and comfortable rooms. The priests are very bit as intelligent, and are kind in the confessional or reconciliation room. While I’d hardly look for an active night life while staying there, it is quite relaxing, and a good place to recover one’s spiritual groove.

The Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is a very decent hotel with its unique Catholic displays. There is a conference building just across the hotel with an interesting gift shop, a nice restaurant, and many conference rooms. The buffet wasn’t too bad with its great selection of salad toppings and 6 different types of soups. They also featured a Germanfest buffet this time of the year which is definitely not my cup of tea. The hotel has a nice breakfast area which boasted muffins, coffee, cereal, fresh fruits, and waffles that you can make right there! Overall, the hotel isn’t too bad and I heard the Christmas displays are really nice here!

Ive actually been to the Shrine of Our Lady of Snows in Belleville, Illinois, many of times. It is a very nice place, especially if you are Catholic. It has a lot of features but i’d like to mention these. The outside auditorium is where my High School graduation was held. I’ve also seen concerts there, like Al Jereau and George Benson. The conference rooms at the shrine are awesome. There is a restaraunt, catering and a banquet room. I believe they even hold Bingo. For Christmas there is a great light display leading up to the nativity. Vehicles are usually backed up for miles to get in there. But it is worth the trip? Its as fun for a hight schoo road trip as for a family ride. It’s a place I’d recommend visiting. Open year round. But my favorite time to visit is in December.

Our Lady of the Snows Shrine is a huge Catholic attraction in Southern Illinois. People visit here all the time (and not just in the winter for their outrageous Christmas light display). From what I hear, there are people who actually make a special trip to Our Lady of the Snows Shrine (aka The Shrine) for the restaurant. No way! I am certainly not one of them. I’m not the type of person who gets excited about a buffet. While I can appreciate its appeal (I do like to eat) I cannot get past the fact that someone had to invent a guard to block peoples’ food from sneezes. Gross. I guess the food here is okay, bland and hot, but I just don’t get it, people. I want someone to explain it to me.