Need some advice please. My husband and I are staying 3 nights in Minneapolis to see a Twins game and see the city. We usually like to stay fairly close to the stadium so we can walk. But, for some reason the downtown hotels for the days we are visiting are either all booked or are extremely expensive ($400/night). Can't pay that for 3 nights plus parking. So can somebody recommend another area to stay? Also, is there public transportation in Minneapolis? Are there taxis available?

You could try a hotel near the Mall of America or by the airport. The Embassy Suites and Crowne Plaza are both near the Humphrey terminal and right off of 34th avenue and light rail. There are several hotels around the mall. Light rail runs from the Mall of America to the airport terminals, and then to downtown and stops at Target Field. Taxis in Minneapolis are stupid expensive.

What weekend are you coming? Maybe there's an event that is driving up hotel demand...

You could also try VRBO and look in the Uptown area. It's a great area, lots of stores/restaurants and several lakes to walk around. Uptown is about 1.5 miles from downtown so you could walk but I'd either take a city bus or a quick taxi ride. The taxi shouldn't be much since it's a pretty short and quick trip.

On-street parking in Uptown is either metered or hard to find, unless you get a few blocks away from the main area. (Lake and Hennepin is the center of Uptown). If you do find something on VRBO with off-street parking that would be ideal.

Taxi from the airport to downtown is going to be probably $30 or more.

Thanks for the advice, going to try the Uptown area, like that idea. We are going to be there June 10th through June 12th, am very curious what is going on during that time.

That's not at all a busy time as far as I know. Nothing comes to mind, a search of a few event calendars doesn't show anything significant so I'm not sure why the hotels are so expensive. The only major things on the calendar are the Twins games but I wouldn't think those alone would drive up the cost so much.

Uptown is a really nice area for walking around, hopefully the weather will be nice.

Brenda, did you try the Hyatt? It's on the west end of the Nicollette mall and about $100.00 per night without parking. About a one mile walk to target field.

Just looked, not available the days I need it.

This could be your problem:

"61st ASMS Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics June 9 - 13, 2013. Minneapolis Convention Center
Minneapolis, MN

"....over 6,500 scientists attending one of the most dynamic scientific conferences in the world."

The Country Inn and Suites is right across the street from the Mall of America. From the Mall you can take light rail easily to downtown and the ball park as others have said. Its probably your best beat. A king suite for your dates is $144 per night.

http://www.countryinns.com/bloomingt...55425/mnbloomi

Well at least I know the problem now! Thanks a lot.
I actually got a room in St. Louis Park and we are going to maybe take a bus into the game and city. I was hoping to figure it out when we got there. I didn't want to stay out at the Mall of America, and I heard this area is going to be nice. I hope I didn't make a mistake. Thanks for the help.

Hi Brenda, What hotel? STLP isn't too far from downtown. There are some good and some just o.k. areas. You will have to make some bus transfers most likely to get all the way to the stadium from there. Its not a straight shot.

The best locations out that direction would be something on Hwy 394 near Hwy 100 or Hwy 55 near Hwy 100 (although some of that area is Golden Valley, not really STLP). From either of those locations its pretty much a straight bus ride into some part of downtown. If you are over nearer to Hwy 7, the buses will go into the downtown lakes area (Uptown), which is fun. You will just need to make a transfer to get to the stadium.

Use the MTC trip planner to help with your transportation.

http://metrotransit.org/

Enjoy!

The hotel is a Marriott Spring Hill Suites on 5901 Wazata Blvd.
How is that location for the bus? I hope it will be good?

I'm not familiar with the buses but in that location I have to believe there's good bus access. You are right off 394 and very near the shops at the West End so its a good location.

Are you renting a car? I can't tell if you are or just relying on taxis and buses. Parking in downtown isn't that bad, especially if you go early and wander around before the game.

Great location. You are on Hwy 394 (aka Hwy 12) and Hwy 100. Its a straight shot into downtown Minneapolis. There is a bus stop directly in front of your hotel. Use the MTC planner (link above) to find bus times. Should take about 15 mins to get downtown. You can walk to the West End shops and restaurants near your hotel. Its about 4 blocks to West End Blvd.

Here is a map:
http://www.theshopsatwestend.com/merchants.html

We will have a car, but didn't want to drive to the baseball game. (Lots of beer consumed!) Will definitely be taking the bus, it sounds perfect. Thanks everybody