Minneapolis Hotels: New, Clean, Best??
 

Hello.<BR>I'm wondering if anyone can give me advice about hotels in the Minneapolis area.<BR>I'm arranging a trip to visit an old friend and my husband is not too keen on going to Minnesota (or to be a third wheel).<BR>I want to make his trip a good one as much as possible.<BR>We're picky about cleanliness in hotels, and sometimes it seems the easiest way to be sure a hotel is clean is to find a newer one.<BR>Are there any newer hotels in the area?<BR>What are considered to be the area's best hotels overall?<BR>Thanks very much for any advice!<BR>Jennifer

We frequently stay at Hotel Sofitel in Blooimington and have always found it to be clean and the people there are always very friendly and helpful. Also like their restuarants. It is not new however. We just stayed at both the Doubletree and the Hilton by Mall of America and were pleased with both of them too - all were clean and we are pretty particular about cleanliness. If you are looking for more of suite-type place there is an Embassy Suites by Mall of America and also downtown and also some other suite gype places by the Mall. When we are staying downtown, we stay at either the Hilton or Radisson PLaza and have also been pleased with both. Possibly your friend could recommend some place close to where she lives. We always enjoy our trips to the Twin Cities. Hope you do too!!

Thanks for the opinions, Cali.<BR>Do you think the downtown hotels are any better than the ones near the MOA?

If you want downtown, I like the Marquette Hotel. Southern Burbs, the Embassy Suites in Bloomington is nice.

I just toured several hotels in MPLS.<BR>Sorry to say, but that is one city completely lacking a nice hotel.<BR>Hilton downtown, Sofitel, Radissons, Hyatt Whitney, Marriott downtown, all 3 Embassy Suites.....not a one of them rates as a special hotel for a nice occasion.<BR>I wonder if this is because MPLS as a city doesn't attract business clientele year-round. It's a 3 season (maybe 2.5) city, and maybe nice chains like Ritz or Peninsula couldn't be as profitable.<BR><BR>There is a new Le Meridien going in right next to the Target Center. Not open yet.

One of the newest hotels in Minneapolis is also one of the best located. The Hilton and Towers is just a block off Nicollet Mall (shopping, restaurants, strolling, etc.). I've stayed there and it is superb--a quiet, clean business hotel right in the best part of town. Highly recommended.<BR><BR>You might also want to consider a Hotel along the riverfront. There's a new one there, although I can't recall the name--maybe a Residence Inn? <BR><BR>By all means, avoid the Mall of America hotels. Lots of noise, teenagers on class trips, airport and road traffic, and, from what I've heard, run down properties. Instead, stay downtown and take a safe, clean city express bus from the convention center (a block from the Hilton) to the Mall. It costs about $1.25 and takes you right to the door of the Mall.

Comment on previous response from someone who stated that Mpls doesn't have nice hotels because there aren't business travelers to the area. I don't think she's as knowledgeable as she may think she is. Excuse me if I name drop. Here are some of the companies HEADQUARTERED in the Mpls area: General Mills, 3M, Cargill, US Bank, St. Jude's Medical, United Health Group -- I could go on and on<BR><BR>I live in Minnetonka, a western suburb of Minneapolis. Maybe you can make your husband's trip more interesting if you could tell me what he's interested in. Depending on when you'll be visiting there are a lot of things, other than the Mall of America, to do here: outdoors, antiquing, outstanding cultural activites (museums, music, nightlife)<BR>

Leesa, there can be a big difference between a city which has a great many large businesses and one which attracts a great deal of business travelers.<BR><BR>I doubt many organizations want to hold conventions in MPLS in January. Attendance would be dismal.<BR>A city like San Diego will have steady business and convention travel income year round, even an increase in winter due to the lack of northern competition.<BR><BR>True, large corporations don't stop doing business in winter in MPLS. But I'm positive that business/convention revenues dwindle in MPLS during winter.

We found the Hyatt Whitney to be very comfortable and pleasant. Wonder what the previous poster found not to like about it....

We stayed at the Hyatt Whitney a couple summers ago and were really disappointed. Partly because we stayed there when it was a newer hotel (before Hyatt owned it), partly because it was just plain run down (at least our room was). We had a lower level room facing away from the river, so no view and tiny windows. Dark room.<BR>Old carpeting, stains and worn furniture. Mildewed grout in the outdated bathroom. Poor shower lighting and water pressure. Cheap, thin towels. Bed was OK. Housekeeping was not particularly tidy.<BR>Would definitely not go back unless major changes had taken place.

I can't help but LMAO at the "2.5 seasons" poster and how little they truly know about Minneapolis. NYC and Chicago shut down too for 6 months out of the year because of the winter. HA HA HA! Whatever. Try the Grand in Minneapolis - VERY nice and close to much of night life in downtown Minneapolis. If you're lucky - you may bump in to Bruce Springsteen or the like as that is where most visiting performers and sports teams also stay.

Great for you that you love MN, LOVE, but Minneapolis and Chicago/NYC are truly apples and oranges.<BR>Minneapolis-St Paul is the 23rd largest market in the USA, while NYC and Chicago are #1 and #3. So while Chicago's tourism and convention-business travel lightens some in the winter due to weather, there is still plenty of traffic to support dozens of nice hotels and restaurants.<BR>And winter in NYC is not even close to harsh compared with MN.<BR><BR>Minneapolis suffers from lack of size and lack of proximity to other populations (when it comes to business travel dollars). <BR>Unless you can offer a another good reason why a city this size has not a single hotel or resort among the top 250 in the USA, I'll stick to my theory.<BR>Don't you find it odd that there isn't even one hotel in the top 250 in the US? Peculiar IMO.

I also checked the current Conde Nast Gold List.<BR>The entire state of Minnesota doesn't even appear in the main list of hotels and resorts. The St. Paul Hotel got a brief mention in the 'also rans' section at the end. Even states like Wyoming, West Virginia and Mississippi were listed. Hmmm.

Shari: If you think that the Conde Nast Gold List is the be-all,end-all for good hotels, I pity anyone who takes your advice. That is only the opinion of Conde Nast readers who happen to take the time to respond - hardly an independent rating. You must have slept through the tour of the Minneapolis Skyway system. Neither NY or Chicago can provide access to their entire downtown without ever going outside. And as far as your assessment of San Diego for the convention capitol of the world - you'll never catch me putting a meeting there. I'll take the cold over the bums any day.

To ilovemntoo: while the CN Traveler Gold List is not the be-all and end-all of travel yardsticks, I challenge you to name a truly outstanding hotel that is not on their list.<BR>I use it as a jumping off point for my travel planning.<BR>If it's not on that list, it's not likely outstanding.

Jennifer-<BR>I go to MSP at least 3 times a year. If your husband would like the attraction of Mall of American (and its 20 movie screens) try the Marriott Bloomington. It is just north of the Mall and has just completed a major renovation. If possible ask for an upgrade to a junior suite and a room that looks toward the Mall (south). These rooms are brighter, particularly in the winter.<BR><BR>IF you want to be downtown, the Hyatt downtown (not the Whitney which is grossly overrated) is a very nice hotel. It comes closest to a 4 star property in my book.

Shari: Boy do you live a shallow life! If some magazine - which, by the way, accepts major advertising from all the hotels listed on the Gold List - doesn't tell you its the best, then you just assume there is nothing in the world better. Get a mind of your own.

mn: the magazine doesn't make up the list.<BR>The list comes from reader surveys.<BR>As such, there really is no way that interests (financial or otherwise) from Conde Nast will skew the results.<BR>The proof is in the pudding. I've visited dozens of the places listed and have my own sense of how accurate the various rating sources are (Zagat, CNT, Travel/Leisure, Travel Channel, etc).<BR>CNT is reasonably reliable.<BR>Its main flaw is that readers are often reporting impressions from years prior, so there's a delay in how current the info is in some cases.