marli

What is a recommendation for the best hotel to stay in at Minneapolis-St Paul? Three woman doing a long girls weekend and have never been to the twin cities before.

Dancingqueen

Depends on what you're interested in. If you want to be near the Mall of America there are several hotels near there. If you want downtown I would do the Mariott because of it's central location to theatre and downtown shopping. I think you can also take the new light rail out to the Mall otherwise a cab would do it. The Hilton is probably the nicest in downtown but it is not as close to the theatre and shopping. Do you need suggestions for places to eat?

blep

According to an article in the Mpls paper today, the light rail will be fully operational to the MOA in December.

plummie

The Meridien is the newest - it's in downtown Minneapolis. The bar and restaurant have gotten good reviews. Have also heard good things about the Grand, also in downtown Mpls. It's a renovation of the old Mpls Athletic Club. The St. Paul Hotel in downtown St. Paul is a historic property and has a great location overlooking a park. Also has one of my favorite restaurants - the St. Paul Grill. Since I live here, I don't have a feel for what the rooms are like in any of these.

dreamathers

My husband and I stayed in the Grand Hotel on our wedding night. Very nice- the rooms vary quite a bit. A friend of mine used to work here and gave some of us a tour one night- we saw the suite where Mariah Carey and other celebs stay. There is a good sushi/martini bar in the hotel.

Haven't stayed in Le Meridien but this is in the center of the action and very trendy.

I agree with the St. Paul Grill- love that restaurant and the view of Rice Park. St. Paul is a quieter town than Minneapolis in terms of nightlife- but that may be what you're looking for.

TedTurner

If you're looking for 'best', as in nice/luxurious, then your options in MSP are very limited.
Le Meridien is really all there is in Minneapolis. It is very modern in design, so look at the website photos to be sure they match your desires.
Downtown Minneapolis offers little else in the upscale category. The Grand is a standard 3 star caliber place, along with the Marriott, Hyatt, Radisson--all very mainstream business class hotels which are unmemorable.
There is nothing in the 5 star category in the state of Minnesota. St. Paul has the St. Paul Hotel, which is old-world nice, but it's definitely got its limitations when it comes to room size, bathroom quality, etc.

jpg2esq

I will be in town on business in a few weeks near Odesso/Brooklyn Park. Any nice hotels in that area? How far is that from the airport?

Marie

JPG,

I've never heard of Odesso, so I think you mean Osseo, which borders Brooklyn Park on the north side. This isn't close to the airport. The airport is on the SE corner of the cities in St. Paul. Brooklyn Park & Osseo are NW suburbs - about 30-45 minutes away depending on traffic. I recommend staying at a hotel close to your place of business, because if you have to get on the interstate in that part of town it can be a nightmare. Some hotels in the area are: The Northland Inn or the Hampton Inn in Maple Grove. If you want to kill time shopping or find a restaurant - go to Maple Grove.

travelmom45

The Marquette is a nice property in Minneapolis. The Whitney (Hyatt) is also nice and is in a historic district by the river.
I agree with the St. Paul Hotel in St. Paul.
Around MOA, you're stuck with chain hotels ... nothing spectacular. Minneapolis is more lively, has better nightlife and restaurant choices. Think European architecture in St. Paul. I'd stay in Mpls and use the light rail to get to MOA and other places. It's also only a 20 minute drive by car.
JPG - definitely the Northland Inn.

Marie

The Whitney was a very nice historic hotel on the Mississippi River - but is being developed into condos and I'm pretty sure is already closed as a hotel.

beentheretwice

The Grand is very pretty, a smaller hotel. BUT**** be sure you don't get a room over the kitchen. We heard pots and clanging until all hours. I wound up dragging my VERY pregnant self down to the desk after calling a number of times. They gave us another room, at 2 am.

goklw

The WHitney had a lot of appeal because it was an interesting renovation of the flour mills that built the city. One room I saw even had a spiral staircase to an upper loft. The Radisson is a great location right DT. Nicollet Mall is very near and is a walking Mall with restaurants and no cars. The Meridian is one of the newest hotels--both the Radisson and the Meridian provide easy walks to Marshall Field's,Saks and Niemen Marcus and many restaurants. What else do you want to do?

Knowing

Le Meridien in the middle of downtown. Great soap in the bathrooms, 42 inch plasma TV's AND a great restuarant on the premises.

Colette

I love the Sofitel----not downtown, but everything's only about 15 away from anything in the Twin Cities. (depending on traffic of course). But the Sofitel is 4 star, newly renovated, definitely 4 start service, love the bar, love the gift shop, love the restaurants. The classic rooms are ok, altho the upgraded rooms are very nice. Beds are DREAMY. Big and plush.

jorr

An added attraction of staying in a downtown Mpls. hotel is that they are all conected by second story skyways which connectes over 80 square blocks. On a rainy day you can experience everything without going outside. Shopping malls, restaurants, bars, theaters, hotels, gyms, convention center, the Target Center, concerts, BB games, and the metro light rail to the airport and Mall of America.