Looking for a place to stay near MOA

My wife and I are thinking about coming to Minneapolis for our anniversary the 2nd week of Sept. She loves to shop and so we are looking for a hotel near MOA. Trying to keep it at $135 or below (the cheaper the better, but we dont want to want a run down, unclean, bad service type place either). Your thoughts. Thanks

Looking for a place to stay near MOA

will you have car ?

or just fly in ?

do you want to see other parts of Minneapolis ?

the airport / Mall of America / and downtown - are all connected via our one new light rail line.

so you could stay downtown and get all the perks with fun stuff to do / eat / see downtown, and zip down to shop at the mall too.

You can usually Priceline 4star hotels in downtown Minneapolis and get either the Hyatt or Millennium for $65 - $80, depending if there%26#39;s any conventions or stuff in town at the time. Both are on Nicollet Mall, and across the street from each other.

Looking for a place to stay near MOA

$135 a night is a pretty high budget for near the mall. That area is loaded with hotels, meaning the competition drives fares down. I would guess you could get a nice room somewhere for that. I only have experience with the budget hotels near there, where friends have stayed for short stays.

I would consider the option (as brought up by DowntownMinneapolis) of staying downtown near Nicollet Mall (a taxi- and bus-only street lined with stores and restaurants). There is good shopping there as well, and you are within a $2 train ride to mall. The hotels are nicer downtown and you%26#39;ll have better options for sightseeing and dining.

Take a look at Priceline and see what that budget gets you. I think you%26#39;ll find it will go a long way in this economy. A luxurious room might make for a great anniversary.

Nothing wrong with staying near the mall, though. If the mall%26#39;s where you want to be, then so be it. It%26#39;s just that the MOA is ALL there is to see in the area. And dining in east Bloomington is limited to what%26#39;s in the mall -- mostly chains and themed places. Not my cup of tea, as you can probably tell.

Yeah we will be driving up there, but I def don%26#39;t mind taking the $2 light rail. I just thought the hotels downtown were more expensive. Anything under $100 would be GREAT, but just not sure if I can find anything decent in that price range. Thats why I%26#39;m asking! Thanks!!!

Have you used Priceline before?

If not, it%26#39;s worth a shot. Maybe run a search and before accepting anything, share your options. We%26#39;d be glad to help.

So in this middle of this post, I popped over and searched for Sept. 6-13 and got $100 for Aloft. That%26#39;s a pretty good rate. Nothing else that great really popped up.

If you%26#39;re not worried about knowing which hotel you%26#39;d be booking -- just the area and the hotel rating -- you can get even better discounts with hotwire.

That showed a 4-star downtown for $85 a night.

I should mention one thing. The hotels downtown often don%26#39;t have complimentary parking. Some do, most don%26#39;t. So before you book anything, please call the hotel and ask if they charge extra to park and what that charge is. If they charge you should know about it before you book.

No I%26#39;ve never really used either one. But I will def look at both Priceline and Hotwire and see what comes up, hopefully get a few hotel choices and then come back and ask for opinions on them. Thanks a lot

Ok, I have a small list of hotels. All of them are under $110 on one site or another. Just looking for feedback on any of them:

Aloft

Minneapolis Gateway Hotel

Holiday Inn Express Downtown

Crown Plaza Downtown

Radison University Hotel???

University Inn???

Or there is also a 4-Star on Hotwire, downtown for $79 a night.

The one problem is how these sites regionalize the area.

Of those hotels, only Aloft, Crowne Plaza and the Holiday Inn Express are downtown. The others are in the university area -- not too far but not near the train line.

Of the Crowne Plaza, Aloft and Hi Exp. -- I would say everything I know tells me the Aloft is the best of the bunch. But I would guess you would have to tack on a daily parking fee to the rate priceline gave you. (Please call to confirm that, though).

Also, none of the downtown hotels are particularly close to Nicollet Mall, where the downtown shopping is. But Aloft for sure is walking distance to the train line -- but not all that central to the dining areas. Beautiful looking hotel from what I saw when I walked in to check it out.

If I were choosing between one of the listed hotels on priceline or going blind with that $90 hotwire rate, I%26#39;d go with the 4-star for $90 (or whatever the dollar figure was) because of the deal. I%26#39;m guessing it would be the Crown Plaza -- not sure what all the others are that hotwire draws from. But they%26#39;s most likely be near Nicollet Mall if they%26#39;re 4-star.

Maybe wait and see how others weigh in.

OOOOPS!!

I mean I would guess the hotwire hotel is the hyatt regency -- not the crowne plaza.

Would you guess the one that is downtown from Hotwire closer to Nicollet Mall or the train? I know that%26#39;s a blind guess...

If it is the Hyatt Regency, then it is on Nicollet Mall. It%26#39;s down the end of Nicollet Mall and a lengthy walk (but walkable if you%26#39;re able-bodied) to the train, which is on 5th Street.

Again, this is only a guess on which 4-star they%26#39;re using. Also could be Doubletree, which is a little farther away from the action. Or it could be the Radisson which is right where you want to be.

That%26#39;s the risk of using hotwire and why some people won%26#39;t use it.

By the way, I looked on hotels.com for you when I got a moment. It came up with Hotel Minneapolis for $119 a night. But there is a parking fee there. I would check to see how much. If the rate plus parking is in or near your budget, I%26#39;d say that would be a very nice hotel for you in a perfect location. 2 blocks from Nicollet Mall, 3 from Gaviidae Common (shopping) and 1-2 blocks from a light-rail train stop.

And you wouldn%26#39;t have to risk anything like you would on hotwire.