I%26#39;m already thinking ahead to New Years Eve. My bf and I are thinking of staying in a hotel. We are looking for a nice, clean hotel to spend New Years Eve in the city. I usually stay at Marriott%26#39;s for company travel. But it doesn%26#39;t have to to be a chain. At this point I don%26#39;t have a specific budget in mind but want something that%26#39;s a good value. Something near the St. Anthony Main area would be helpful but not necessary. Something fun and for a couple in their mid 20%26#39;s. Any suggestions/ideas?
Looking for a Hotel for New Years Eve
forgot to mention if we go with a higher class hotel I don%26#39;t want it to be snooty if possible:)
Looking for a Hotel for New Years Eve
Stef,
The absolute closest hotel to St. Anthony Main is Nicollet Island Inn, within a block or two. That said, I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;d call it ';fun';, probably more ';old-school class'; or ';quaint romantic';, as in dark woods and such, though their website seems to try to give it some modernity, if you will.
The Depot Minneapolis is a Marriott Renaissance property. Original site of a Minneapolis train station, the station was converted into an icerink/banquet area. The train station was redone as historic rooms/suites and a beautiful banquet area. The new addition has many nice, modern rooms. This is also relatively close to St. Anthony Main, though probably about 1/2-1 mile walk. My experience is this hotel would be more ';fun'; and yet not terribly snotty. That said, not necessarily cheap.
The hotel I formerly was employed by (so there%26#39;s my disclaimer, I don%26#39;t have any financial interest in continuing to support it, but now you know) is the Holiday Inn Metrodome. It%26#39;s gotten some bad reviews lately, but I can say the rooms really are in fairly good shape, at least when I left about a year ago (unless you want a smoking room, those were waiting renovation). The hotel underwent pretty much a floor to ceiling renovation of rooms in 2007, and I hear continues to do renovations in accordance with the new Holiday Inn standards upcoming to remain a Holiday Inn Hotel (you can go to the HI website for more information on that). Certainly not snotty, and the neighborhood within walking distance is with various U of M influenced bars/pubs. There%26#39;s some restaurants that generally offer unique fare, some good and some not. Parking always was odd for us, but it%26#39;s also a city hotel, nothing more than you%26#39;d expect for any city hotel. The hotel itself did not typically do anything special for New Years, but usually was reasonably busy.
The hotel is located on the edge of downtown and not terribly far from St. Anthony. Cab ride if you didn%26#39;t drive from downtown should be around $10.00, at most.
Let me know if you need further information.
ok thank you for your input. I%26#39;m looking into Nicollet Island Inn. I couldn%26#39;t seem to book anything online every time I tried it kept timing me out. I%26#39;ll have to call to get more info.
The other options I%26#39;m looking at are:
Marquette $204/night
Hotel Minneapolis $182/night
Sofitel $150/night-downside located in Bloomington
Le Bourget Suites $117/night-downside located in Bloomington
What are your thoughts on these?
I%26#39;m thinking I want something a little more upscale than the Holiday Inn Metrodome; however on the other end I think the Graves, Hotel Ivy, and W are a bit out of my range price wise unless an outstanding deal comes along. Ideally I%26#39;d like to stay at a 3-4+ star hotel (prefer one with hot tub or Jacuzzi-if not a nicer shower will do) around or under $200. The things I care about are the overall atmosphere, comfort, prefer a quiet hotel that is updated and newer. I looked at the Grand and the St. Paul a bit older for my taste. I don%26#39;t care about hotel services like laundry, fitness center, in room internet, mini bar, etc.
Hi Stef,
When I tried looking at the reservations page for Nicollet Island, I too didn%26#39;t have much success, so you should call them. Nicollet Island inn will definitely offer you a quiet hotel, being on the island. It%26#39;s also a nice view of the Mississippi River and downtown. The Grand and St. Paul are indeed a bit older from what I remember, probably catering to another clientele.
Here%26#39;s what I can tell you about your other hotels:
Marquette $204/night - Nice hotel, associated with Hilton. I heard they were doing renovations last year to what was already a pretty nice hotel. It is part of the IDS office tower in downtown, so you will be convenient to anything downtown, but should still offer quiet rooms when you%26#39;re ready to not have noise and partying.
Hotel Minneapolis $182/night - a converted office building into a hotel. I believe it is associated with Doubletree Hotels, another Hilton brand. I left Holiday Inn before it opened, but have heard good things about this hotel. Also in the core of downtown so convenient.
Sofitel $150/night-downside located in Bloomington, nice hotel from what I hear (though I competed with downtown hotels, so that%26#39;s more my knowledge) but you%26#39;re right, the downside is location. Not sure where in the Midwest you are or what you already know on Minneapolis, Bloomington is a fine suburb but if you want to be downtown/near St. Anthony Main it%26#39;s about a 20 minute drive to downtown. There also isn%26#39;t really much around Sofitel besides other hotels and some chain restaurants, plus highways and Mall of America about a 5-10 minute drive.
Le Bourget Suites $117/night-downside located in Bloomington, kind of the same situation as Sofitel. Hotel itself is mostly fine, but you are in Bloomington and will drive or take about a $30 cab ride one way.
As far as my Holiday Inn, I know what you%26#39;re getting at with something more upscale. Holiday Inns are currently hit and miss, and the chain is trying hard to update all their hotels between now and 2010 - to the point where they are dumping about 1/3 of their hotels whose owners don%26#39;t want to update to the new standards. Holiday Inn is also still the more ';everyday'; type hotel as opposed to upscale (though the new standards are somewhat changing that, including requiring things such as scented lobbies - believe it or not!). At the same time, they%26#39;re pushing for new Holiday Inns to be new build hotels. That said, I really thought the Metrodome HI was above the normal standard for Holiday Inns. You could go to the hotel specific website - www.metrodome.com to see if it might fit the bill. If the hot tub or jacuzzi is a dealbreaker for you, though, then don%26#39;t check on the Holiday Inn Metrodome. I never cared for our rooms that were the jacuzzi rooms (and the ownership was planning on changing those rooms from jacuzzi rooms to a larger ';apartment-style'; suite, so they didn%26#39;t invest much money into those specific rooms).
Hope that helps your decision making. Best of wishes!
I know you said you use Marriott for business; me, too. I%26#39;ve stayed at 3 of the 5 downtown properties. The City Center Marriott is very nice and you can usually score upgrades with elite status. The Depot Renaissance is very nice, but more of a family property, just like the Residence Inn connected. There is in a big ice rink, indoor pool complex. There is another Residence Inn closer to the City Center and a Townplace Suites that in the warehouse district and newer.
Cabs are plentiful and downtown is safe; some of these are walkable, maybe 1/2 mile at most.
The new aloft hotel is quite close to the St. Anthony Main area; it%26#39;s part of the W hotel chain, but not so pricey. It just opened this summer, so everything should still work!
starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/鈥?/a>
I think wouldbeworldtraveler has nailed it so far.
If you%26#39;re looking for close to St. Anthony Main, those suggestions are the ones I would offer too. I have not stayed at Nicollet Island Inn, but I have had a nice, cozy dinner there.
It really depends on what you want and what you consider fun. If you want a place to be in the middle of the party scene come Dec. 31/New Year%26#39;s, then I%26#39;d suggest the Marriot or Ramada for location (not knowing your budget, of course.)
That would give you pretty good access to Nicollet Mall and the Warehouse District for nightlife and restaurants.
If you%26#39;re looking for access to St, Anthony Main (or Nye%26#39;s, Whitey%26#39;s, Ground Zero, Pracna, etc) then you%26#39;d either need a taxi or stay at Nicollet Island (which as wouldbeworld traveler said, is more a cozy, classy old-world getaway spot than a fun place.
Correct me if I%26#39;m wrong, but I believe the Ramada (on 10th Street, by the bus terminal) was torn down months ago.
I%26#39;m going to take a guess and say the previous meant to say Radisson, not Ramada.
Ah, got it.
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