Minneapolis Travel Guide
Hotel News / Hotel Renovations / Radisson Hotels / Radisson Blu Hotels / Minnesota Hotels / Minneapolis Hotels / → All Tags
Radisson Plaza Minneapolis Will Still Be Rad, Just Rad Blu
The Radisson Plaza Hotel Minneapolis has few flaws. Reviews are great, in fact. Out of towners love its comfort, reliability, cleanliness, and proximity to downtown attractions. Locals love the in-house FireLake Grill and lobby bar. So far, so good, right? Of course, there's a but...
There's one complaint that we see pop up now and then from guests--it's that the hotel's service can be impersonal at times and that it just doesn't sparkle the way they envisioned a 4-star hotel should.
Well, we think we can consider that problem officially solved. Last week, Radisson announced the property will be converted into a Radisson Blu, meaning if the hotel is considered "upscale" now, it will soon be "upper-upscale." Basically, more Ps and Qs, and maybe a white glove or two.
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The Grand Hotel Minneapolis is Great for a Girls' Getaway
When we saw how dog-friendly the Grand Hotel Minneapolis is, we were sad we didn't bring our pup with us to the Midwest. But we were traveling with our girlfriends en route to a wedding and what we did discover is that this Kimpton property downtown makes the perfect pad for a good, old-fashioned girly catch-up.
Our Queen Queen Deluxe was super spacious, and had lots of cute and comfy touches, from the chaise lounge to the signature zebra-print Kimpton robes and full-size dispensers of C.O. Bigelow toiletries in the shower.
Check out our room video and photo gallery and you'll see just how well this spread can accommodate three chicks keen on doing very little but lounging about, drinking some wine, snacking on Twizzlers and talking until the wee hours of the night.
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The Grand Hotel Minneapolis Is Grand Indeed (And Loves Its Doggies)
We don't often get to the Midwest so we get very curious about the hotels there. We were thrilled to find on a recent stay at the Grand Hotel Minneapolis that this one totally lives up to its Kimpton reputation for being dog-friendly.
It certainly helped that the day after we checked-in was 'Take Your Dog to Work Day,' which the hotel seemed intent on celebrating. The front desk staff told us they were expecting a few canine guests to check in that day as well, so there were plenty of beds, bowls and treats for them on hand.
Take a peek at our spin through the lobby and a few other spaces at The Grand, and you'll see pet-friendly touches and a pretty nice looking place for humans to hang out, too.
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For the Sake of Hotel Art: Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis' Entire Gallery
Is the WiFi free? Does the gym have good machines? All these things get noticed when checking into a hotel, but what about the atmosphere of the place—specifically the art on the walls or on the floor? All this week, we'll be highlighting properties around the world that do their artwork right, and the specific pieces you should stare long and hard at when next you drop by.
Today: Le Meridien Chambers Minneapolis' Burnet Art Gallery.
Many months ago, a friend sent us a curious photo via text message. It was a picture of one of artist Damien Hirst's embalmed sharks, and our friend said that this piece resided at a hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's too bad we don't have the (low-quality) image anymore, but it's obvious from this piece and the 250+ others they own, that Le Meridien Chambers was built to be on our list of Art Hotels.
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The Graves 601 Hotel is Now a Wyndham
It looks like Wyndham Hotels is doing their best to gussy up their brand not just by introducing a "fashion" hotel to NYC but also by snapping up cool, independent hotels like the Graves 601 in Minneapolis.
The 255-room hotel has just joined the Wyndham family and it's official name will now be: Graves 601 Hotel, Wyndham Grand. But that seems to be the only thing that's changing here. The hotel is not undergoing any on-site changes, aside from adding "Wyndham Grand" to the signage, said Benjamin Graves, the Graves Hospitality president, in a statement:
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The Hotel Ivy: Starwood's 'Secret' Luxury Collection Hotel
A guest snapshot of Hotel Ivy
"You're gonnnna make it after all!" So goes the cheery theme song to Mary Tyler Moore, which gets us thinking about visiting Minneapolis just about every time we catch a rerun on television. Finally, we've stumbled across a hotel that "suddenly made [a trip]...seem worthwhile"—at least from the looks of things.
Just two years ago, Starwood opened a very, very debonair luxury hotel—the Hotel Ivy—in "the heart of downtown," as these things go. While some might think Minneapolis is all lakes and industry, the city has a very active theater and arts scene which Ivy's urbane air is aligned with. It also boasts some hefty rock star cred, given that Prince was born and bred there, so we could see being a choice hotel for touring acts.
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Stay a Night at Graves 601, Help a Homeless Child Sleep Tight
Minnesota’s Niceguy image scarcely needs polishing, but those ever-friendly Midwesterners have gone ahead and stepped up their do-goodery once again. That’s right, Minneapolis's prairie-chic Graves 601 Hotel recently unveiled a new “Giving Room” package that helps guests give back the community without even lifting a finger.
All guests who book the “Giving Room” promo have to do is, well, pay for a standard room rate. In exchange, Graves Hospitality will donate a night of housing at a local shelter for a needy child or family, with the donation placed in the guest’s name.
Graves Hospitality is working with a local family organization called Perspectives, which works to break the cycle for at-risk families and children. Of course, there's a limited number of packages available each night, but we say kudos to Graves.
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Base Jumpers Caught Bragging at the W Hotel Foshay Tower
Busted. That's what happened to three party-goers at the W Minneapolis on New Year's Eve who were arrested for base-jumping 32 stories off the Foshay Tower, the 80-year-old building which houses the W Hotel.
Investigators said David Juntunen, 36, of Minneapolis and three other men took the elevator up to the 30th floor around 1 p.m. Wednesday and bought tickets to the observation deck. Officials said the men then walked up one floor higher and used a wrench to unbolt a ceiling gate. That is where police said Juntunen jumped more than 400-feet with a parachute. The group video taped the jump and left without incident.
Apparently these base-jumpers didn't know the first rule of committing a crime (if indeed base-jumping is a crime.) The trio partied in the hotel's living room bar with a laptop and were overheard bragging about the jump, even showing some video they took to other peeps at the bar. Hotel security called the police, who arrived to arrest the trio. They resisted arrest and are now cooling their heels in jail, accused of obstructing the legal process.
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W Minneapolis Throws Star-Studded, Morbid Grand Opening
Last week, W Minneapolis - The Foshay opened its doors, with a big party, of course. Champagne flowed, celebrities (like Molly Sims) abounded, and hot waitresses carried... a coffin?!
The party featured a faux funeral procession with ladies in minis pallbearing a coffin filled with top-shelf vodka. We can't figure out why on God's green earth the hotel's promoters decided on this odd performance piece, but can only assume it has something to do with a misdirected attempt to be ironically cool and shocking.
Further, the hotel's "living room" (lobby) is filled with custom-made pleather chairs. And it calls its bathrooms "water closets" to add a cherry on the pretension sundae. Though we have to admit, it looks like you get a killer view of the Twin Cities from inside the tub in the hotel's suites. CityPages has a great photo album to check out from the bash here.
[Photo: citypages]
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Doubletree Opens a Boutique Hotel in Minneapolis
At first glance, you would not think the The Hotel Minneapolis is a Doubletree Hotel, except perhaps if it weren't for the cookies. But indeed this boutique hotel is part of the Doubletree family and we have to say it's one of the best-looking DTs ever. Check out these guest rooms. And like all boutique hotels, The Hotel Minneapolis has a restaurant and lobby bar as well as room service.
Now the hotel is wearing its heart on its sleeve, or rather, in its hallway, lobby, street, and city. Calling themselves the heart of the city, the hotel has been trying to win the hearts of Minneapolans all year in anticipation of their August opening.
First they celebrated National Chocolate Chip Day with cookies for the whole city, then they hit up local concerts with room furniture to give the Twin Cities an early taste of their hot, new place. For the opening party last weekend, they reunited big 80s R&B band, The Time.
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Minneapolis Hotels Hosting RNC Attendees; Not Much Drama Yet
We can only hope that this week's Republic National Convention taking place in Minneapolis will be as exciting as the DNC last week in Denver.
The GOP is off to a pretty good start with John McCain's VP selection, Sarah Palin, who has some interesting family drama going on. But we here at HotelChatter are more interested at what's going on at the hotels.
W Hotels / Hotel Openings / Hotel Opening Rates / Minneapolis Hotels / → All Tags
The W Minneapolis Opening On Wednesday at $155 a Night
Last time we checked on the progress of the historical renovation that will become the W Minneapolis - The Foshay, they were predicting an opening date of July 28--a date that's obviously now been and gone.
Now the W Minneapolis is lining up for an August 13 opening--that's this Wednesday. The opening special rate is $155 a night (up until September 30) but you have to book by the end of today! If you miss that there is also a three nights for two deal going.
We're intrigued by a note on the W Minneapolis website, and it's something you should know if you're planning a stay for mid-September. A "large private event" is booked in for September 17 and 18 (mid-week) which might cause some "noise and inconvenience" in the public parts of the hotel.
