I am planning on coming to Minneapolis with my husband during the third week of June. He will be travelling around the area on business; I am a teacher just getting out for the summer and want to relax by an outdoor pool with a legal beverage, visit the MOA and maybe see some sites. He will have a rental car- I won%26#39;t and am not musch of a taxi person. We might see a twins game in the evening. So where should I look for a hotel? Most of his business visits are slightly north and west of the city (within 30 miles). Shuttles and amenities within walking distance are my preference. Thanks for your help in advance.
short stay need suggestions
I would suggest staying at one of the many hotels by nicollet mall. It is a pedestrian mall with many shops and restaurants. From there you can get on the light rail and stop at minnehaha park and MOA. I dont know which hotels may have pools on the roof... someone else will have to answer that.
Getting from downtown to NW metro is pretty easy in the morning and shouldnt be too bad getting back in the afternoon.
short stay need suggestions
I don%26#39;t know of any hotels with outdoor pools in downtown Mpls except for the Marriott Residence in the North Loop (Warehouse District)...and you probably will have to cab from there to get to the Central District and Light Rail. And the pool is nothing fancy, either is the hotel...although Alicia Keys was staying there this past week with all her entourage...bad concert by the way.
I cab everywhere and never had any problems. Cab fares downtown are ususally around $5 (minimum charge), Unless there is a lot of traffic...
I don%26#39;t know anything about hotels in the suburbs.
Nothing to worry about ';illegal beverages'; I didn%26#39;t even know they existed until I read your post! Although J盲germeister should be ilegal! lol!
No many outdoor pools around here, it is a weather thing...too cool for such a big investment. You might be able to find indoor pools, but those are not fun!
I%26#39;m really struggling with this one. If an outdoor pool is what you seek, I don%26#39;t know of one downtown. Which would mean you%26#39;d be looking in the %26#39;burbs -- likely close to where your husband will be working. But that will leave you stranded.
The area of the burbs that liikely will have an outdoor pool and will give you access to the mall of america and a light-rail trip to downtown and some other attractions is southwest of the city, which I think would be a long drive (with traffic) for you husband to get to the northwest of Minneapolis.
I%26#39;ll think on it but I thought I%26#39;d break the news to you early. Without a car, you%26#39;d be stranded in the NW burbs. And downtown doesn%26#39;t have an outdoor pool (tough to find those anyway given we have winter half the year.)
If you decide to stay in the northwest suburbs I know of 2 new hotels in Maple Grove that get great reviews. The Courtyard Marriott/Maple Grove Arbor Lakes and the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites. Located in Maple Grove with an enormous amount of shopping within walking distance and tons of restaurants too. Most hotel pools here will be indoors but you can ask if they have an outdoor attached sun deck that you can lounge on. Both of these hotel are right next door to each other. There is also the Albertville Outlet Mall about 15 minutes away from there. You%26#39;d be about 20 minutes from downtown, 35 minutes from the Mall of Americaa all depending on traffic. Downtown Mpls. is fun and happening, but this might be more convenient for you.
I don%26#39;t know if you will have much luck finding a hotel downtown with an outdoor pool. They just aren%26#39;t very feasible here in the Great White North. For instance, the weather forecast for tomorrow calls for mixed rain and snow in the morning.
I did find a couple of places, however. The Downtown Towneplace Suites has an outdoor pool, but you would have about a fifteen or twenty minute walk to get to the Ligth Rail, which you can take to get to the MOA. It is a pretty nice hotel and fairly new.
marriott.com/hotels/鈥?/a>
Another place with an outdoor pool is the Ramada Inn. I would steer clear of the Ramada, as I think it is on its last legs.
Having said that, here are some downtown hotels that claim to have indoor pools:
The Hilton
鈥ilton.com/en_US/鈥ndex.do
Embassy Suites
鈥ilton.com/en_US/鈥ndex.do
The Depot (the indoor pool is part of a water park)
www.thedepotminneapolis.com/default.asp
For an outdoor pool (the sun should be shining and the temperature above 70 degrees by the third week in June!), I would go with the TownePlace Suites. At that time of year, the walk to the light rail station (and other downtown shopping) should be splendid.
Hope this helps.
The Ramada Inn is gone, history! the developer of the Carlyle bought a couple of blocks in that area including the hotel building...let see what they do there now....
researching hotels, I kind of figured there would be very few outdoor pools, but maybe something with a sunning area would be nice. Appreciate all the input, and as far as the MOA, I just feel like I ought to make an appearance- since it is a landmark destination in itself- but I will be alone and probably not doing much shopping- esp. with the added charges for luggage on most airlines now...LOL. Any by the way halfback, legal beverages is just a term for served only to those of legal age:=) What about good places to eat- we%26#39;ve never been to anywhere in the city-just stopped at the airport a few times.
Actually, what do ya%26#39;ll think about the Embassy Suites or The Best Western Normandy in town? The skyway is pedestrian only right? It will help a lot in getting the pedometer steps up to 10K each day- I love comfortable walking, jazz clubs, comedy clubs, jimmy buffett (who seems to be skipping Minnesota this summer), sunning, reading and trying new restaurants- local faves- not so much chains. Would consider a hostel or B%26amp;B if recommended too.
The skyway is pedestrian only and you can walk forever through it. Nicollet Ave is also pedestrian only downtown (nicollet mall). Rossi%26#39;s Steak house has live jazz during happy hour, and im sure at night as well. Their happy hour is best in town with half price drinks and insanely cheap and high quality food.
Acme comedy club is in the warehouse district (right around 1st st. and 1st ave i believe). It is a pretty famous club that seats maybe 200 people. Ive been there a few times and its always a good show, even if ive never heard of the comedian. Robin Williams is playing there next week! I think even Acme was surprised about that one.
Also check and see what concerts/shows are going on during the time you%26#39;re here in the hennepin theater district. The state theater, pantages, orpheum are cool old theaters that may have some good shows.
http://www.hennepintheatredistrict.org/
I%26#39;m not sure how willing you are to take a bus, but you could easily get a bus from downtown to Lake Calhoun and sit on the beach there or on the grass - you%26#39;ll be in good company! That area is very fun too - there are 3 lakes to walk around and fun restaurants, I%26#39;d recommend Barbette (french bistro), Chino Latino (latin-asian fusion), Amore Victoria (Italian), or Stella%26#39;s for an awesome rooftop patio and great seafood.
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