Holiday Inn Express Bloomington-Airport
- November 14, 2007
- Rated 3 of 5 by
callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
Minneapolis/St. Paul airport is located south of both city centers, in the swampy land near the junction of the Minnesota and the Mississippi. It’s also near the Mall of America, which has helped create a long corridor either side of I-494 with shopping, hotels, and offices.
The airport isn’t too far from either downtown area, and is especially easy to reach from Minneapolis on the light rail system (and, at $2 full fare airport to downtown, must be sending dozens of cabbies looking for fares in other places).
But if you still need to stay near the airport, your Expedia or SideStep search is going to turn up a lot of possibilities. It’s worth checking the actual location, because a lot of places on the south side of the metro area liberally add ‘airport’, ‘Bloomington’, or ‘Mall of America’ to their name, sometimes when they’re over 5 miles away. For example, the Bloomington MSP/Mall of America Crowne Plaza is 10 miles from the airport, and five other properties in the same chain are closer (including another Crowne Plaza).
Unlike those, this Holiday Inn Express is fairly close to the airport. It’s about a mile straight east of the airport’s southern boundary, just south of I-494 and north of the MOA. There are one or two places closer, but they end up charging a premium to a largely airport-centered clientele. During my one night stay here, it was clear that this hotel draws a mix of that audience plus families centered on a quick trip to the Mall.
Having checked here for two or three separate visits, the rates here are usually among the best of the Holiday Inns throughout the area. At the last minute, I was able to book a room for under $80, and got what I’ve come to expect from the newer and newly updated HIEs: a really comfortable bed, and a free breakfast. This isn’t an easy place to find a meal without a car, and I struggled to get a late night, post-theatre dinner after my arrival (settling for a McDonalds a couple miles to the west).
I had a room with a single king, a comfortable version of the new bed that is slowly making its way throughout the HIE chain. The room's interior was more updated and pleasant than the rest of the hotel suggested: the lobby was tight and cramped, and full of people. I avoided the rush at breakfast by eating early. The room was quiet, and the bathroom was pretty spacious--a layout that was certainly comfortable for a single traveler.
I then headed out to spend the last of my preflight hours exploring Fort Snelling and the Mississippi, which were a short drive to the east. There’s nothing too special here, but it is reliable, and good enough to use as an overnight for travel or, if it's your thing, a weekend at the Mall.
From journal Gotta Eat, Gotta Sleep: Lodging & Dining in Minneapolis
Holiday Inn Bloomington
- April 3, 2003
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Aldan from Reykjavik, Iceland
The hotel was being renovated during my stay there, unfortunately my room hadn't gone through the renovation but we didn't mind. No noise or dust that bothered us. The staff were incredible; they wanted to do everything possible for us from the moment we arrived. Our room was a bit plain but clean, 2 beds, tv cabinet and a desk, maybe it will be different after the renovation. Free shuttle to and from the airport and Mall of America. Swimming pool, gym, restaurant on the premises. The food was a bit pricey but good. We made the mistake and used the telephone in our room for calls home to Iceland and then received a huge bill when we checked out. Overall a pleasant stay.
From journal Shop-o-mania in Mall of America