Editor Pick
Holiday Inn Select Minneapolis Int'l Airport
- March 22, 2008
- Rated 3 of 5 by
callen60 from Ozarks, Missouri
I’m a devotee of Holiday Inn properties, but I have no clue about the ‘branding’ of their different chains. I’d be happier if it the scheme something to do with common English usage. I’m particularly fond of Holiday Inn Express (low price, free breakfast, free wireless, generally newer properties, and a reward system that yields free rooms fairly quickly), but what the heck does ‘Express’ mean? Your experience at the hotel is accelerated? Eight hours of sleep take only five? Checkout is faster? The whole building is headed north at a high rate of speed?
I have similar issues with the less widespread ‘Select’ series. What’s ‘Select’ about it? We stayed a night here when a transatlantic trip landed at MSP with a connection the following day, but my first foray into this ‘brand’ didn’t provide any answers.
This hotel’s main virtue is its proximity to the airport. Arriving from London, I wanted a place that was quick to reach via free shuttle, since the last leg of our return flight left at 6:45 the next morning. A call from the hotel info board brought the shuttle promptly, and within just a few minutes we were there, not long after clearing customs following our 3:30 arrival.
The hotel’s exterior announced “I was built in the 70’s (or the early 80’s at the latest)”, and the interior confirmed it. One of the first signs inside the lobby enthusiastically stated “We’re renovating for you!”, which is information you probably want to receive in the past, not present tense. The eight or 10 floors of rooms were all off one monster interior corridor, making for a longish walk to our room at the hallway’s end. I’d booked what passes for a suite at a very reasonable $89 dollars (after canceling a previous reservation for $110, both at HI’s website). This room had two doubles near the window, a decent-sized bathroom in the middle, and a front area with sofa bed, desk, another TV and desk. It was big enough for the five of us and our transatlantic luggage (although we did pack light and carry on).
The room was in fair shape, although the bathroom fixtures and layout did feel a bit dated—something like being inside the bathroom in your neighbor’s 1980’s ranch. It could have been more thoroughly vacuumed around the edges, but otherwise was in good shape.
Although, as a non-Express property, there was no free breakfast, our early flight made it irrelevant. The hotel had both a lounge and restaurant just off the lobby on the first floor, and as a Holiday Inn 'frequent stayer', they gave us 2 for 1 coupons for both the bar and the breakfast. We had a light dinner (appetizers and an occasional burger), with a side of jet lag. The food was prompt and decent, and the server was friendly and attentive.
The location is almost equidistant from the Mall of America and the airport’s southern boundary. The hotel offers free shuttles to both: to the airport on the half-hour, and to the Mall at the top of every hour. We were joined by plenty of company for the 5 am airport run, and the staff coped well with a big crowd, quickly arranging for a second vehicle and dividing people into two appropriate groups.
The hotel provides free wireless throughout the building, which I wasn't expecting. That's often problematic for printing boarding passes, but there's also a business center on the second floor, with two machines and a laser printer.
From journal Gotta Eat, Gotta Sleep: Lodging & Dining in Minneapolis