Before traveling to
“Three,” I responded.
He frowned and said, “I prefer four.”
I thought that was hilarious – considering the sort of
lodging my family stayed in when I was that age - and started calling
him “the hotel snob.” Unfortunately, we had the worst three-star experience
we’ve ever had there – bedspreads with grease stains and long pen marks, the
television didn’t work and wouldn’t shut off if it was plugged in, and
more. So when it was time to make
reservations for our stay in Minneapolis
The hotel was located in a historic downtown building, and
had a kind of old-fashioned, but hipster feel to it. Swanky – that’s the word I’m looking for. Modern furniture in colors like purple, red
and white combined with the building’s classic architecture and dark wood paneling to
create a striking blend. Our room was
handsomely decorated with modern art and fun woodsy details like a deer throw
pillow and a tree stump side table.
Each night between 5 and 6 complimentary wine and appetizers
were served in the lobby by the front desk (not the bar.) My sister Tina was
traveling with us and one night we went down and enjoyed a couple of glasses of
watermelon sangria that was quite tasty – I vowed to look up the recipe when I
got home.
One night we dined at Rare, the hotel restaurant. The
stylish restaurant décor featured warm colors, low lighting and candles. I opted
for the spicy tuna sushi and the California
It appeared to me that the Grand Hotel Minneapolis primarily
serves business travelers, which I suspect is the reason we found such a good
rate over the weekend, but there were other families besides ours with children
staying there. There were a few inconveniences, but nothing significant. The
hotel shares a building with a health club and guests can use the facilities,
but the swimming pool was for lane swimming, where my kids prefer to play and
splash about. Even so, they did have kickboards available and when we went down
we were the only ones in the pool, so the kids took over a couple of lanes and
had a good time. Finally, for popular kids
televisions stations like Nickelodeon, guests had to purchase an extra TV
package for $30 a night, more than I was willing to spend for the meager time
we actually spent in our room.
(Fortunately we have a Netflix account and Tina told me about the free
Netflix app for my iphone, which I promptly downloaded. The kids happily
crowded around the tiny iPhone screen and watched old episodes of The Wizards
of Waverly Place and iCarly.)
Overall we were happy with the hotel’s ambiance and
convenient downtown location, and would absolutely return.
Contact Info:
THE
GRAND HOTEL MINNEAPOLIS
615 Second Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN
55402
Phone:
(612) 288-8888
Reservations:
(866) 843-4726
http://www.grandhotelminneapolis.com/
