OAKman

The Hyatt website indicates that a new Hyatt Place Minneapolis Downtown is accepting reservations effective December 15, 2013. This property at 425 7th Street South was most recently branded as a Comfort Suites and before that as an Embassy Suites. Hopefully Hyatt is doing a complete make-over of this tired property.

MSPeconomist

IMO it's not a great location, but I know people who liked it for extended stays during its ES days. There is a somewhat weird carriage entrance and parking garage on the lower (above ground) levels, so that the hotel is roughly floors 10-20. I'll try to remember to drive by and look for signs of serious renovations in progress.

OAKman

Now accepting reservations for October 11, 2013 and beyond.

MSPeconomist

Will they be doing a soft opening?

Somewhere Over the Atlantic

Any experiences here since its opening as an HP?

MSPeconomist

I stopped by the first week it was open. The rooms, including a bunch of suites, are nice. The breakfast area is huge. The bar is also larger than in most HPs and they seem to have an extended evening food menu. The lobby area looks very attractive and quite upscale for a HP, although it has Ikea style furniture.

LASUA1K

I stayed here for 3 nights this week. I usually stay at the Regency but I brought the kids along as the Hyatt Place had a 2 Bedroom Suite available.

The Good-Check In was very fast and friendly. The Lobby area is probably one of the biggest in any Hyatt Place. The bar staff was friendly, and the service was very fast. The room was fantastic! 2 bedrooms, 1 King and 2 Queen beds. Both had a bathroom and both had a tv. The living room area was huge, with a 60 inch TV, a high dining table or meeting area, with another 20 inch TV. Very comfortable room.

The BIG and only problem, the heat was turned off when I arrived. The thermostat was at 59 when I entered the room on Tuesday at 530pm. I blasted the heat, by 10pm, it was a chilly 63. With 3 little kids, this was not the ideal situation. Good thing we had the thick pj's with us. Around 6am, it had made it to 68, but that was in the living room, where they have no windows. The bedrooms, have awful windows, and cold air comes blazing in. After 30 hours, we finally got it to 78, which was comfortable. 78 was not a true 78, more like 69 or so..

Yes I would stay again, especially with kids. The service was friendlier than anything I ever experienced at the Hyatt Regency. The Regency used to be great, but the service has been declining recently. I much prefer the Hyatt Place room over the Executive Suite at the Regency.

If you need space, stay here. Maybe call in advance and make sure they turn on the heat... With new windows, it wouldn't be so cold, but we lived thru it the first night and by the second, it was livable... We are from Chicago, so we know cold, someone from a warmer climate, might be extremely upset.

I did call the front desk and they told me they had no more 2 bedrooms clean for us. We chose to suck it up. In the end, I enjoyed my stay. Another benefit, the Skywalk allowed me to connect indoors where I needed to be, the Regency, would have me out walking for a few blocks.

AlwaysSunnyInORD

Too bad about the temps. Seems crazy that they wouldn't have warmed it up prior to your arrival. I, like you, have stayed at both properties but prefer the Regency. Admittedly, I have not stayed at any suites in the HP. My personal preference for the Regency is due to the fact that it is not next to the hospital. The sirens at any hour of the night by the HP are loud and a deal breaker for me.

As an FYI, you can access the Regency via the skyway without going outside however it is a longer route through the convention center.

LASUA1K

Thanks for the tip AlwaysSunny!!! And yes hospital noise was loud at times. I guess, I'm used to it, living near a hospital in Chicago.

The suite was very nice, but when traveling solo, (without kids), I'll probably pick the Regency, but with the family, the 2 Bedroom suite will win. My family loves Minneapolis, and they enjoy tagging along when I go up for business. I used to fly, now I just drive it.

MSPeconomist

IIRC the skyway route through the convention center is sometimes closed when there are no events using the convention center. I wouldn't advise walking that way without first checking that all sections will be open.

ZBigFam

Planning on staying here this weekend with the kids...any chance of an upgrade to a two bedroom suite as a diamond?

Any parking recommendations?

thecoldhandoftechnology

I've been gotten the 2BR suites on several stays, but of course it has always been mid week travelling alone, so I usually just close off one of the bedrooms doors so housekeeping doesn't have to bother with anything more than a quick check. These are quite spacious, with a large seating area, bar, and a table that seats six I believe, plus the two bedrooms. As a note all the 2BR suites I've stayed in are on the ends of the property outside the atrium and elevator banks so I've found then very quiet.

That being said, as I recall Hyatt Places have no upgrade obligation (and many have no inventory to upgrade to) so YMMV, but I've always found this property does a very nice job of Diamond recognition for a HP.

There is a ramp below, which might be tight if you have a larger truck, but which if otherwise fine. If there are no events you can probably find street parking which I think is free from 8P to 9A at least during the week. http://www.mplsparking.com/home is a pretty good reference.

Cheers

ZBigFam

Staying here now. Was upgraded to a spacious two bedroom suite. Parking is to be expected for a downtown hotel 20/night. All the comments about the heat here are spot on. It's freezing in this hotel!

LASUA1K

I was not charged for parking. Maybe its a Diamond benefit but not sure. As far as the room, its going to take 24 hours to warm it up. They def have a problem that needs to be fixed.

ZBigFam

Thanks for the heads up on parking. Will see what is on the folio when I check out.