I recently stayed at the Westin Minneapolis for a couple of nights. Before arrival, I was contacted by the hotel that they had put me in a "renewal room" and asked if there was anything they could do. I did a little research and it turned out that their renewal room supposedly had a spa shower so I was pretty excited I told them to put me in a higher corner location if possible.

Check in
The check in area was rather small and hidden in a dark corner of the lobby. I had to ask where it was. Upon presenting the agent with my ID, the agent walked away to retrieve a large envelope. He offered Platinum amenity (points), gave me my envelope and sent me on my way. I opened the envelope to find a welcome card from the general manager welcoming me to the hotel, signed, and another card with a preloaded Starbucks gift card attached to it (No, I did not book a package. It was a gift! I was impressed!), and the Platinum folder with room numbers marked on it, keys, and the mini bar key. It turned out, they put me on the highest floor, corner, looking over downtown MSP ^

Room
The room was spacious and comfortable. A short foyer led to the corner sitting area with a plasma TV and a couple of chairs. The room had tall ceiling (10-12 ft) with high windows all the way to the top. It was actually awkward, as they were slighly above eye level. They let enough sunlight into the room. As usual, the Westin Heavenly Bed was nested in the other corner of the room. As a new Westin, the room was accented with the newer modern Westin furnitures

I went back to the door to find a large renewal bathroom I love those illuminating mirrors some Westins and Sheratons have ^ The star of the bathroom, however, was the spa shower. It was equiped with the standard Heavenly Shower with 2 heads for the front, and 3 additional Kohler movable shower sprays for the back. The pressure was amazing. There were speakers wired into the bathroom but I didn't know how to work it, so I just took the stereo with AUX hook up to play my own music. It was absolutely lovely!

Better yet, evening turn down was completed by a couple of gifts by the night stand: jars of Westin White Tea candles ^ ^

Room Service
The had a simple menu offering some of the food items from the downstairs B.A.N.K restaurant. I ordered the sea scallops with a classic caesar salad with prawns. They were delicious ^

Location
The hotel was conveniently located direct behind the Light Rail (Nicollet station). It's walking distance to some stores although most stores are closed on weekends. It is also walking distance to the Metrodome (Viking), the river front area, and Guthrie Theatre (very beautiful). I highly recommend watching a play there and take the backstage tour ^

Overall
Everyone I encountered was extremely cheerful. The welcome envelope was a nice touch ^ I was extremely impressed with my stay and will definitely return for another visit if I am in town ^