Moriens

Thanks, MSPeconomist!

Right now the Starwood website says this hotel will be leaving Starwood on December 12, 2013, one year after these posts.

MSPeconomist

Thank you. Indeed I see that as well as a lot of "high season" dates for award reservations during 2013.

MSPeconomist

Now the latest is that the sale of the Ivy to Ameriprise has fallen through. Hence they will continue to operate as they do currently and to participate in SPG until something is resolved.

Tomjoe

This property is my favorite, Starwood or otherwise, in MSP, but they have given me every possible explanation as to what the future may hold; yes, no, maybe so, we don't know, come and go, tally ho! The rates had dropped rather drastically for a Feb. stay, so I hope the points and the stay are intact when I arrive.

MSPeconomist

My impression is that the staff generally seem upset/demoralized about all the ongoing uncertainty.

I can see that Starwood might have too many upper end properties around Minneapolis: the Ivy (LC), Chambers (was an independent boutique hotel and now LM due to the art connection but could easily be LC too), W, plus good (small, not a convention hotel) Westin downtown and good Westin in the suburbs. All (including an aloft) but Chambers were newly built for the Republican National Convention in 2008. Other brands have expanded, but not so much at the upper end, with IIRC a Marriott Courtyard being renamed as Renaissance (at the Depot) and Hotel Minneapolis (Hilton family something, was a Doubletree but it's a large boutique hotel in a historic building) plus Doubletree Suites (Lux or Luxford, which had been an independent semi-residential hotel). Three independent higher end hotels remain: Nicollet Island Inn (historic, on an island across from downtown), Graves 601 (the former LM) and the Grand (larger four-star boutique hotel in what had been the Minneapolis Athletic Club before major renovations within the last five or ten years). This is a lot of capacity for rooms that should be expensive, although on some nights none of the downtown Starwoods are available for less than about $600 (when the aloft is full), while other nights have multiple choices for well under $100.

mattsteg

No love for Wyndham?

landeej

Well, I just stayed at the Ivy from Dec 10-13, and when I booked on Dec 6, spg.com's detail page on the Ivy showed that they were leaving SPG on January 4th. That information was further confirmed by both a telephone Platinum Concierge I reached that evening (as I had made an error in my booking which I was trying to rectify) as well as my "regular" PC the next day via email.

The rooms are quite lovely, with the high ceilings and the diffuse lighting above that ceiling being very pleasant in the evenings. Unfortunately, I think you are right about the staff being demoralized and off their game. Housekeeping forgot to come by on one day, and another saw the front desk forget to give me a wakeup call (they admitted it was just overlooked and popped me some points, but I'd confirmed it in person twice).

I look forward to giving them another shot next year now that they're staying. While I often stay at Ws, I've been told that the Foshay's rooms are too easy to see into from the Oracle Tower (and exhibitionism isn't my thing).

northdakota

Looks like the SPG website has changed yet again and yes I meant 1/4/13. Good to hear it's going to be under the Starwood flag for awhile longer!

Minneapolis

That's a pretty big oversight, no?

landeej

Quite so, but I've been getting a little disillusioned by Luxury Collection properties lately (see my review on the Fairfax in DC). I let the Front Desk know, they took care of it and apologized, but not in terms of points (those were for the missed wake-up call) and I was too swamped with work to kick up a fuss about it.

I was quite clear and descriptive in the Starwood survey I received post-stay, but oddly enough nobody from the property has reached out in the 2 weeks since about it.

Yul_voyager

Any recent stay at the Ivy ? I looked the rate this summer and it is incredibly cheap compared to the same period last year... Also the hotel left FHR (too bad, there is no FHR hotel in the whole Minnesota now)...
Is it still a good choice or do I have to look at other hotels in Minneapolis (LM, W, Westin ?)

MSPeconomist

That's too bad about FHR. I'm a fan of that program, although at some properties you must pay a high rate (regardless of season and occupancy) to get the benefits.

I would probably rank these four (there's also an aloft on the edge of downtown) Starwood properties as about equivalent with some unique features and slightly different location pros and cons. However, in all but the Ivy, standard rooms are small and can have small bathrooms. Also, IIRC the Ivy is the only one in which every room has a bathtub--in fact, a decently large garden tub with a separate large shower stall in a beige marble bathroom. (Some rooms have windows in the bathrooms.) All of these hotels have some nice (especially above and beyond) suite upgrades, but they also tend to get elite-heavy clienteles, so the odds of getting a good upgrade aren't very high especially during the business week, even though they have reasonable numbers of suites.

Yul_voyager

Thanks
I finally booked the Ivy using a signature travel network rate, including breakfast, upgrade if available and a 50$ F&B offer. A little bit below FHR perks but still very good for the price.
I will also try Le Méridien and the Westin (I am working on Plat qualification by stays, so...)

tomhazay

Dear Yul_voyager,
Thank you for your post. I am happy to say that the Hotel Ivy did not leave AMEX FHR program and has been a member since 2008. We are still participating in the FHR program and will be happy to have you as our guest in the very near future.

Best,

Yul_voyager

Thanks Tom ! That is great news. I didn't see it into the Amex brochure but will definitely call them to book.
Can you details which are the benefits of a FHR booking ?