MSPeconomist

During the week/daytime, it is an issue because everything is short term meters, typically two hour zone from 8 am or so until 6-8-10 pm. Who want to worry about getting up early to go feed the parking meter or to return and move the car if you arrive too early in the evening? The good news is that almost all meters in the city now take credit cards, although the pay station type doesn't always work well. (Be sure to save your paper receipt in case you get a ticket even though you have paid; you'll need the number to call in to contest the tickets, which is done using an automated voicemail system.)

Out of my Element

Looks like we'll be parking starting at 5PM instead of 10PM. I sent an e-mail to the link on the Parking Authority website to make sure the "ramps" are open early enough for us to retrieve the car, let's see if they reply.

treznor

Agreed. I didn't want to make it sound like street parking isn't a problem, it definitely is. It just shouldn't be a problem late at night on the weekend around there.

MSPeconomist

If you go to the opposite side of Washington Avenue (toward the river), there are meters that end at 6 pm. Look on Third Avenue, for example, or turn right from Third Avenue onto Second Street (around the Renaissance and Residence Inn at the Depot) and there are lots of meters that would only need to be fed once, for the first hour or two. This is about a five block walk from the Westin.

Out of my Element

Great stuff, thanks!!

Out of my Element

You may have heard about the rain and thunder etc in the midwest this past weekend. It hit Minneapolis pretty hard, too.

Turns out, the garage directly across Marquette from the Westin charges $5 for weekend overnights. If we had left the rental in there after 7AM yesterday, it would have been $10, but we were out in plenty of time. Skybridge gets you there, too, so no dodging the lightning strikes for us.

Enjoyed the hotel greatly. Friendly staff, great Happy Hour (M-F 3-6PM) in BANK, beautiful lobby/restaurant area.

CPRich

And I thought rooms in Europe were small - a room during MLB all-star weekend -

RFDMinnesota

So I just checked in tonight for a 3 night stay and after I got to my room I noticed they only wrote one day on the plat breakfast cert. I went down to the front desk and two of the front desk people spent 5 minutes telling me that the benefit only was only for the first night.

I showed them it says each night, and one of them spent 5 MORE minutes reading the cert and then said "oh the must have changed it recently"...

Not a good start

Starwood Lurker II

Sorry for the unpleasant experience.

Would you be able to email us details of the stay so that we can notify the hotel coordinators to follow up with the property?

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Social Media Specialist
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

RFDMinnesota

I forgot to mention that they ended up filing out three separate breakfast certs for me. But I decided to tweet this to @SPGassist and DMed them my details. They said someone named Dan would follow up with me, though the only contact I've had was a blank envelope with ANOTHER breakfast coupon in it with the correct dates of my stay and nothing more. So if this was Dan, thanks?

CVilleFlyer

Currently at hotel on four night mixed points/paid stay. The front desk seems ill equipped to deal with platinum members. No recognition upon check in and huge ordeal to confirm suite upgrade despite multiple calls to spg and hotel directly. At breakfast host says plat cert is good for buffet or menu, waiter comes and tells us no good only for buffet but then follows up after we have buffet plates and asks if we want stuff off menu. huge hassle getting suite nights confirmed (I get it busy weekend with potential revenue $$$ for suites, but got four different answers from front desk and management about why suites weren't available for upgrades despite being for sale on line. When all is said and done we got a suite with no natural light in sitting area and a bathroom in need of maintenance ( shower door broken, can light missing screen, shaving mirror barely holding on, etc. ) next time will stay elsewhere.

The kicker this morning: two individuals passed out on couches in lobby --guests? Not guests? And watching front desk staff whisper and giggle in regards to guest who had just checked out but hadn't even made it out if the lobby. I mean, ....

Songer5

Ugh that's disappointing. I'm a Plat and I have an upcoming stay there. I may cancel and rebook at another property then.

CVilleFlyer

I would definitely consider staying somewhere else. The last straw came this morning when we awoke to find that the fridge the hotel provided to store our infants breast milk had turned off over night leaving us with three feedings worth of spoiled milk. Maintenance came and said that the fridge which was plugged in by housekeeping had been plugged into the desk strip which unbeknownst to us was controlled by the door light switch.

kevinflyaway

Any recent visits? Looking for a booking in Minneapolis for end of February...

MSPeconomist

That will be a couple weeks after the Super Bowl so all the construction on Nicollet Mall (main commercial street downtown, semi-pedestrian mall) *should* be finished. You're on the skyway, which is especially valuable in February. You're also only about two blockes from the light rail station (to/from airport and Mall of America), although unfortunately you have to walk about half a block outside before getting into Gavidae, which is connected to the Westin.

Although the restaurant/bar BANK has been around since at least 2008 (or whenever the hotel opened), IMO it's still good and a nice compromise between trendy and upscale comfortable.