Residence Inn Minneapolis Downtown at The Depot

The rooms were nice enough — clean and spacious as expected for a Residence Inn. The guest check-​in loading zone is right on the street and very small — you may miss it if you are not paying attention.
The breakfast was average and check-​in was slow in the very small front desk area.
However, for being an urban hotel, the biggest disappointment was that the soundproofing of the windows is woefully inadequate. The Residence Inn has a very convenient location, but only stay there if the convenience outweighs your desire for comfort.

The water park and pool have been closed since July, 2015. However, nowhere on the website or during the on line booking process is this mentioned. A note telling you it’s closed will pop up AFTER you’ve confirmed and booked your room, though! And if you call the hotel to ask about this, you will be rudely asked why it matters, but then when you calmly explain your perspective, they will apologize and tell you they’ll fix the website. The pool closed in July 2015. I’m writing this in August, 2015. Maybe they forgot they had a website that might need updating when a major amenity closes?

Zero stars. Room Service was horrible. Excuse from waitress was that we have a lot of wedding parties going on this evening. Pool closes early on Sunday which is the only reason to stay at this hotel. Amenities are weak. No local transportation to sporting events. To top off weekend they close pool early on Sunday and directed us to local lake which we promptly got our cooler stolen with over $ 100 worth of food. When talking to management they clearly did not care and are incompetent. Do not valet park you can pull around the back for free. Please book somewhere else downtown Minneapolis is this place sucks. You will be overcharged for use the pool, stay, and food. Never again.

Great venue! Would be wonderful for a wedding. The old fashioned railroad terminal
Is breathtaking!

If you’re looking for a place to stay in downtown Minneapolis, stay here! There are restaurants, bars, and shops within walking distance. The Mall of America is only 20 min away. The underground parking garage is great in the winter. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Everyone is always greeting you with a smile! They went out of their way to get me a blender for my room so I can make smoothies, which I definitely appreciate!

We stayed here when we were in town visiting a friend who was in a show at the Guthrie. The hotel was well located, close not only to the theatre but also to restaurants, bars, and the Mississippi River, which was very nice. The rooms were nice sized and the bed was comfortable. We didn’t take advantage of the kitchen, but imagine that if we were here longer we would have appreciated it. The staff with whom we interacted were all very friendly.

Good location, which is important when its 30 degrees out and you need access to the «skyway» to stay out of the cold. The rooms are clean, with no bad smells. Linen and bed comfortable– Its no Westin, but for a long term stay, not bad. Wifi is free, and works reasonably well. They have all the regular amenities, and breakfast is included.
More 90’s business décor, a little cheesy, which lowered my score on them. The courtyard by Marriot in Bentonville Arkansas had more modern décor. Ugly-​assed Green Marriott carpeting sucks… Place needs an update.

Great place for large groups. The location is great for walking to a bunch of activities.

I was so happy at this Residence Inn. I travel a lot and have stayed at much «fancier» places that really are not fancier at all. My studio room was delightful. The staff was excellent. The breakfast was good. The wifi was fast. I can’t think of any demerits at all.
You can take the super cheap ($ 2.25) light rail from the airport and walk a few blocks to the hotel. I did get confused regarding the difference between Second St. (where the hotel is) and Second Ave. so check your map, or ask a native, which is what I did.
There is a little market at the corner of Second St. and Second Avenue if you need anything. The «Market» in the hotel is not bad but of course is expensive.

The room was well-​appointed with a kitchenette and plenty of space for the «living» that the Residence Inn brand is known for. We had a two bedroom suite. The bedrooms were a bit too cramped to store our suitcases, which meant they stayed out in the living room.
The breakfast was great. The head chef, whose name I regrettably did not learn, was clearly enthusiastic about her work and our impressions of it.
The property is home to two hotels — a Renaissance and a Residence Inn — linked by a common waterpark. Yes, you read theat right. It’s nice that guests of either property can enjoy the features of both sides.
A word to the wise: When requesting a ride, be clear about your *Residence Inn* location. The more attractive entrance is at the Renaissance and there were several instances when we were left waiting for a ride who was left waiting for us on the other side of the hotel.
Great hotel with a lot of conveniences in a nice part of town.

When I arrived to my room, I went straight for the bed and passed out. When I awoke, I could not believe how spacious my room was. Everything was so neat and clean! There were two things that annoyed me tho. 1. The windows were hard to open and I just gave up. 2. You can hear your neighbors flushing their toilet– it was that loud! But regardless, the rooms are spacious, and you have your very own kitchen! And the staffs here are very friendly. And the continental breakfast is a plus! Deffinitely will stay here again!

Nice, clean hotel, within walking distance of Target Field.
The room had a kitchenette: stove, microwave, dishwasher, toaster, coffeemaker, silverware, flatware and a full size refrigerator. There’s a couple of liquor stores nearby so you can fill the fridge with your favorite adult beverages.
The room also had two flat screen tv’s, one in the living room and one it the bedroom. And the thermostat worked, so you can set the room temperature to your liking.
The fitness center is located in their sister hotel, The Depot Renaissance, connected via the indoor water park. It’s rather small, consisting of three treadmills, three elliptical machines, one recumbent bike, some dumbbells and a weight machine.
The business center is also located in The Depot Renaissance, consisting of two computers and a printer.
The big deal for me was the breakfast buffet, one of the better buffets I’ve come across. Coffee, tea, juice, muffins, hot oatmeal, cereal, scrambled eggs, hard boiled eggs, sausage patties, pancakes, Canadian bacon, pre made egg sandwiches, waffle iron, yogurt and fresh fruit. Served from 6:00am to 9:00am. You can’t beat it.
They also had evening socials from Monday to Wednesday, 6:00pm to 7:30pm, with free food and wine. We didn’t attend those as we had prior engagements.
If I travel back to Minneapolis, I would definitely stay here again.

A basic residence hotel. The service and the room were fine. I would advise not going to the «included meals» they are pretty gross looking … though I guess a free meal is a free meal. If you are looking to keep cost down I would walk to target (its about 2 blocks) where they have a grocery section with fresh goods and stock up your fridge there. Wifi was included in my rate but was almost useless. If you are staying for business as I was they skywalk is connected and this is about as middle to downtown as you can get.

Fairly standard hotel. The breakfast is good and more than just pastries but the wifi is spotty at best even if you pay for it. Rooms are noisy, you can hear your neighbors above you walking around, etc. Also it’s not really close to anything and a nighttime walk home could be sketchy.

There are several things that I’m impressed by here.
There were only two things that I was not thrilled with:
— no grocery store nearby
— coffee was not very strong or flavorful
— knocking sound in the wall in the middle of the night/​early morning hours
Let me list what I like so much:
— weekday manager’s reception has quality food, local beer keg, wine, soda and salad
— breakfast includes several hot items including some form of scrambled eggs, potatoes, waffles, and oatmeal in addition to cold things like cereal, yogurt, granola, and fruit
— cleaning staff does a fantastic job and very consistent
— soaps are name brand and smell nice
— lotion also smells nice
— elevators are fast and there’s 2
— staff at the desk was always very helpful
— rooms are very spacious and well laid out
— bar with long happy hour specials is across the street
— water park inside the building
— WiFi included with very strong signal

It was nice and quiet on the fourth floor. Our two bedroom unit made it easier to keep the grandkids and grandparents happy. Décor is tired, but clean. The maids came in every day and vacuumed and cleaned. They even did the bathrooms and linens on the third day. The best part was the indoor train-​themed waterpark. $ 10 per person for weekend use of the waterpark… kids loved it. The 2 bedroom unit had a full kitchen and the free breakfast had more than enough options for our 5 day stay. The staff even encouraged us take a few things upstairs for the family members that slept in. The only bad thing was the pull out sofa bed. There’s no way an adult could sleep on it. Two bars come across and the mattress was way too thin to be comfortable.

Clean, comfortable and efficient rooms. We had no noise to deal with on our Saturday night stay. We got certificates for the water park – designed for the younger kids I would say. The billards room is open until 11 pm and was a hit! Breakfast was crowded, but good – what you usually get at the free hot breakfasts. It’s a quick walk across the bridge to the St. Anthony Main/​Riverplace area, and easy access to the Guthrie and Mill City Museum. We parked up Washington about a 15 min. walk at meters that did not enforce on weekends. Staff was a little distant – they really didn’t great you as you came and went (a little unusual from our other Marriott experiences). Overall a great stay – we will stay again!

I stayed here for a week while in town for a conference. I probably would not stay here again. Not because it’s not a good hotel, but because it’s a bit of a trek to the rest of downtown and it’s not connected to the city’s skyway system. This is something that really matters during that six months of every year when Minneapolis is being blasted by arctic cold.
Summertime, I might recommend it, as it’s right on the river and the Stone Arch Bridge, the Mill City Ruins park and museum, the MacPhail Music Center, and that Arlo Guthrie Theater the Minnesotans are always bragging about are all a very short walk away. Also, if you’re a big, fat bear or some kind of leather daddy, the Minneapolis Eagle is right across the street, making it really easy to drag your gay style conquests back to your hotel room if that’s the kind of thing you dig.
The rooms are pretty standard Marriott type rooms, so no complaints there. The hotel is attached to another hotel by way of an indoor water park and ice skating rink located in a hollowed out former train station. Pretty odd. The business center rocks — free printing (yay!), the staff are super friendly, and their junk food emporium (i.e., the little store thing in the lobby) has plenty of decent, unhealthy snacks for late night chow downs post bar hopping.
The only bad thing I can say about this place is that the housekeeping staff is completely out of control. Seriously, the woman responsible for cleaning my room would pop her head in my door each morning at around 8:00 am (i.e., the middle of the night) and I’d have to order her quite forcefully to go away several times before she would. She really, REALLY wanted to get into my room and clean. One morning, she woke me up by sticking her head in my room and then chucking a brand new copy of the Book of Mormon across the bedroom floor. What the hell?

I stayed here 4 nights while I was in town for a Convention. It’s a pretty subtantial walk to the Convention Center, but it was enjoyable and I needed the excercise.
This Residence Inn applies the Marriott pattern well. The billiard room is a nice touch and the breakfast and evening catering was better than expected. The only odd thing was the Minnesota alcohol rules. On Sunday you can buy drinks at the bar (and take it to your room), but you can’t buy anything at the store. The studio room was also well appointed and comfortable.
The nearby Heritage Trail along the river is worth a nice hike. The stone bridge, the Guthrie, the Mill ruins, the distant 35W bridge reconstruction, historic Main Street, St. Anthony Falls, and Nicollet Island were all fun to see and worth the walk.
And for those of you that tolerate room coffee, there’s both a Caribou and Dunn Brothers coffee shops within a 1 – 2 block walk of the hotel.

You know how you end up getting stuck at a hotel on business and have almost no choice for a REAL restaurant, so you settle for what you normally think is overpriced and underwhelming food?
NO WAY JOSE! Not HERE I am happy to say!!!
SO the Residence Inn has an on site restaurant called Charley’s at the Depot. I went on the early side around 5:30 or so, and had almost a personal waiter [Hi Carl!] who provided really awesome service since he had little else to do.
I decided the 12 oz Ribye Steak [$ 27] w/​grilled veggies and Alexander’s Browns was the way to go. Oh and throw in a cup of Chicken and Wild Rice soup [$ 4].
The ribeye was done perfectly with little of the fat that is so typical. Veggies grilled perfectly. And what the heck is Alexander’s Browns?
Imagine a small coffee can. Cut off the top and the bottom to leave a ring about 1.5 inches high. Place on skillet. Fill with fresh coarse hash browns in it and full to the top. When the bottom is done to a deep golden brown flip the whole thing over to brown the other side. To serve, place on the plate and slide the can off the now beautiful mini tower of hash browns. Great presentation and muy delicioso too!
So the chef throws in these extra free-​bees: first an mini-​appetizer: a marinated single Clam in a shallow glass that was really nice not chewy or too heavily clam-​flavored. And after wards a chocolate coconut Macaroon. Can you say «VERY NICE?»
OK if you want to know about the Marriott, the room was very nice with a comfy bed and separate living room with a full kitchen and plates and utensils and even a dishwasher. Two TVs too!