University Hotel Minneapolis

Stayed at the University Hotel for a conference. I’m told it used to be a Radisson which probably tells you all you need to know. It was fine, inexpensive, nothing special. Proximity to the University of Minnesota is terrific, which is why it was the chosen hotel.
Room was adequate, had a sleep-​number bed (which I find highly overrated but know many swear by them) and a nice desk. Plenty of electrical outlets which has become the most important amenity to me these days as I have so many things it seems I need to charge all the time. Nothing is worse than climbing behind the TV cabinet to find a stray outlet.
Fitness center and gift/​convenience store were both closed. Not very convenient really now is it? Can’t comment on them.
The hotel has both an Applebees (I hate Applebees) and a Starbucks. The neighborhood area has many different food and beverage establishments, a nearby liquor store, and some shops.
If your travel plans include the U of M for a game, meetings, or just some fun it’s a great option. If you’re planning to be downtown most of the time, it might be out of the way a bit as a taxi fare to a movie theater downtown cost me $ 15. Which is about the cost of my popcorn.

This hotel seems to be mainly filled with guests who are attending conferences/​events at the hotel or nearby or individuals visiting the UM campus. The hotel has extensive meeting room facilities on the second floor. I have seen several groups of young athletes here with their parents, as well as teenagers who are clearly here with their parents for admissions visits and interviews.
The University Hotel Minneapolis is incredibly convenient to UM, which makes it great for anyone whose main base during their visit will be the university. The location is just unbeatable, and the facilities are fine for a day or two visit. However, if you are in Minneapolis for vacation or to visit the downtown area, I wouldn’t recommend staying here.
The hotel has been converted from a Radisson to the University Hotel Minneapolis within the past two years. The lobby and rooms are well maintained, although styled in an older/​more traditional style.
If you are sensitive to hotel noise, than you should be prepared that the walls in the building can be quite thin. My room was directly next to the elevator, and I could hear hall conversations while people waited. Also, if your room has an adjoining door with a room next to it, be prepared for major noise leakage. I was able to audibly hear the loud conversation that a group of students were having in the room next to me.
The hotel has excellent access to food. In addition to its own dining room and lounge, the hotel is adjacent to an Applebee’s and a Starbucks that can be accessed without leaving the building. Also handy is the skybridge that leads from the hotel to the next door parking ramp and then into Keller Hall on the UM campus.
I would always prefer to have a mini fridge in the room, so I was disappointed to see that there wasn’t one. My shower had consistent and strong pressure and heat, and the towels were satisfactory.
The check in process was easy. Although check in time is 3 pm, I was able to check in around 2 pm, and there were other guests doing the same thing.

I had an interview at the University last week and stayed at the University Hotel. It was EXTREMELY convenient (literally a five minute walk from my interview), so I would recommend it to anyone who is going to spend time on campus. Unfortunately, Washington Avenue is closed right in front of the hotel due to light rail construction, but it is only a few blocks stretch so I am sure you get used to it after you figure out how to get around. The hotel has a shuttle that operates in a five mile radius of the hotel, including the Metrodome light rail stop, which I used a few times.
The common areas of the hotel were clean and inviting. I loved the Starbucks in the building! Apparently, the Minnesota students love it too because it was packed with studying kids every time I went in.
My room was comfortable and clean. However, there was some room for improvement. The sliding doors on the closet were both off their tracks when I got there. I was able to pop one of them back on it’s track. It wasn’t really a big deal because I only hung my suit up in the closet, but they should definitely fix that. Also, the heater settings were somewhat vague. There was no thermostat, just two dials: one for fan setting and one for «Colder/​Warmer». I turned off the heater during the day since I was away for several hours. After a day walking around the city, I wanted to get the room nice and cozy. I turned the dial all the way to «Warmer», but the temperature of the air coming out didn’t seem to change.
The staff were all friendly and extremely helpful. I would definitely recommend this hotel to other people staying in the area. Hopefully, they will upgrade the heating system!

Let’s have a conversation about beds.
My bed at home is DIVINE. (This is important, especially when having huge amounts of sex. Just kidding.)
I’ve thrown *so* much money at my bed in order to have a perfect mattress, 600-​thread-​count sheets, etc.
This means that I’m a bed snob. Pretty much no hotel bed can compare to my bed at home, and I’m okay with that.
But the bed at the UMN Radisson was just atrocious. I’m pretty sure I’d sleep better by passing out in my bathtub after a night at Rich’s. (Not that I have any experience with *such* reckless and irresponsible behavior. Perish the thought.)
Other than that, though — this hotel is pretty serviceable. After spending 4 nights here, I found that its central location is perfect for visitors to the UMN campus, which accommodated my situation perfectly. It’s slightly removed from downtown MPLS, but the complimentary hotel shuttle will take you there in a heartbeat. (It stops running at 11pm, so don’t expect it to take you home after a late night out.) Free wi-​fi is another perk.
Aside from those things, this Radisson is strangely compelling in its averageness. The rooms feel like… sterile hotel rooms. The lobby feels like… a boring hotel lobby. The staff are polite but don’t really go out of their way to make you feel welcome.
The hotel dining options are limited and kind of lame (Starbucks and Applebee’s), but tons of delicious and cheap campus businesses can be found on the surrounding blocks. (Bun Mi Sandwiches is right across the street! Score!)
Would I stay here again? Sure. Would I be dying to do so? Nah.

My first visit to Minneapolis, Minnesota and I’m staying in the Raddison University Hotel. They have a typical hotel restaurant/​bar called the University Lounge. I ordered nachos and a extra pale ale draft beer. Of course the beer was amazing, and the nachos were okay. But the portion was huge so probably need to share. Anyways, beer plus nachos never fails.
Otherwise the hotel is great! Very comfy and clean. I was told that people around here are called «Minnesota Nice» and well it’s true. I would definitely come back to this hotel.

I have stayed at this location before. It needs a little updating, but overall it is a good conference location. The staff was courteous and helpful. The local shuttle service can get you to the light rail entrance, which is an easy option to the airport and other parts of town. The room was comfortable, but I really was not a fan of the sleep number bed. It was like sleeping on a balloon and I didn’t find it comfortable no matter what darned number I used.

this has been my second stay at this hotel — first time was in 2007. i stayed here for 2 nights this past week and was very impressed.
the hotel has a small lounge located on the first floor near the front desk as well as a starbucks and applebees on the premises so there are good food options nearby. also the big ten (local bar) is directly across the street.
this hotel is located on the university of minnesota campus and it is worth a walk around if you have time. the hotel does offer free access to the universities rec center located directly behind the hotel. i took advantage of this and used their weights and treadmill. it is a great facility and nice perk offered by the hotel.
i stayed in a king room and they offer the sleep comfort beds. the rooms are in good condition. if you are looking for state of the art this is not for you. the tv’s are a little older, not flat screen or hd. they do have free wireless that i used with no trouble.

I stayed for three nights and really thought the place was A-​OK. My spacious room (a standard room with a king bed) would have been 100% comfortable if getting it to a comfortable temperature had not been a problem. When I arrived (a bit past midnight!), the room was extremely hot. The temperature dial on the room heater was at its minimum, and the fan was on «low». I turned the fan to off and opened the window a crack. This «worked» in the sense that the room slowly cooled to a decent temperature. Remarkably, it never got too cold in the room even though the outside temperature was about –6 F when I woke up the next morning! My second night was similar, somehow: the room was hot when I returned from dinner and cooled off only after I opened the window somewhat. Night #3 was unproblematic: the room was fine when I returned from dinner and never got off-​scale hot or cold during the night.
The personnel were cheery and friendly, and they were helpful when I asked for directions. The hotel shuttle is a Good Thing: its friendly driver drove a group of us downtown for dinner and picked us up two hours later to take us back to the Radisson.
It’s true that the workout room is lame, but hotel guests get free access to the recreational sports facilities of the U Minn campus, many of which are close to the hotel.
There’s a Starbucks and an Applebee’s in the same building as the hotel; you can get to either without going outside. I tried the Applebee’s on Day One but didn’t return — fortunately, Starbucks was Starbucks and didn’t disappoint.

Stay here for the friendly rate ($ 130+/night) and location. This is right off the Minnesota campus and a great location if you are going to a gopher football or hockey game. The hotel itself is average, kinda dated, the gym is limited and generally kinda lame. The rooms are just so/​so, but clean.
I will give the staff some credit, they were all very friendly and gave good suggestions on local eateries, I also used valet ($ 15/​night) which was always fast and friendly.

My main problem is with the front desk staff, who seem to be learning the very basics of how to run a hotel.
We booked a room for two nights (as one so often does at a hotel). After one night’s stay, I was working in the room — papers and clothes spread everywhere — and had the «Do Not Disturb» sign out when the housekeeping came by to clean up at around 1 PM. They knocked and told me, nicely enough, that they didn’t know we were staying another night. This happens.
I called the front desk and asked what was up. Although they did indeed have a record of our 2-​night reservation, I’m afraid I took Brittany rather by surprise. She asked me, NOT very nicely, to move rooms (immediately) and I did, since she seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by her own incompetence. Of course, I wound up leaving half my husband’s stuff in the room since that’s what happens when you suddenly need to move rooms in the middle of a stay.
So it was inconvenient, annoying and what — was Brittany waiting for my call to sort this situation out? Is it the guests’ responsibility to check up on the front desk every once in awhile? Or, more to the point, why didn’t the kids on duty the night we checked in give us a room we could inhabit for two nights? I tried to speak to a manager, but wound up on hold forever.
Hotels generally provide convenient short-​term lodging. The Radisson fails. I’d tell you to stay away but they’re the only game on this side of town. Or maybe you like being part of the young people’s learning process.
So why the two stars? If you stay here you can use the University of Minnesota’s gym facilities. I honestly wish every university campus hotel had this kind of deal.
And two more negatives: the room service is from Applebee’s and the heating system needs an update.

I’m the first to admit that I like high end hotels but when my trip called for visiting the University of Minnesota campus I was set up at the Radisson. The chain itself isn’t bad at all but I wasn’t sure what to expect from this hotel. The hotel is pretty nice and does a good job of making you feel like number one. They make sure you are happy with your stay and having starbucks and applebee’s attached does help. I’d recommend people to stay here and enjoy!

Hilarious really. 3 girls sharing a room, we all don’t sleep well because it’s too hot. We finally call to complain, and a very nice maintenance man comes to tell us that we can open a window and that he’ll bring us a fan, because they don’t have air conditioning. I mean, I thought it was kind of a liability to have windows that open in a hotel, but honestly, it is pretty darn cold in Minnesota most of the year, and the 3 of us, all with at least master’s level degrees, probably could’ve figured that out.
The hotel was really pretty nice, but I hated the damn sleep number bed. It was like a waterbed! I didn’t get much sleep at all.
The staff were extraordinarily nice though.
Attached directly to the hotel are an Applebees with pretty good specials and a Starbucks. The bar in the hotel has kind of strange hours, but the happy hour specials are awesome and the prices over all are so wonderful, go midwestern cities!

I stay here all the time. Nice clean place and it is practically on campus. I like it just cause of that. I pay about $ 130 a night for a 2 queen bed room. There’s a small work out room downstairs and a little business room where you can print out your flight boarding passes.
There’s also an applebee’s and a starbucks conveniently attached to the building which is just lovely.

The Radisson University Hotel Minneapolis is located across Washington Street to the large University of Minnesota campus.
This is good, because if it is freaking sub-​zero cold and you need to get to the campus, and you are not a Gopher to burrow a tunnel underground, you can get over there before your breath freezes in front of you.
Radissons are mid level hotels and part of the larger Carlson network of hotels, which is HQ in MN and includes several other brands such as Regent Hotels, Park Plaza, Country Inn Suites and Park Inn.
This hotel is roughly comparable to an older, lower end Sheraton or Marriott without room service. The beds are not as comfy as those, because they have both upgraded their beds to higher comfort levels, and this Radisson has not. The internet only pay-​in-​advance rate was a reasonable $ 109, though. The room was average sized with average furniture and amenities.
Free WIFI in your room! They give you a code to pop into IBahn.
The bathroom was a little dated, and the shower knob fell off, while one corner of the grout was beginning to mold.
They have a lounge that serves booze and a smattering of food items, both snack like and more meal like. Service there is by the bartenders, so a bit spotty. Either becuase of the below Zero weather outside with the doors opening from the lobby bringing in the cold air, or maybe because the air circulation system, it was pretty cold in this lounge for me.
For breakfast, you have to go to the attached Appleby’s. To «feel good in the neighborhood», inside Appleby’s is all things University of Minnesota Gophers related in purple and gold pictures. I am not an Appleby’s fan in general. The breakfast selections are not like a Denny’s, but the service was friendly and attentive.
There aren’t a lot of hotel choices in this part of town, so this Radisson is Ok if you want to be near here. Otherwise, you can get a lot more choices downtown near the Nicollet Mall a few miles away.