Luxury Twin City Hotels
Great Accommodations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota
Here are four of the most outstanding hotels in the Twin Cities: The Graves 601 Hotel, The Grand Hotel, The Saint Paul Hotel, and The Marquette Hotel
The Twin Cities have this great small town vibe, but they also have a cosmopolitan side designed to satisfy luxury and business travelers. There's more to the Twin Cities than just pretty lakes, inexpensive neighborhood restaurants, and the Mall of America. Downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul offer outstanding cultural attractions such as theater, museums, restaurants, and shopping. Overnight visitors in search of a beautiful hotel have many options, and these are four of the most fabulous in town.
Graves 601 Hotel. ( 601 1st Avenue North, Minneapolis). Located in the center of downtown Minneapolis, this hip and extravagant new hotel brings New York style to the City of Lakes. Rooms begin at around $229 a night and come with amenities such as etched glass headboards on the beds, Egyptian cotton sheets, 15-inch bathroom TVs, and 42-inch plasma screen wall TVs. Guests can feast on the $60 tasting menu at the Cosmos Lounge ($98 with wine), which includes star anise glazed Berkshire pork, a duck confit wonton, and chocolate truffle cake with cassis sorbet. Later, they can dance at the sexy Infinity club. The hotel offers many deluxe packages, including the $5000 "First Night" package for newlyweds in the 2000-square foot Concert Suite.
Grand Hotel (615 2nd Avenue South, Minneapolis). While the Graves is all about new world chic, this 140-room hotel at the center of downtown Minneapolis is about Old World charm. Rooms start at around $199 a night and include marble bathrooms with sunken tubs and access to the exclusive 50,000-square foot Minneapolis Life Time Athletic Club. Celebrites and royal guests typically stay at the $3500-a-night Presidential Suite, which features a parlor with a grand piano and surround sound (Billy Joel loved this), four bedrooms, five bathrooms, a dining room that seats 10, a library, and a jacuzzi. Guests can dine at Martini BLU, which includes a sushi bar and entrees such as Moroccan cayenne salmon with quail pie for $25 and filet Wellington for $31.
The Saint Paul Hotel. (350 Market Street, St. Paul). In operation since 1910, this elegant St. Paul icon is surrounded by the most beautiful sights in downtown St. Paul, including the Mississippi River, Rice Park, the Ordway Theater, and the Science Museum of Minnesota . The 254 rooms start around $159 a night, and the sophisticated suites start around $359. Renovated in 2005, the hotel boasts that their bathrooms offer "Minnesota's finest shower experience." The hotel is home to another local icon, the St. Paul Grill, which was voted Best Restaurant by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine in 2006. Guests can dine on bourbon pork chops for $18.50, filet mignon in goose liver butter for $39.95, Australian lobster tail for $46.95, and a 16-layer chocolate cake for $9.95.
The Marquette Hotel (710 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis). The Marquette is all about urban sophistication. After a 13.5 million dollar renovation in 2004, the guest rooms at the Marquette now have oversized beds, 316-count Egyptian bed linens, and 8-foot crescent moon shaped work desks. Rooms start around $229 a night. For $359, guests can enjoy the 710-square-foot executive suites with jet tubs, access to the executive lounge, and some of the best views in the city. The Marquette is adjacent to the IDS Tower, the tallest building in Minneapolis, where guests can enjoy the stores and restaurants at the upscale Crystal Court. On the 50th floor of the IDS is Windows on Minnesota, which is owned and operated by the Marquette and hosts some of the most elegant wedding receptions in Minneapolis. Guests can enjoy the $25.95 Sunday brunch at Windows while gazing down at Minneapolis out 11-foot windows.
See also: Mall of America Hotels and Weird Minnesota Roadside Landmarks.
