I wanted to briefly mention that I once again stayed at the Ramada Mall of America hotel in Bloomington, MN (see map) next to the Mall of America a few days ago. It's getting to the point that Hilton, Marriott and Holiday Inn properties (the three chains I usually stay at, in that order) are becoming outrageously priced in the Twin Cities. Even though I don't belong to any Ramada club or frequent stayer program, the Ramada Mall of America is quickly becoming one of my more favorite hotels to stay in.
As I said in an earlier post, the Ramada Mall of America is the old Thunderbird Hotel that was situated across from the old Metropolitan Stadium, the former home of both the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. My first visit was nice - it was comfortable, the rooms were decorated tastefully and the experience was more than pleasant.
This visit, I was pleasantly surprised to find that they had suites starting at $96 dollars a night plus tax. Considering that most rooms at basic Hampton Inns in the area were starting at $124 a night, I thought this to be a great deal.
When I arrived, they sent me to the Comanche suite (the hotel specializes in Native American decor and artifacts) that was situated next to the circular area that houses their indoor pool. While the room was a little tired (a couple spots on the wall, some wallpaper peeling away in another spot), it was spacious.
No, it was more than spacious - you could have played five-on-five basketball in the room. In fact, it was probably too big.
There was a refrigerator and a microwave, a nice desk area, a very uncomfortable over-sized chair, and a very comfortable king-sized bed. The television and stand were a little awkward - the television sat on a stand near the center of the room, out away from the wall with a number of wires just hanging in between the TV and the wall. There was no swivel on top of the stand so you had to move the TV if you wanted to watch it from either the chair or the bed.
Even with some of the weirdness in the room, I still managed to get a great and restful night of sleep, something I don't do very well when I'm on the road. In fact, a severe thunderstorm came through during the night and I didn't even hear it.
For $96 a night, it was worth it. I like a room with a lot of space in it. It was quiet, comfortable and somewhat homey. Even with some of the tiredness shown in the room (and especially in the hallways around and near the room), for the money it was a great deal.
As an aside - I accidentally left a dress shirt in the closet. I called the hotel and they put me in touch with the person who takes care of lost and found. I've left items in hotels before and sometimes it's a pain in the ass to get them to send them back (plus having to pay for freight and handling charges). Steve, the guy who took care of me, said that he had the shirt and he'd put it in an big envelope and send it to me. At no charge and with no bitching.
Well, I guess this post wasn't all that brief after all. But I will say that the Ramada Mall of America will be my first choice from here on out when I travel to the Twin Cities.
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