Holiday Inn St. Paul Downtown

If you have a patient staying at the United Hospital in St. Paul they have a special discounted room rate for you. You have to get your own shuttle from Minneapolis — St. Paul International Airport to the hotel. (Don’t try to get on the Holiday Inn EXPRESS shuttle. That is a different location entirely.)
Because this hotel is kitty corner from the Xcel Energy Center, it will fill up with boisterous hockey fans when there’s a game in town. They have a special section of the hotel that is for hospital guests which means it’ll be quieter, if you need extra peace and quiet because you’re stressing out about your loved one in the hospital.
Parking is an extra charge. We didn’t bother to rent a car, and only took shuttles and cabs.
The mattress was very firm but somehow still very comfortable. They have a «pillow menu» but I didn’t even have time to look at it. I was fine with whatever was on the bed. Hubby and I had just enough room on the floor to do our Pilates workout video on my laptop.
The instructions for the wireless internet that were on the desk were misleading. You can connect to the public network without a password but then you have to use your web browser to enter the password that they’ll write on the little envelope for your room key.
The windows don’t open and if your room steams up because the bathroom doesn’t have a fan you’ll just have to run the heat/​air conditioner.
The ice machine on the sixth floor was not working but I took the stairs to the floor below and that one worked fine.
The hotel restaurant is a sports pub at night, but serves the usual breakfast fare by day.

I have never had a Unilocal Review as an absolute To-​Do on my list, but I had to do so for the Holiday Inn St. Paul Downtown as myself and my entire family (we had a wedding block reserved) found their customer service to be dismal to say the least. I have had to wait a week to write this review as I cannot believe the way that they treating my family and the repercussion that it had due to what I can only deem as an over-​flatted ego of the manager, Evan.
Let me be clear, I and seven other members of the wedding did NOT actually stay at the Holiday Inn hotel as they canceled are rooms without informing us two days prior to our stay. We have no record of the cancellation, but a record of an updated confirmation number that was received at the same time that the manager said was a cancellation. The manager Evan, said that the cancellation came via the internet, where, when we called Corporate, they said it may have been called in. We never cancelled. Since we didn’t know that our four rooms were cancelled until the day that we were to check in, we had to scramble and LEAVE everyone else at this horrid place for a new hotel. This was highly disruptive to the wedding as we had shuttles set up from the Holiday Inn so that no one had to drink and drive or worry about finding their way. When this was explained to the manager, he let us know it was out of their hands as they now have no rooms available for both the nights we need.
Leading up to the wedding weekend I had called the hotel to inquire about their cancellation policy and to see how likely we could get in to rooms before the 4 o’clock check in time. This call was met with contempt and I left with a feeling that the man I spoke to on the phone (I didn’t ask for a name at this point) had marked my file in some way as he could not have been less helpful on my inquiry or make me feel smaller for asking. This is December in MINNESOTA, we had guests driving to St. Paul from various areas and we wanted to ensure we could make cancellations on time if the weather did not cooperate. Regardless, someone in the hospitality business should not treat a customer in such a way.
I heard several other stories along the same line. I truly believe that the manager cancelled the rooms on us as he didn’t want to deal with our inquiries (normal inquiries may I add) and the fact that he knew we were already unhappy with him.
Do yourselves a favor and DO NOT stay here, especially if you have an important reason, like a wedding where many family and friends that you haven’t seen in many many years are coming to stay because the management of this hotel does not value their customers. I would ask that Evan and his close staff — of which we heard talking about the situation later that night (we still had guests there) at the front desk — reconsider the business that they are in because it does not seem to me that they particularly enjoy it and bring their personal frustrations out on people that are just trying to figure out how to have a winter wedding and smooth logistics for all.
We stayed at the Double Tree in St. Paul and they were a breath of fresh air. They were willing to answer any and every question — multiple times if necessary, and helped us with logistics even. Thank you Double Tree.

I stay in hotels 250+ nights a year. Diamond at Hilton, Platinum at Marriott. This hotel has the worst service I have ever encountered. No water available, anywhere. Machines were empty, front desk hotel staff told me to go F myself basically. They could not and would not help me.
NEVER STAY HERE!!!
If hotel would like to rectify this, call me. I tried calling front desk, customer service, 800 number, and NO BODY will speak to me as a live person. Transfers and recordings. And hang ups.
PATHETIC.
Stephen Nagy
239−989−9642

BEWARE of a Xcel Energy Events. If you are not attending events or are a light sleeper DO NOT GET A ROOM THAT FACES 7^th street. I am currently on the 6^th floor and its just past 10 pm on a Tuesday and it’s SO LOUD.
I think the rooms that face 7^th street are all odd numbered room.
Or just make sure you bring ear plugs. I’ve stayed here several times and this is the first and last time I will EVER take room that faces 7^th street.
The plus, if you are attending an event you couldn’t ask for a better location.

I’ve heard it before from visiting guests that MN tourism (specifically hotels) charges bigger city prices for St. Paul.
The bathrooms in the rooms could use an update and a fresh coat of paint. The bathroom I was in just looked kind of dingy and in need of a freshening and a good cleaning.
The rooms– very bare bones, but adequate. Plus was that they had a microwave and decent size fridge.
Nice that the Liffey is attached to the hotel.
Swimming pool was out of order.
Housekeeping pretty late in cleaning rooms.
The location is great in proximity to the hospital, restaurants, Xcel and Harriet Island.
The front entrance as far as dropping people off is kind of a pain trying to pull over on busy W.7^th in the two spots (if available) that are there. I did discover that I could pull through the small parking lot and drop people off at the other entrance that had bigger doors and more time to unload. The entrance set up is just sort of strange.
The front is inconvenient if you have a stroller, wheelchair or anything with wheels. There are only steps in the front. So you do have to walk around to get through on the flat entrance.
This hotel is alright. Kind of pricey for what you get.

I believe the best part of this hotel is the service. From the Front desk personnel to the restaurant they are about as good as it gets. I checked in the evening of June 11 and all the front desk people were friendly, helpful and big smiles… Great way to start.
Today, June 12, I had lunch at the hotel restaurant and without a doubt the waitress and others working the restaurant were the best. Hands down the waitress I had was the best. She was friendly, smart, funny all at the same time. She knew the menu, knew what was good, knew about the local history. Everything about her was fantastic. If there was someone that should be managing a restaurant it would be her. She should train every waitress in the Holiday Inn chain.
The service alone will bring me back to this hotel…

I like this place! Irish Bar attached to the Lobby, Good Parking… great restaurants in the area, right next to River Centre…

I really have torn feelings about this place. There are some good points, but also some things this hotel could definitely work on.
PROS :
— Very friendly staff: Cathy at the front desk was awesome, very helpful in checking us in, and very friendly. I wish all hotel clerks were like her. Even the dude who checked our car in the parking garage was super nice and helpful.
— Our room did have a fridge and a microwave, which came in handy.
— The room and the bathroom were very clean.
— We did not hear any of the noise following the concert the night we stayed here, even though the walls seemed surprisingly thin, I didn’t hear a peep after midnight and our room was literally next to the ice machine.
— Convenient location — it’s right across from the Xcel Center.
— They are located to some restaurants and bars, so if you want to go get a bite to eat, it’s very easy to walk there. Our car remained parked the entire time we were there.
— Swimming pool and whirlpool hot tub — not huge in size, but decent, and the area was clean.
CONS :
— My husband and I decided to take a nap when we arrived at the hotel. Halfway though our mid-​afternoon nap, I heard a man going down the hall, knocking on doors (Housekeeping? Not sure what he was saying). He must have had a master key pass, as I heard the door keys going off every time he knocked. (I should also mention that both my husband and myself thought the other one deadbolted the door — which we did not. It was still locked with the main key card lock though.) I am very glad we had the metal piece (replaces the old school chains) in place on the back of the door — he knocked, scanned his key, and opened the door. He didn’t even wait for a reply. Of course we both sat upright in bed and yelled that the room was occupied, but I was able to see his face peering in at us. I have a feeling he was management, looking for someone, or checking to see if the rooms had been cleaned. It was very odd and strange. I was upset after this happened, but we wrote it off to hospital staff and a miscommunication on their end. So — please make sure to utilize the deadbolt, too, as apparently you never know when someone is going to try and enter your room.
— We had to pay an additional $ 15.00 to park our car in their ramp. I understand they are right across from the venue — but why isn’t that already included in our bill? Most hotels include parking in the total package.
— Elevators are small. Not a huge deal on any other day, but when the majority of people are in town to see a show, that means there are a lot of people who are going to try and take the elevators afterwards. Honestly, it was a cluster. It’s really not much of a sticking point unless you take into consideration the placement of the stairwell. You have to walk outside the lobby, around the building and up in a creepy stairwell to get inside. The set up is weird. Normally it wouldn’t bother me, but it was COLD outside and to walk to the end of the block in 25 degree weather isn’t something I really look forward to doing.
— No continental breakfast.
— Although we couldn’t hear people inside, we could definitely hear people outside our windows (we were on the third floor, overlooking the garage /​drop off area). People go out to smoke, or were dropping off /​picking up, and you can easily hear them.
— When we checked in we received a nice ‘tip’ that there had been some break-​ins and other crimes in the area recently. We decided it was best to walk together and we also made sure everything was removed out of our car. That wasn’t really what I wanted to hear when we’re leaving our car in a parking garage overnight.
— As someone else mentioned in their review — there was no fan in the bathroom. It steams up pretty quickly in there, so having to shower and get ready after my husband kind of sucked without being able to see myself in the mirror to get ready!
— I’m pretty sure I woke up with some sore kidneys because of the bed. We got a king-​size bed, but it wasn’t very comfortable and it was very squeaky /​noisy.
All in all, we’ll probably stay here again, mainly because of the convenience factor. I would hope the hotel would take steps to avoid the issues I’ve listed above in the future. The price was right, and it was a place to lay our head for the night. Other than that, if we find a better place we’ll just go there from now on.

A group of co-​workers and I went to a conference and stayed at the Holiday Inn on 7^th st. during the week of 8−19−12 to 8−23−12. We got multiple rooms which happened to be on different floors. By the second day, all of us had gotten what we thought to be a rash. Once we got home, we looked it up online and found that we had bites very similar to bed bug bites. All of our «rashes» were in straight lines of usually 3 – 4 dots. It has been about a week and all of us still have problems. We stayed in rooms 412 and 508. Later, we searched for reviews about the hotel and found that someone had complained of bed bugs in room 308 in 2010. It does not look like they took care of the problem and that it is wide spread since multiple people on different floors had problems. I really hope none of us brought anything back.

Stayed at hotel recently for a Wild game. Great location for restaurants, bars and arena. You can walk to everything.
Rooms were very clean and recently updated. Service was great. Overall a great experience!

Its not great but it has all the necessities.
I stayed here for two nights. The location is very convenient to downtown St. Paul and River Center.
The room was on a smaller side, but well designed and everything was there, table, chair, TV, fridge, closet, extra space for things. Bathroom was alright too. Nothing fancy, but everything you need was there.
They give you many pillows (and you can choose between soft and firm) — a big plus for me, but their blanket was tiny and not very warm (I stayed there in July) but still, I like to be warm at night. The rooms are not very well insulated, but I asked for a quieter room and they gave me one with a less then desirable view of a parking lot, but it was reasonably quiet.
Check in and check out were painless and took 2 min. I also ordered room service, which was from the restaurant downstairs — the food was alright, but not memorable.
The housekeeping was nice, they made me animals out of the towels and left me a good luck note (I was there to take the bar exam).
If you are looking for something reasonably priced and centrally located, this hotel will do.

This is a perfectly decent, straightforward hotel if you’re looking for something that is reasonably priced, clean, relatively new and centrally located. (Right across from the Xcel Center in fact). I flew out to visit a friend and hit Grand Old Day in June and it was quite suitable.
The beds are comfortable, the staff is friendly, the haircare products are moderately upscale (The Body Shop)… and there is a decent Irish pub located right downstairs. Eagle Street Grille is also right across the street.
The only gripe was that there was no fridge in the room (we coulda used it to save some leftovers) and there was no fan in the bathroom. Also I live near San Francisco, so I’m used to it, but don’t be surprised that the hotel charges for parking. I can’t recall how much it was but there is a per day fee.
Bring earplugs, the walls are a bit thin — as others have mentioned. Especially since we were right next to the elevator. Aside from that I’d stay there again… it ain’t the Ritz but it’s fine.

This is a perfectly suitable hotel for downtown St. Paul. The hotel is clean. Room was typical. Maybe nothing special, but everything worked and was clean. The hotel doesn’t seem to be super old. Interaction with front desk was polite and painless. Would stay here again.
St. Paul is a little sad, but that’s not the hotel’s fault. At least right here you have the Liffey, Cossetta’s, Patrick McGovern’s, etc. If you’re the walking type, walk over to PazzaLuna on St. Peter, or walk up the hill toward the cathedral and go to W.A. Frost on Selby Avenue.
The service at the pub in the hotel, the Liffey, was outstanding. The food was perhaps «just pub food» but we ate and had drinks there a few times and were always happy.
Somebody else said «the rooms are tiny» but they look like typical hotel rooms to me. You may notice some noise if your room is situated right next to the elevator.
In all, would definitely stay here again.

Worst hotel experience I’ve had.
The rooms are TINY. They are not at all insulated, so you hear everything that’s going on next door and in the hallways. I got dirty towels after room service cleaned my room.
I stayed for 2 weeks here for training, so I got to know the hotel really well. Service was bad. They were rude. Dry cleaning service lost some of my trainee’s clothes. One trainee got her shoes thrown away by room service. Another trainee was bitten by bed bugs.
Needless to say, after our group stayed there, our company stopped sending trainees there.

Reception said they gave us ‘the best room in the house,’ which was apparently a view of the parking lot, and Cossetta’s parking lot. While this hotel is located conveniently in downtown Saint Paul (not that much to see anyway, you should go stay in Minneapolis if you want to walk to fun nightlife), that’s really about it. Our king bed room was mediocre at best, complete with bed, tv, fridge, coffeemaker, writing desk and bathroom –as most hotel rooms are. They told us guests had designated parking. They didn’t tell us they were going to charge us to park in the garage adjacent to the hotel. Booo.
I think the main positive side of this hotel is that it’s a few doors down from Cossetta’s, the tastiest little cafeteria-​style Italian eatery there ever was (in the Twin Cities).