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Priceline Hotel: 4* Minneapolis - St. Paul (Bloomington West - Mall of America Area) Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington


Shoob
By Shoob,
in

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Hey guys,

One last trip before I really have to buckle down... and I need your help. I'll be stopping in Madison the night before, so I've posted about it in the appropriate section. But from Saturday night (check-in) to checking out on Tuesday, I plan to be in and around Minneapolis. I don't mind taking two separate hotels if need be (especially in order to get better rates), but it's obviously not ideal.

I know that most of what we want to do (activity-wise) is split between Minneapolis and St. Paul, so I would assume a hotel in one of those towns would be best. We plan on going to the Mall of America on Monday; I'm not sure how difficult it is to get around in this area, but I would think it's best to shoot for a hotel in Minnie-St.Paul rather than Bloomington. Any ideas, guys? This is another "first visit" for us, so we've not much of an idea.

Anyways... I'd like to go best star level for under $80 bidding. Is this a long shot at 4*? How about at 3.5*? I've already used your link (as usual), so strategy would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

-Shoob

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There are others much more local and familiar with this area than i am so i would wait for feedback to determine exactly which zones are best, but to further clarify... do you mean most of your time will be spend between Downtown Minneapolis and Downtown St. Paul? These two locations look fairly close to each other but the Mall of America is about 10 miles to the south.

PRICELINE EXPRESS has a 3.5* hotel in the Downtown zone for $69/nite with Restaurant, Fitness, Business... and using the discount code linked in my signature gives another 5% OFF bringing this down to $66/nite, so your budget for a 3.5* hotel should be quite do-able, assuming this is one of the zones that you decide upon.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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The Mall of America is one end of the light rail. It runs under the airport and to downtown Minneapolis. Inexpensive, quick and frequent. Hotels in the airport area usually run shuttles to both the mall and the airport. IKEA is in that area also. A hotel in either downtown Minneapolis or the airport area could serve for both, and the light rail sort of fun to ride.

I personally think Minneapolis a bit of a challenge to drive in, but nothing like other major cities. Saint Paul is tamer. But Bloomington is probably even easier than St. Paul. Good signage all over and most drivers willing to give one a break.

I'd think the check-in/check-out process when having two hotels would be less desirable than driving the 10-15 miles while staying in just one place.

Romelle

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Thank you both for the quick reply. You guys are awesome!

Okay, so the way it sounds, Romelle, if we're only planning on going to the Mall of America once on Monday, and then spending most of our time in the major cities on Sunday and Tuesday, we should just get a hotel in one of those cities, and not in Bloomington, correct? It seems to me like the best option will be to stay in Minneapolis (near Downtown)

I think it will help you guys if I tell you some of our plans... we're hoping to get into town on Saturday in the evening, around 7pm and have dinner/bowling at Bryant Lake Bowl. On Sunday morning, we we want to go to the Wabasha Caves in St. Paul for a tour in the morning, and eat lunch at "The Nook" in St. Paul. In case you're wondering... whenever I go on a trip, I find out what places to eat have been featured on TV... and go.

But after seeing the mansions there, we'll be done w/ St. Paul, and then most of the evening will be in Minneapolis. By the looks of it on Google maps, we'll be mostly in Minneapolis. At some point we'll be going to see the sculpture gardens, Minnehaha falls, the river, Lake Calhoun walk (can we rent bicycles to ride there?), etc.

Anyways, the only places I see with 4 star are Downtown Minneapolis and Bloomington West. I'm willing to drop to 3.5* to nail the price range I said in the previous post, but the number of rebid zones drops. So any help with strategy (especially because of how big this place is) would be VERY helpful!!!

-Shoob

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I think I'd stay where I liked the hotel features and found a good deal within my budget. From that Bryant Lake Bowl to the Bloomington area is only about 15 minutes. While the distance is less to downtown Mpls, the traffic could be more of an issue and the time won't be significantly less.

You'll probably have to pay for parking downtown in either city. I only looked up one, the Crowne Plaza in Saint Paul - $17, but I'd guess others will be similar. It might be free in Bloomington.

The choice of locations will come down more to personal preferences on various side issues. If you like staying downtown, by all means. But you can move from Bloomington to either city quite easily.

Do take a look at the Hotwire offers. The hotels seem to have good review scores. Some offer free parking and/or free breakfast.

On foot, I'd stay in one of the downtowns and use public transport. With a car, I'd probably choose to be out a bit - like Bloomington.

Romelle

PS - I can't answer the bike rental question from personal experience. I see bike rental places on the web, but I'd suggest doing some careful research ahead of time. With winter coming on, they seem to be limiting their days and hours.

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If you want to stay with only Downtown Minneapolis, at the 4* level you have SEVENTEEN re-bid zones... at the 3.5* level you have EIGHT re0-bid zones. If you're not familiar with re-bidding please read Priceline Re-Bidding Explained and feel free to ask questions and/or confirm your re-bid zones with the board before proceeding.

Select 4* Downtown Minneapolis...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $53, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80

If the above is rejected and you want to try for a 3.5*, close the previous browser and once again use this link on the board to access PRICELINE...

Select 3.5* Downtown Minneapolis...

Bid $45, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $48, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $53, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65

If the above is rejected you can take the PRICELINE EXPRESS property (Restaurant, Business Center, Fitness Center) for $69 less the 5% discount link in my signature bringing the room rate to $66/nite.

Any questions let us know.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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I think I'd stay where I liked the hotel features and found a good deal within my budget. From that Bryant Lake Bowl to the Bloomington area is only about 15 minutes. While the distance is less to downtown Mpls, the traffic could be more of an issue and the time won't be significantly less.

You'll probably have to pay for parking downtown in either city. I only looked up one, the Crowne Plaza in Saint Paul - $17, but I'd guess others will be similar. It might be free in Bloomington.

The choice of locations will come down more to personal preferences on various side issues. If you like staying downtown, by all means. But you can move from Bloomington to either city quite easily.

Do take a look at the Hotwire offers. The hotels seem to have good review scores. Some offer free parking and/or free breakfast.

On foot, I'd stay in one of the downtowns and use public transport. With a car, I'd probably choose to be out a bit - like Bloomington.

Romelle

PS - I can't answer the bike rental question from personal experience. I see bike rental places on the web, but I'd suggest doing some careful research ahead of time. With winter coming on, they seem to be limiting their days and hours.

Thank you Romelle (and Thereuare). This helps. I think I'll try downtown first... especially if there are places to just get out and walk around and experience at night (are there???).

You guys have been seriously awesome... I'll keep you all updated!

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As i don't have any local knowledge here, go to our sister site MAPS and HOTELS.com and search for Minneapolis, MN and click each hotel in the center of what would be PRICELINE's Downtown zone (or search by an address of a hotel that you know is in the center of the zone).

Click the marker for any centrally located hotel and at the bottom of the infowindow is a link to "SEE NEARBY Restaurants, Coffee, Bars, etc." This will show you what is in the immediate area listed by category (Restaurants, Coffee, Parks, Entertainment, etc)

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Thanks for that info. By the way, it looks like there is a 4* in downtown right now for $63 on Express Deals. Should I revise the bidding strategy? If so, how? I have a feeling that the hotel that is available is the Hyatt Regency, which people like, but comes with no extras (like parking, internet, etc.).

My last option will be to find a hotel near the mall as suggested earlier. I'll keep my eye on this thread to make sure I keep updated. I'm also studying for a final while doing this... tough!

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If you want to revise the 4* bidding you can do so as follows:

Select 4* Downtown Minneapolis...

Bid $40, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $42, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $44, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $46, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $48, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $52, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $54, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $56, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $62

Let us know how you decide to proceed and how it goes.

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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This might annoy you guys... but after looking at all the places we have to go, my wife wants to try in Bloomington.

Now... I don't know if I can get an expedited response (it's almost 12am... i.e. 10/30 deadline for the 5% off is almost here)... but we see a 3.5* @ $71 in Bloomington West. Could we shoot for a 4* at all in that area? Some of their 4* hotels look amazing and have great reviews. Let me know as soon as you can! Thanks!

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I assume you are referring to the Bloomington West-Mall of America zone? If so, what is your maximum bid for a 4* hotel in this area? Is Downtownn still acceptable as well (so we can combine the bidding) or you want to bid the Bloomington West-MofA zone on its own?

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Yes, that's the zone I'm referring to... it's close enough to the Mall, and about a 15-20 minute drive to/from Downtown; free parking at most places. As for the max bid... that's tough to say, but I've seen someone win at $60 at the Hilton there (probably an anomaly, right?), but I've seen some others win up around $80 recently. So maybe keep the max at $80? Is that reasonable for that area? And, let's try the Bloomington on its own.

If that's not a reasonable way to go, I'll drop down star level given that there is one available in Express deals @ $71.

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You can use the original 4* strategy above but change the zone:

Select 4* Bloomington West - MofA...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $53, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $73, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $75, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $78, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $80

Thanks for using the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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If you want to bid 3.5* you can use $70 as your maximum bid and try:

Select 3.5* Bloomington West - MofA...

Bid $50, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $53, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $55, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $58, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $60, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $63, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $65, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $68, if rejected add re-bid zone...

Bid $70

You could also try 4* and 3.5* with both Bloomington West and the Downtown zones, should Downtown still be acceptable.

Please use the PRICELINE and HOTWIRE links on the board to begin your travel purchases.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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Thanks! Yea, I'll go ahead and try for it again today... last shot at it, I suppose. Just disappointed that $86 wasn't enough for the 4* there. The 3.5 stars in that area are mostly good, but still some variability. We just want a real decent place to stay (given that this will be our last leisure trip for a long while!).

I think it'll probably be most wise to stick to the Bloomington area to avoid parking issues in downtown (a lot of the guests at some of those hotels were complaining a lot about the parking).

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Thereuare, I was about to start bidding with your plan for the 3.5*. The $71 offer is still there. But before I started that... I said, "heck, why not just try again for a 4* since the 3.5* is still available". I couldn't figure out what to bid, but seeing that I went all the way up to $86 yesterday, using up all my rebids, I was about to start way high (because I was going to only bid once or twice), but rethought it, and started with $60.

Well... turns out, the price was right! $60/night got us 3 nights at the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington! I'm glad I waited it out till now! I probably could have used the exact same strategy as yesterday (starting at $50), but obviously, this is nothing to complain about!

Thanks again for your patience, guys, and for all the help!!

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Congratulations on your success!

Glad to see the price came down to within your budget (and even less than your previously failed bids) and that you're thrilled with the outcome.

Thank you for sharing your win and using the PRICELINE links on the board to begin your bidding.

Enjoy this leg of your stay.

Please use this HOTWIRE and these PRICELINE LINKS: HOTELS, CAR RENTALS, and AIRFARE to begin your travel purchases

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  • 4 weeks later...

Shoob,

If you've got a couple minutes some time in your busy schedule, maybe you'd post a review of the Hilton? There is a Hotel Reviews area clear at the end of this site. Currently there is only one review for the hotel, dated 2005. I'm thinking other members would appreciate something more current.

Any scraps of info can be useful - parking ease, location, bed softness/hardness, cleanliness, treatment by front desk, room size, how the shower works, .... ??

I'm glad you were successful - and such a nice price for such a nice hotel.

Romelle

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You got it Romelle! I certainly will in just a couple days. I'll tell you this much, though... the hotel was everything you'd expect from a 4 star property. And Minneapolis was a truly pleasant vacation. We loved it... It went by way too quickly, but the place has tons of just nice people, great eats, scenic beauty, tons of art, etc. You'll see a review in a bit. thanks for all the help... to you and Thereuare!

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