I stay at University Inn on a fairly routine basis in the fall. The negative review on tripadvisor was NOT for UI but for the University Hotel, the former Ramada Inn close to TCF. This is a no-frills, clean, great value with free parking in Dinkytown.

This hotel, very near the U of MN/Minneapolis campus is a fine hotel if you don't need amenities. I mean there is no in-room wifi, the TV remote control didn't work well, and the channels are limited, and the front doors lock at 6pm. But it also has a full kitchen (full sized refrigerator, cooktop, dishes, etc). It also has a built in hair dryer. There IS wifi in the lounge. And the room was spacious. The room walls are partly concrete (nicely painted) and that interferes with in-room wifi. The price is far less than area hotels. So overall - this is a nice place for the price. Note it is next to fraternities and sororities (not known for quiet nights). We heard some noise in the early evening (8pm) but none after 9pm. I'm not sure if we were just lucky. I doubt there was a pool and there was no restaurant (some starches were available for breakfast).

I was searching for a good place to stay in Minneapolis and found all the "usual" hotels booked for the week of my visit. Read about this place and took a chance out of desperation. Instead of paying 200 a night for a named hotel, I paid 67 dollars. They only have rooms with 1 queen bed, so keep this in mind. For the price, I got a VERY comfortable bed, microwave, full size fridge, stove, pots and dishes, and the usual iron and board etc. (When I checked in, the ironing board was broken, but five minutes later it was also replaced, with a smile and apology.) The owner lives on site and security in fantastic. If you're visiting the University of Minn, this is perfect for either east or west campus. Dinky Town, the restaurant outside the campus, is a mile away. Don't throw your money away for a ROOM at a big name hotel, get a small appartment for less. For this price, if you need more room, get TWO rooms. You'll still save money and be more comfortable. I'll be going back next year. No pool or dining.

I had business downtown and needed a hotel for a week at the last minute, and the University Inn was an amazingly lucky find. Very affordable, especially considering I booked less than 12 hours before I checked in. It's literally feet away from the 35W on-ramps for North and Southbound. Just go south to go over the bridge and you're on Washington Ave. headed downtown.

The hotel seems to have been recently renovated - the hallways were clean and the room was well laid out. A nice big space, half was for the bed, desk, armchair and half for the kitchen and bathroom. The bathroom was big and clean, what more can you ask? The kitchen featured a full-size fridge, a little sink, 2-burner electric range, microwave and toaster. Plus two full settings of dishes, silverware, pots and pans and a drying rack. Even ice cube trays in the freezer - in short everything I needed for my impromptu week stay.

One nice surprise for me was how soft the towels were. I know it seems like a small thing but I get to sick of scratchy hotel towels, don't you? Staff were friendly and helpful, and the room had a binder full of great info about the neighborhood and such that was really useful to me.

The first two nights were very quiet, after that a big busload of tourists showed up and I found out that the plumbing for the room upstairs made kind of a lot of noise in my room, so that was not as nice, but really no big deal.