We stayed there recently and you can clearly see there is potential in the facility, but that the current management doesn't have much interest in bringing that potential to the surface. Maintenance is clearly not a priority.

The room's ventilation system howled and whined 24-hours a day. The thermostat had been punished by a previous guest and no longer functioned. The bathroom was small and dark. The room was large, but dark. When they added the curved shower curtain rod there was clearly no effort made to disguise or cover the holes in the wall from the previous shower curtain rod.

The side doors don't open via key card despite having key card readers. Those readers haven't worked for so long that the signs taped to the doors announcing the fact have started to fade. As a result, other occupants of the hotel prop the side doors open, creating a security problem.

Most annoyingly, we discovered on our last morning there that the room's door didn't lock. When we brought this to the attention of the girl working the front desk, her responses were, in order:

"Well, maintenance doesn't work today."
"You're checking out in a few hours, aren't you?"
"I can give you ten percent off the room."

My wife was quite upset about this as she had stayed there for several days by herself before I joined her. Given the problems with people propping open the side doors, she felt that her personal security had been compromised and the girl working the front desk completely failed to empathize or acknowledge the problem. Giving us 10% off the room was almost an insult.

We didn't find any elevators and some rooms are a long walk from the front entrance.

The parking is free. The surface lot seems to be coming apart as there is plenty of loose asphalt around. The parking structure seems to be solid though there are good sized pits on all the exits where the tire puncture devices were removed and their holes never filled.

The breakfast is passable. The food is nothing special and served using plastic utensils on disposable plates and bowls. When they say it closes at 09:30, it closes at 09:30 and not a minute after, so don't be late.

There is one sports bar within walking distance. Como Park is a long walk away. Plan on driving to everything else (except the urgent care clinic that shares the building).

I've actually stayed at this hotel twice.... Once back in 2006 with a bunch of guys on a hockey trip. The hotel was perfect for us... cheap, clean, pool, good breakfast and just down the road from a bar that had a shuttle to the XCel Center.

My second trip I brought the girlfriend and two kids (9 and 3). They loved the train theme, and they were quick and helpful when it came to supplying us with a roll-away. The atrium area was a bit drafty and cold. The pool was okay - but they have a "NO CHILDREN" policy for the hot tub, even if supervised. That didn't go over too well with the kids.

We had some issues with the pay per view tv, and the girl at the front was less than helpful. After 1/2 hour of fighting with it, we gave up and got our money back.

My girlfriend also misplaced her cell phone while there, and it was turned in to the front desk. The girl decided to call every phone number in the contact list (roaming charges + out of country charges) trying to figure out who it belonged to. We weren't overly impressed with that.

The breakfast was excellent, one of the better continentals we've had in awhile.

This hotel was only a 15min drive to the Xcel Center and the Childrens Museum (worth a visit if you have little ones) as well. Bonus.

For the money, it was a decent hotel and I would probably stay there again.

When we checked into the hotel we were infomed that our room was one flight up and to the left. No elevator! No one to carry our bags.
When I asked about the pool the desk clerk wasn't sure if there was a pool.
i had looked at the hotel online and knew more about the place than the desk clerk!
When I got to my room the heat was on. It was August!
I called the fromt desk and said I needed a room with AC I was told that they would try to find one.
We went to my friends room to wait for them to tell me what room I would be going to and when they never called. We tried to call the front desk BUT my friends room phone was not connected!!
We had to call the front desk from a CELL PHONE!

aside from the above problems the place was UGLY!

My teen daughter and I stayed here while on a college visiting trip to nearby Macalester College. Overall, I'd have to say the hotel was probably better than what I'd expected of a Best Western -- decent room, relatively clean, mattresses were fine, and our evenings quiet. I will also echo other reviewers who praised the hotel's continental breakfast. It wasn't so much that the offerings were extraordinary -- although they were certainly better than the average "value" hotel's morning fare -- but rather, the amazingly persistent cleanliness of the whole breakfast set-up that the staff maintained throughout the morning. Nice touch.

One caveat: We did not have a rental car, having been told that the hotel was close enough to the college campus for walking. Had it not been very hot and humid during our stay, we might have considered walking the three or four miles back and forth -- but the route was not particularly pedestrian-friendly. I was surprised to find the hotel located in a kind of office-park setting which, to me, felt like it was out in the middle of an isolated light-industrial area. No restaurants within quick walking distance, etc. If that matters to you, be advised. Otherwise, my impression is that this hotel is perhaps a bit nicer than the average Best Western.