Embassy Suites (Plymouth Building) - 12 6th Street S

[nickmgray]

While they may be shooting for five start, there are no Conrad hotels in the world with a five star rating. I worked at the Grand Hotel for five years and it's hard enough trying to keep a four star four diamond rating. To get a five star rating, the hotel is judged on over 500 specific criteria and must offer a select number of services like 24 hour room service, valet, bell service, housekeeping and much more.

They can try, but I doubt they will get more than a 4 star four diamond rating.

The notion that a hotel like this would pull people into downtown who would typically stay my MOA is a bit far fetched. People staying by MOA are opting for 2 star hotels, paying for rooms that are less than $100 a night. The majority of those people wouldn't perk up if they heard that there was a 4 or 5 star hotel in downtown Minneapolis that will charge them $250 for a room on a weekend night.

[Tyler]

AAA is not the authority of what a "5 star" hotel is -- they don't even call it such. But I agree that the Conrad is unlikely to get that designation regardless (Forbes/Expedia/Trip Advisor/ etc.)

[Wedgeguy]

They can take a page from the Foshey renovation where Key's stayed put and they added Manny's to have their high end restaurant. Here they can keep Lyon's Pub which does great business and is around the corner from the front entrance of the Hotel. Walking by you would not know that they are part of the same building. They can add their own high end restaurant if they want one in part of the old PHAM space!

[nickmgray]

AAA is not the authority of what a "5 star" hotel is -- they don't even call it such. But I agree that the Conrad is unlikely to get that designation regardless (Forbes/Expedia/Trip Advisor/ etc.)

Correct. AAA grants diamond ratings and Forbes (Forbes purchased the star rating system from Mobil a few years back) grants star ratings. While travel booking websites like Expedia and Trip Advisor have rating systems with input from users, Forbes and AAA regularly send undercover agents which document and score the hotels on every service and amenity that is offered over a multi-day visit to the property.

This is why many hotels do not have official star or diamond ratings. AAA and Forbes are very thorough with the work that they do. AAA and Forbes rate on a slightly different scale so it's not uncommon for a hotel to have a 3 star rating and a four diamond rating at the same time. Many times, it's the staff who make the difference in rating and not the property itself. Honestly, that's what keeps a lot of hotels from getting that elusive five star/diamond rating.

I'm not saying it's impossible for the Conrad to get a 5 star/diamond rating - it's just a long shot.

[Chauncey87]

From the article

"The Plymouth Building at the corner of 6th Street and Hennepin Avenue downtown will be converted from commercial office space into a five-star Conrad Hotel.

According to documents submitted to the city, the new hotel will have 264 rooms and a new restaurant/bar at ground level. There will be a 3,300-square-foot addition to the 3rd floor and some minor signage added, but otherwise the 13-story building’s façade will remain untouched. Lyon’s Pub will remain open at the ground floor of the building while the renovation takes place."

This will be a five-star hotel. The five-star label takes an incredible amount of labor and effort. A hotel with that kind of rating is not just something a developer will say on a whim. They know everything and have ran the numbers long before they made the news public. That being said when Heartland Realty Investors finishes the purchase. A lot of egg will be on a lot of faces if this turns out of be anything but a five-star hotel. Nobody likes egg on there own face.

[mnmike]

Actually... A number of downtown hotels were planned as 5 star but didn't make the cut. The original Le Meriden(now Loews) and The Ivy are two I can think of off the top of my head.

[nickmgray]

Actually... A number of downtown hotels were planned as 5 star but didn't make the cut. The original Le Meriden(now Loews) and The Ivy are two I can think of off the top of my head.

I worked the opening of Le Meridien and my old manager from The Grand Hotel was front office manager at The Ivy for the hotel opening. Both hotels had aspirations of being 5 star properties, but neither lived up the the expectation. Keep in mind - star ratings is a moving target. You can have a 5 stat hotel in 2013 and be demoted the next year.

For 99% of the guests who stay at hotels, the official star and diamond rating isn't really important since that information is rarely advertised on travel websites. Regardless of the final rating, The Conrad Hotel will be great for the city's hotel brand diversification. However, a know a few people in the industry who are not so happy since the Conrad's location and the brand reputation will help them secure contracts for music groups and sports teams which typically stay at the Marquette and Grand Hotel.

[mnmike]

I too have worked in hotels...for the past 14 years...

All of the new brands we have seen come to the market, upscale brands, in the past decade have really upped the ante for the hotel market downtown. It's given us, what I have heard a lot of brand managers refer to as, one of the best inventories in a downtown in the US. Pretty much every hotel is fairly freshly renovated.

[nickmgray]

This is why the Minneapolis hotel market continues to thrive. There are a few people who think that Minneapolis would benefit from a large convention hotel with 1,000+ rooms, but it's hotel project like this which actually add value to the market. Occupancy rates are reaching new highs, but those numbers are directly connected to business travel. It's ridiculous how much Target, US Bank and Wells Fargo have an influence on restaurant and hotel business in downtown.

[Wedgeguy]

I was a bit shocked to see that the Hotel entrance would be on 6th St right next to the Lyon Pub and is under the skyway. I hope that the Lyon Pub will be allowed to stay as it is kind of an institution for many downtown, like Murray's. I don't think that I have ever entered the Plymouth building on the ground floor. Always at skyway and just walking thru. It will be interesting to see how they work in the lobby and skyway connections. Making them work together should be very interesting.

[twincitizen]

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... fices.html

15 & 25 S 5th Street are involved in the sale as well. Still no word on the surface parking lot itself.

[John]

http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/b ... fices.html

15 & 25 S 5th Street are involved in the sale as well. Still no word on the surface parking lot itself.

The 25-33 S 5th building has nice potential for future infill development.

[MNdible]

Any infill on that site will either need to have significant setbacks from the 15 South 5th Street building, or neither of those buildings will have the kinds of windows that are needed to make it decent habitable space.

[John]

Any infill on that site will either need to have significant setbacks from the 15 South 5th Street building, or neither of those buildings will have the kinds of windows that are needed to make it decent habitable space.

Maybe, but there are configurations that could happen here as far as infill. I was thinking of something smaller scale. We will see.

[seanrichardryan]

One of those old fashion 'Lshaped' buildings would work quite well there.

[MNdible]

We're not very good at building those anymore, unfortunately.

[Wedgeguy]

Thought I would take a look in the Plymouth Building today and check out its layout. But both the lobby and skyways are closed and you need an appointment to get inside. At this point if looks like there might still be a law firm in there. but it might have been an old sign. This will be an interesting project!

[Silophant]

The parking garage was closed as I walked by this morning. I wonder what the plan is for that part of the building. Does it stay parking, or get renovated into back of house functions?

[mattaudio]

Is Lyons still open? I hope it stays.

[twinkess]

Is Lyons still open? I hope it stays.

The articles I've read on this say that it will remain open during construction (although they don't say anything about after construction lol)