InterContinental Hotel St. Paul

[mulad]

I'm not sure if the interior will change much, but here's a shot of the Crowne Plaza renovation. This is mostly noteworthy to me because they've closed the sidewalk (grumble grumble).


img_8307-edit by Mulad, on Flickr

[at40man]

Well, Crowne Plaza (business traveler hotel) to Intercontinental (luxury hotel) is a pretty big upgrade. I stayed at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre a couple months ago, and they spared no expense in furnishings.

[at40man]

I don't get to this part of downtown often so I haven't been able to check the progress. However, I was curious about if there are any targetted dates for when this may be finished? I haven't seen any news since this project was announced. However, people on TripAdvisor say they are loving the newly renovated rooms -- or hating the old rooms. I hope they address the odd floor slopes between the conference area and skyway. It always felt like they retrofitted the hallway into an existing parking ramp back in the 70s, complete with flickering fluorescent boob lights.

It's pretty exciting to see another high-end luxury hotel take root in downtown St Paul!

PS: Should we change the name of this thread to "Intercontinental Hotel - St Paul" since its days of the Crowne Plaza are numbered?

[mplsjaromir]

What's the other high end hotel in St. Paul? And don't say The Saint Paul Hotel. That place is not no where near luxury.

[Wedgeguy]

What's the other high end hotel in St. Paul? And don't say The Saint Paul Hotel. That place is not no where near luxury.

Like it or not, that is the other one. They are due for a remodel soon I hope. The last one was in the late 80's or early 90's ,unless they did one that I missed. But the last time I was in there it look pretty much like when I lived in St. Paul and that was over 15 years ago.

I think they got their mileage out of that look and should have been fully amortized awhile ago. If they are going to compete with the Intercontinental they will have to up their game. Part of their draw is it is on Rice Park near all the amenities. It is a century old hotel with a great history. But they have not had real competition until the IC. Will be interesting to see if they schedule a remodel for this fall/winter when occupancy is at it's lowest.

[mplsjaromir]

I was just so underwhelmed by the place when I stayed there recently. The lobby is old-school but is very worn out. The biggest problem there is the service. Maybe because they are the only game in town they don't care.

Anyway, great news for Saint Paul on getting a great hotel brand.

[Wedgeguy]

I was just so underwhelmed by the place when I stayed there recently. The lobby is old-school but is very worn out. The biggest problem there is the service. Maybe because they are the only game in town they don't care.

Anyway, great news for Saint Paul on getting a great hotel brand.

Have no idea about the service, but yes at this point they have been the only game in town. But if I was the St. Paul's management, I'd be somewhat worried. You are correct in that the hotel had the look of OLD SCHOOL, historic. So you will not be seeing a thoroughly modern redesign in the future. But I have to imagine that the rooms are not up to current standards, flat screen, internet connections, Etc. Why I think we will see an extensive makeover of this hotel in the near future. It will still have the OLD SCHOOL vibe in the common areas, but they can bring the amenities up to the current standards. When you have a historic property you can only do so much. But they sure can upgrade it beyond where it is right now.

Will try next week to get to St. Paul and take a look around and see how things are progressing with the IC. Sorry no camera to take pics. But I'll see what things are like in the DT hotels. Curious if the Embassy Suites is still stuck in the 70's or if they have be remodeled since it was built!

[at40man]

What's the other high end hotel in St. Paul? And don't say The Saint Paul Hotel. That place is not no where near luxury.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review ... esota.html

Comparing the Saint Paul Hotel to luxury hotels in Minneapolis, it falls just 2 percentage points short of The Marquette (#1) and 2 percentage points above the Grand Hotel (#2) -- if TripAdvisor rankings are to be trusted.

If the Intercontinental I stayed at in Toronto is any indication of hotel quality, this "new" Intercontinental is about to blow all of these hotels out of the water.

[David Greene]

We stayed at the Intercontinental in San Francisco a few years back and it was outstanding. Very glad to see it coming here!

[lorwest]

The Intercontinental in Milwaukee is getting fairly shabby.

[nickmgray]

What's the other high end hotel in St. Paul? And don't say The Saint Paul Hotel. That place is not no where near luxury.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review ... esota.html

Comparing the Saint Paul Hotel to luxury hotels in Minneapolis, it falls just 2 percentage points short of The Marquette (#1) and 2 percentage points above the Grand Hotel (#2) -- if TripAdvisor rankings are to be trusted.

If the Intercontinental I stayed at in Toronto is any indication of hotel quality, this "new" Intercontinental is about to blow all of these hotels out of the water.

I typically don't trust TripAdvisor reviews for business hotels since the people who leave TripAdvisor reviews are not the typical guest of these types of properties. When I worked at the Grand Hotel, we would get the weekend TripAdvisor guests who are looking for a bargain. They actually complained about things ten times more. They are always astonished that there was no free breakfast for shuttle service, things that are standard for airport hotels which have rooms at half the cost.

[at40man]

I took a stroll through today. Lobby is all ripped up, the common areas are all looking rather tired. My guess is they are focusing on the rooms. I wonder what the progress is of this renovation...


Of note: the entire pool area was walled off. Not sure if the pool is going away altogether, or if it is just walled off for construction.

[Wedgeguy]

I took a stroll through today. Lobby is all ripped up, the common areas are all looking rather tired. My guess is they are focusing on the rooms. I wonder what the progress is of this renovation...


Of note: the entire pool area was walled off. Not sure if the pool is going away altogether, or if it is just walled off for construction.

Walked through the skyway to get to the IC. They must be working on the rooms and the lobby is about 70% finished, but is starting to look the part. The common area out side the meeting rooms look like it has yet to be touched. The 2 levels about the Lobby have yet to be touched and really need some work badly. To be an IC they have along ways to go before they have that cache'.

[at40man]

I took a walk through last week. I wouldn't say the lobby is 70% compete, though -- the previous decor was very nice so it probably didn't look outdated or too worn when you walked through. But they have been putting up new wall treatments and it appears they are getting ready to install the new ceiling.

The "Garden Court" (which has no plants whatsoever) has received new carpets. I wonder what they will do with those sliding glass doors that open up to it -- are those guest rooms or something else?

It is shaping up, but there is still much work to be done to bring this hotel up to Intercontinental standards.

On a side note -- I recently stayed at yet another Intercontinental in Beverly Hills last month. I continue to be impressed by the quality of this brand!

[Wedgeguy]

I took a walk through last week. I wouldn't say the lobby is 70% compete, though -- the previous decor was very nice so it probably didn't look outdated or too worn when you walked through. But they have been putting up new wall treatments and it appears they are getting ready to install the new ceiling.

The "Garden Court" (which has no plants whatsoever) has received new carpets. I wonder what they will do with those sliding glass doors that open up to it -- are those guest rooms or something else?

It is shaping up, but there is still much work to be done to bring this hotel up to Intercontinental standards.

On a side note -- I recently stayed at yet another Intercontinental in Beverly Hills last month. I continue to be impressed by the quality of this brand!

Does not sound like this project is moving very fast. Unless they are working on refurbing the rooms. They seem to be about where they were when I walked thru in September. The Garden Court will need a major upgrade to match the InterContinental's standards. Even if that was new carpet the whole area seemed like it was way below a quality standard. Sorry but the 70's is showing thru in abundance.

[at40man]

Took another walk through this weekend. Not much new to report. The new ceiling is installed and many of the recessed euro-style light fixtures.

The new floor was being installed -- shiny, slate gray, and very modern. I think it will be more cohesive with the modernist exterior of the hotel. Interestingly enough, under the old (and now new!) flooring appears to be a terrazzo floor with a sparkly gold.

[at40man]

Sounds like the Intercontinental is getting a new restaurant! http://www.twincities.com/restaurants/c ... restaurant



I also found out that the pool will not be coming back. Very odd for a luxury hotel to not have a swimming pool -- it's actually one of the first things I look for!

[Wedgeguy]

I was somewhat disappointed in the upgrade so far of the Intercontinental. Not sure if they have that much more to do, but I was disappointed in the lobby and the exterior of the tower still look like they are 40+ years old. Have not seen the interior of the rooms so that is where the real reason to stay will come thru.

[at40man]

I was somewhat disappointed in the upgrade so far of the Intercontinental. Not sure if they have that much more to do, but I was disappointed in the lobby and the exterior of the tower still look like they are 40+ years old. Have not seen the interior of the rooms so that is where the real reason to stay will come thru.

I think the tower itself looks fine to me. The base, though, could use some work. I noticed the Intercontinental signage was up on the outside, just covered with tarps.

As far as the lobby is concerned, I'm not sure what you mean? The lobby was completely gutted and everything is brand new. The area behind the front desk has some funky 60s-ish wallpaper, but that was done on purpose; when renovating the hotel the management said they were going for "Don Draper with an iPhone" and I think they succeeded. Overall I'd say the lobby is up to the standards I'd expect of an Intercontinental: fresh, modern, and slightly edgy.

[Wedgeguy]

I know they gutted a good portion of the building, that is why I'm so down on what I've seen so far. Maybe when they are totally finished it will gel better for me. Right now the lobby and the common area at the top of the escalators seem to be mismatched at best for what ever that big space is used for. Can anyone tell me is there a parking garage built at the back of the hotel? Almost looks like it, but I'm not 100% there is one. That podium section leaves a lot to be desired for looks. Looks very out of date. Maybe the fact I did not watch many Mad Men episodes is why I don't get the interior. Will see how long that lobby design is around before the next update??