Directions & Parking
Here’s a map, in case you want to plot your own route or otherwise get the lay of the land.
Road Repair
Minnesotans often joke that we only have two seasons here: Winter and Road Repair. Be warned that there are all sorts of major construction projects going on in the Twin Cities right now so that you may run into detours or other weirdnesses– we really haven’t been able to try the different routes listed here. If concerned about the road situation near the hotel, you might contact them. The Minnesota Department of Transportation website should have the latest on bridge and road closures. Almost all of the routes listed below likely have lane closures at the very least, so if you want to know what to expect, a visit to the DoT site might be a Good Thing.
Other Road Closures
There have been closures of roads and even major highways due to flooding in parts of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. For the latest info on road closures, check out the Department of Transportation websites from each state: Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.
Here are the directions the hotel provides:
From the North:
Take 35 W South To I-494,
Go East On I-494 To 34th Ave Exit 1b,
Turn Right On 34th Ave
1 Block to American Blvd.
Turn Left – Hotel Entrance On Right.
From the South:
Take 35 W North To I-494,
Go East On I-494 To 34th Ave. Exit 1b,
Turn Right On 34th Avenue.
1 Block To American Blvd.
Turn Left – Hotel Entrance On Right.
From the East:
Follow I-494 West To 34th Ave. Exit 1b,
Turn Left On 34th Ave.,
Go 2 Blocks To American Blvd.
Turn Left – Hotel Entrance On Right
From the West:
Follow I-494 East To 34th Ave. Exit 1b,
Turn Right On 34th Ave.,
Go 1 Block to American Blvd. – Turn Left – Hotel Entrance On Right.
Alternate Routes
This is the route Laurel sometimes takes from Minneapolis:
35W south;
go east on 62/crosstown (exit 11B, it’s a left exit);
go south on 77 (a.k.a. Cedar Ave south);
exit on Lindau Lane / Killebrew drive;
exit on Killebrew Drive and then just take Killebrew past the Mall of America.
You’ll go through three stoplights by the Mall of America and then the road winds around a bit and will no longer be called Killebrew but East Old Shakopee Road. Eventually you’ll come to two traffic lights: the first is Appletree road (which can take you in the back way to the hotel), the second light is American Blvd, turn right on it and the Holiday Inn is the first right.
Other Routes
It’s possible to take American Blvd all the way over to the hotel from France Ave or Penn Ave or Lyndale Ave south of 494 rather than getting on the highway, should you want to avoid the highway.
Getting There by Bus and/or Light Rail
The hotel is 3 blocks from a light rail stop (Bloomington Central Station on the Hiawatha Line).
Seth Breidbart reports these directions for getting to the hotel from the Bloomington Central Station Light Rail stop:
Get off the train, walk back (assuming you’re coming from the downtown direction), turn left when the street ends. The hotel will be on your right, not necessarily visible so check the signs at driveways.
Free shuttles run regularly between the hotel and the airport; and between the hotel and the Mall of America. There are light rail stops at both the airport and Mall of America (those links are to pages with info about the light rail stops).
The 54 Bus will take you close to the hotel (on the map with the bus schedule you can see Appletree Square, which is where the hotel is).
Lots of bus routes have stops at the Mall of America, the Mall of America rail station page lists them. It should be easy enough to take one of those buses to the Mall and then take the hotel shuttle or transfer to the 54 bus or Light Rail.
Light Rail Issues This Weekend: The StarTribune reports that Light Rail service will be disrupted this weekend. Click on through for details.
Shuttles
(These times were current a few months ago, if you are at the hotel and can find out if these are still accurate, please get in touch.)
Shuttles leave the hotel at the top of each hour for the Mall of America between the hours of 10am and 10pm most days and 11am and 7pm on Sundays.
Shuttles leave for the airport every half hour, 24 hours a day.
If people are coming into the Humphrey terminal, they will need to call the hotel to be picked up at the shuttle area; the shuttle automatically picks up, I’m advised, at the older terminal, but not the newer one. If you’re coming in by AirTran (as I did), you’ll need to call. 952-854-9000.
Parking
There is a free parking ramp adjacent to the hotel. Most vehicles should fit into it unless they’re high profile. You should park in the hotel section of the ramp, we recommend parking on the top level as the door up there leads right into the hotel. If you’re staying at the hotel, you’ll probably want to temporarily park near the front door to check-in and unload.
Where’s the ramp?
If you’re approaching the hotel from American Blvd, you should see a sign directing you to the parking ramp (it’ll be on the left once you’ve gone under part of the hotel).
If you’re approaching the hotel the back way, from Appletree, the ramp will be on your right (and you probably won’t see a sign for it unless you’re looking at the ramp).
You’ll want to go to the top of the ramp to park, there’s a door to the hotel up there. You can also park in the Holiday Inn parking area that isn’t quite at the top, you’ll just have to take stairs up to the level that’s at the top of the ramp. There are handicapped parking spots near the door to the Holiday Inn at the top of the ramp.
Yes, the ramp can be confusing. Sometimes it seems easy and we’ve had no trouble getting where we want to go, other times we may have driven around in a few circles. Whoops. Just head up; there are signs and arrows to help.
Enter the hotel from the ramp and you’ll walk past the pool and find yourself near some meeting rooms– registration for Fourth Street will be at a table somewhere on this floor (the 2nd), this is also where the Programming Room and Dealer’s Room will be (watch for signs).
The elevators can take you up to 13 to the consuite or down to the first floor which is where you’ll find the front desk, hotel bar, gift shop, and restaurant.
If you’re entering the hotel from the ramp after 11pm and don’t have a room key, you may have to hit the intercom button to get someone at the front desk to open the door for you.
