John’s Jottings

The newest entry in the Minneapolis luxury hotel scene, Le Meridien Minneapolis, had its Grand Opening yesterday. I was able to get a peek at parts of it today during a meeting I attended there.

Unfortunately I didn’t get to see any of the rooms but they sound quite lavish - each room being furnished with an average of $30,000 worth of furnishings, including wall-mounted 42″ plasma televisions.

What I saw of the hotel was definitely “artsy.” All the employees I saw were all dressed in black, the furnishings are very sparse with strong lines, and the entrance is like none I’ve seen before - walking in from the front entrance you are greeted with…. nothing. Just an empty room with very little in it. Apparently the lobby is elsewhere - I never saw it.

With travel down and expense accounts trimmed I can’t imagine this is a good time to be opening a hotel like this but I wish them luck - it’s great to see the revitalization of that part of Minneapolis (right across from Target Center) and hopefully they thrive.