Hotel Class: 
3 Stars - 109 Opinions
2300 East American Blvd, I-494 & 24th Avenue, Bloomington, Minnesota, 55425, United States
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109 Opinions
I stayed at the Thunderbird Ramada Inn after attending a wedding in the Bloomington area. The experience was not a pleasant one. The noise in the hotel is horrible. You can hear each time a room door is opened/closed in the adjoining rooms. For some reason, the wooden doors seem to slam shut, causing even more noise.
The location is convenient for the Mall of America and the airport, but that's about all it has going for it. The decor theme is absolutely hideous.
The hotel used to be better. I've stayed there before flights and used the shuttle service. But the last time my friends and I both had a long wait for the shuttle. When coming to the hotel from the airport my friend waited 1 1/2 for the shuttle and each time she called the hotel the front desk said the shuttle was on it's way. A similiar thing happened to me on the way back.
It is nice to have the lounge and a big pool area. the rooms are dated and seem a little dirty. I don't think I'll be staying there again. Like I said the service used to be good, but not anymore.
Stayed for the last time! NO service when we got there. The clerk was on HER phone to God only knows! Handed us papers to sign no words are spoken (to us). Left on the shuttle again no words spoken. Arrived 3 days later, Never saw the shuttle again. We called 4 times in 1 hour, ever time the shuttle was on it's way. "You should see it in less than one minute". never saw it. Took a cab 5 min. ride.$20.00. The shuttle was in the lot it had never left. NEVER AGAIN! We quit...So will others in our group.
Nasty, old, dumpy, dirty. Clerk was not bright, she wore a "trainee" badge and the person supposed to be helping her was talking on the phone. Large group of NWA employees and bumped passengers arrived all at once and he didn't bother to hang up. What else can I say? Never again.
In planning our annual International Conference, we contacted the Ramada Thunderbird (located beside the Mall of America). We had the following exchange with their Director of Sales and Marketing.
Feb 10th - the Ramada requested we sign an agreement contract... then they neglected to attach the contract and the lunch menu to their email.
Feb 13th - the contract is emailed (with the word "Whoops!" in the message) for signature.
Feb 27th - we sent an email requesting lunch menu information and assist in weekend menu selection and setup. No response.
Mar 1st - we re-sent our request.
Mar 2nd - email received, "I have attached the lunch menu. I could have sworn I sent it before."
Mar 2nd - we repeated our request for assist in menu selection and setup.
Mar 16th - we repeated our request for menu setup suggestions, and included a draft setup which we had prepared from their menu samples.
Mar 19th - we requested a response to our email.
Mar 20th - received an email from Ramada, stating, "I believe it would be better if you chose another hotel. I do not think we are the right fit. Good luck."
More than FIVE planning weeks... wasted. We would highly discourage any group from including Ramada Thunderbird when planning a group event.
I am going to be a bit biased because I have family members that work here, but overall it is a nice place to stay that is really conveiently located. Its proximity to the mall and airport, as well as the Mall shuttle service to the casinos nearby are all nice pluses, probably the main selling point of this place. However by looking at the interior you can tell that this was the place to be 30 years ago, as they have not done much upgrading.The rooms are old and more dingy looking, but the Indian themes give it a unique touch. I like the ambience of the lounge and the gameroom with the pool tables and darts behind it. Lobby has free high speed internet, allthough the rooms have yet to include it, as well as the rooms having a lack of cable channels (your basic HBO, ESPN, and the local channels, thats about it) Rooms and amenities could use some upgrading but overall a good place to stay with the BEST service staff in the business! If you are looking for a cleaner, more modern place to stay at a budget price, this probably isnt the place, however this location does have some features that those dont, such as free shuttle service, as well as the onsite resturants, bar, and plenty of meeting space.
I stayed here years ago and have found the changes to the property to be very positive. The taxidermic 'zoo' has been mostly removed.
The Front Desk handled my reservation quickly and professionally. Any questions I had were answered to my satisfaction.
I stayed during the replacement of all the beds at the hotel. I experienced the "before and after" with the beds and was very pleasantly surprised by the result.
The shuttle service to the airport and the Mall of America was on time and the drivers pleasant, knowledgeable and efficient.
Fri. nite I arrived at the airport pickup as the shuttle was leaving. When the shuttle returned a group of men pushed past me and another flight attendant completely filling the shuttle. The driver told us, "What do you want me to do about it?" Sat. I spent the day at the hotel because I had late flights that evening. The maid banged on my door, woke me up, and barged in even though I posted the DO NOT DISTURB sign on the door. I was not dressed, and thus not pleased to have my door flung wide open. They tried to open the door again Sun. but I had the extra lock on. However, this was not the worst. Sat., I flew late into the nite, slept in a hotel in N.Dakota for four hours and flew back to Minneapolis early in the morning. I was required by my workplace to have additional rest at the Ramada before flying home Sun. evening. I called for the shuttle at 8:45 am. I was told the driver was at the airport but if I missed him, he'd return at 9:15. He didn't return at 9:15 and I called again at 9:20. The lady at the front desk talked to me like a child, informing me of the exact color of the van and what the driver was wearing. She also suggested that I was at the wrong terminal. However, I was told he would be there within 5 minutes. He did not return then or at 9:45. I was finally picked up at 10:15. The driver explained to me that he did not pick up every thirty minutes, he only dropped off passengers unless he was notified otherwise. The fronk desk staff members did not seem to be aware of this, and despite the number of times I called the front desk (more than five), neither of them called to double check with the driver. Due to this lack of communication, I missed church and was not able to worship or take communion, and developed a sore throat from waiting in the cold. The lady at the front desk tried to solve my problem by asking "What can I do for you? What do you want to make it better?" She did not apologize, only offered movies or food to make it all better.
Stayed here because all Hitlon properties near airport were booked. I can't say that I would never stay here again, but I certainly would look for other options if possible since I try to avoid budget properties when it's on an expense account! The room was basic and the decor of the hotel (Native American theme) was kind of odd. The location was ideal if you need to catch an early flight or your main reason for being there is the mall (it's practically in the parking lot). The room was clean, the bed was fairly comfortable, and the toiletries provided were nice. The pool area looked pretty nice and clean and was well landscaped. The lack of elevators (at least from what I could tell) could be an inconvenience to some, but the hotel is only 2 stories. My biggest problem was that when I tried to call up front to make a wake up call, the phone rang for a good 10 minutes before someone answered. Also, they didn't provide a copy of the bill under the door in the morning and I had to wait about 10 minutes to check out - could be a problem if you are in a hurry.
Hotel did not keep promise of holding a handicapped room as promised near elevator and conference. Manager on duty was called three times with voice mail message left to tell hotel I was handicapped and on life support resperator. Manager never called me. Took 70 minutes to get our breakfast in cafe at hotel. Front desk rarely answered phone. Made me stay in a room that was extremely far from handicap parking and conference. Filing complaints with Ramada Corporate,BBB and ADA office. Manager on duty was T. Hall
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Address: 2300 East American Blvd, I-494 & 24th Avenue, Bloomington, Minnesota, 55425, United States
