Country Inn & Suites Bloomington Mall of America — Hotel in Bloomington

There is a lot that can be said about this stay. My husband and our kids went to Minneapolis on vacation and I will say that the state is absolutely beautiful. Kela and Pierre were reception staff and they were amazing. Two other guys that worked the reception area were really kind as well. There was an older lady that was not so good. She had no personality, did not smile, and really acted as if guests were a bother to her for whatever reason. I will say that while there was not very many food options (in comparison to other hotels we have stayed at), the breakfast buffet was good. The exterior of the hotel was well maintained and the lobby area was clean and had a welcoming appearance. My family and I have never stayed at a Country Inn & Suite before, but because of the reviews, and its proximity to the Mall of America, we settled on this hotel. Other than the not so-friendly lady at the receptionist area, the reason why I am giving this star-rating is because of the hotel's upkeep. Before I get into the details, I will say that it was our intent on day one to check-out and into a different hotel, but after careful thought, my husband and I decided against that as we did not want to just uproot the kids and make such a big change during our vacation.

For starters there was a sewer smell in the bathroom in one of our rooms (room 505 I believe - we had adjoining rooms) which existed throughout our stay. The carpeting was filthy in both rooms. The doors were dirty in both rooms and could have been so much better if only some paint had been applied to them. The adjoining room doors/locks had a very odd setup which we have never seen before. The design meant that a simple close of either of the adjoining doors would automatically lock the adjoining room party out, which is a major problem when you have little kids to tend to. We get adjoining rooms all the time when we travel with our girls and i have never seen an arrangement such as that. Also, we literally spent our entire stay living out of our suitcases as there is no real place to store clothing. There should be some drawers. The 3 shelves on the tv stand cant suit 1 guest let alone 4 to a room. The refrigerators did not maintain our food items; the food did not stay cold. The AC thermostats appeared to be faulty or at least very difficult to manage with regard to keeping the rooms at any comfortable temperature. The pools were dirty throughout our stay. There was a great deal of hair, dirt, etc. floating in the pools. Granted, that did not stop some people from still getting in the water, but it was just too disgusting for me and my family. The hot tubs' temperatures were lukewarm I would say and not ideal for hot tubs.

It appears as though this hotel receives tons of guests daily, and presumably many out-of-towners, and so I guess that's all good. Honestly, I don't see myself ever booking another stay at this particular hotel. Maybe the other Country Inns are better, but unfortunately, this hotel stay was not really pleasant for me and my family. When we come back to Minneapolis on vacation, I will definitely consider booking with the other nearby hotels. From what I understood while I was there, there are more upgrades/expansion being made to the Mall of America and for that reason, more hotels are coming up in that same area. And, the newer hotels in the nearby vicinity which we only learned about during our visit, appear to be very nice. There are so many options in choose from when it comes to hotels, so to me, there is not reason to settle on but vacations should be enjoyable and not a nuisance. Thankfully, the sites Minneapolis offered made our whole trip worthwhile despite the issues with our stay...

I loved this place last time I came here, but this time was pretty disappointing. First the positive: Great location - very close to Mall of America You do not need to leave the hotel to go to IHOP or TGIFridays The breakfast if very good and they keep the breakfast area very clean The older gentleman at the front desk is very courteous and nice Now for the negative. First I booked the premier queen suite, so it wasn´t cheap. When we arrived we called and told them we still hadn´t received our bags, they said ok we will send someone out in about 15 minutes, so they should be there in about 20 or 25 minutes. When we had our bags and had been waiting about 10 minutes or so I decided to call back and ask if the shuttle was on the way. They indicated that the person that had told me they would send someone was wrong and at the time I had called the shuttle driver was already on the way, so they had come and left already and they would need to send out another shuttle. They said they had to wait for people leaving out so that would be in another 15 minutes, so they would be there in another 25 minutes, but that we needed to be waiting outside when they arrived or else they would leave us again. It was a cold day and I was traveling with my 5 year old and 8 year old, so we waited the 25 minutes. A half an hour passed and I called the hotel again to check on the shuttle, they said it had been sent out but they didn´t know where it was and they had no way to communicate with the driver. The shuttle finally arrived at about 35 minutes of waiting and the driver was less than friendly.

We arrived at the hotel around 10:30pm, mind you the first call to the hotel was placed at 8:45pm. I had bought the Nickelodeon package and was not given the wrist bands. The gentleman that checked us in was very friendly, he was the one highlight. Needless to say we were quite exhausted and frustrated by time we arrived. When I called the next morning to inquire about the wristbands, I was treated as if I was lying and that I was trying to swindle wristbands from them. The gentleman that checked us in confirmed that he had forgotten to give us the wristbands and they were given to us.

After a full day at the Mall of America we looked forward to coming back to a clean room (we were out of our room from 10am to 6:30pm), but to our disbelief the room hadn´t been touched. When I called the front desk they did apologize and offered towels, but offered no other type of compensation.

We travel to the Mall of America, but I don´t think we will be staying at Country Inn and Suites again. I think they failed at making the...

Location, Comfort and Service - A+

The location of the hotel cannot be beat. You are off the mall property and have free parking available to you, but can walk to the mall in under five minutes. There is a skywalk right across the street that takes you there so you don't have to spend more than 3m outside which is great for when it's cold. Theres also an IHOP and TGIF attached to the hotel for further convenience.

The hotel is spacious and clean. Our room was right by the elevator and ice machine but it was still quiet. We didn't have any noise above us and only minimal hallway noise. The room itself was also clean (toilet flush is strong so watch for splash back lol). The beds were comfortable and the TV was newer and a nice size. We did need to get batteries for the remote after check in, which is when we met Elliot for the first time.. Which brings us to the service..

Dear hotel manager - Elliot is one of the best people we have ever encountered, hotel staff or otherwise. He needs a bonus and a raise - you must not lose this man!

The morning of our departure we came out to a completely flat tire (wore out on the hwy). We attempted to put on the spare only to discover the bolts were on so tight that it was impossible to loosen them ourselves.

I went in to the front desk to ask for assistance and the gentleman working the desk wasn't sure how to help. Another gentleman standing by the desk suggested paging Elliot. As soon as this gentleman arrived he made a point of reassuring me he would find a way to help us.

He stopped what he was working on to come outside and try to help himself. Unfortunately our tools were subpar and the bolts were on there way too tight, despite Elliot giving it his all. We started looking into mobile tire services but he told us to wait a moment and went back inside.

When he came back out he told us he contacted a friend at a repair shop five minutes down the road and that he would help us get there. This tire was completely shot and I was nervous to drive on it. Elliot remained positive and reassuring. He promised he would get us there and escorted us the few minutes down the road to the shop where we were immediately taken care of and charged a very fair rate.

Elliot not only found the best possible solution for us, but went above and beyond to keep my anxious self calm. We tried to pay him for his time but he refused saying he was just doing his job.

Elliot, you were our hero today. We can never thank you enough. We will always stay at this property when we are in town...