Radisson Blu Fargo — Hotel in Fargo

Keep in mind for this review I will be providing a viewpoint from a fairly experienced traveler. I stayed at this location a few months back and I'd like to take an opportunity to share my experiences with everyone. There are a few reasons I'm writing this review but I'll give the most important point. The last few months I've been doing a generous amount of traveling. The following hotels I have not reviewed but may do so in the near future. I visited Fargo at the Radisson Blu, Bozeman MT at the La Quinta, Minneapolis at the downtown Hilton, Denver downtown Hilton, Chicago at the Hyatt Regency at O'Hare International, and Bismarck ND at the Holiday Inn- in the last three months. The listed above hotels are in chronological order, with the Bismarck Holiday Inn being the most recent. After taking some time to reflect on my experiences staying in these various hotels, I realized the Radisson Blu is a true competitor in the Hotel business, should be ranked and reviewed with the best of the best (especially for a small place such as Fargo), and deserves a 5/5 star rating based on my scale. I like to rate hotels on a range with customer service and atmosphere being of utmost importance, and location and price bing of lesser importance but still holding validity. The Blu downtown Fargo was the highest scored of all hotels I recently have stayed.

Upon my arrival I was greeted by three gentlemen who acted extremely professional but also with a very inviting and welcoming demeanor. They were quick to point out local favorites of places to eat and lounge, and downtown Fargo "hotspots." They also shared with me their giddy excitement of their newly renovated hotel (for good reason, the Blu is beautiful). One can very much tell all three employees were passionate and eager and invested to point out the highlights of not only their hotel, but the community they serve. If you get the chance to talk with either Havger, Chris T, or Joshaua Beckers, I can personally recommend their input.

Walking into the room was a great experience. The new renovations the three gentlemen at the desk were excited about was even more exceptional than I expected. It highlighted the northern culture that is Fargo, North Dakota in a very artistic way. Not to mention, my 10th floor view of downtown and the surrounding area was a rare and very sleek view. And after staying in the hotels I've been staying in the last few months, I've realized it's even better than I first realized when in comparison. I haven't found service or atmosphere as promising as this place in the recent to distant past that I can recall.

I'm aware when reviewing destinations it is important to give positives and and negatives or constructive criticisms- but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your stance), I couldn't find much wrong with any aspect of my stay. It was well above average. I will say, however, based on previous reviews given on the Blu, it seems this place has had it's faults in the past. At this point there are two possibilities- the various reviews about this hotel had the truths stretched, or the hotel took it upon themselves to better the customers experience. I would assume it's the second option.

Thanks for the great...

The hallway light was off outside my room so it was dark. I asked to have it fixed, and was basically told there was nothing they could do- maintenance was aware and they would get to it when they could- it was in their list of things to do. I responded to the text asking about my stay and if I beed d anything and never got a response to my concerns outside of “sorry it’s taking so long to respond, a front desk employee will respond shortly”. I finally went down to the front desk to ask and was basically blown off and told that’s how it’s going to be for my stay. The front desk people were not very friendly, didn’t smile and weren’t very welcoming. It seemed to be a hassle that I was asking for something to be fixed. My room door was literally in the dark my entire stay.

The door to the parking ramp wasn’t locked (requiring a hotel key to enter) as advertised and bums from the street (clearly strung out) were wandering the hotel in the Saturday night we stayed- hanging out in the stairwells, approaching our kids who were sitting in the commons area on the M floor.

It was not a hockey friendly hotel- our kids were quietly sitting at a table in the 3rd floor hallway by the windows with multiple adults supervising-playing cards. When the security guard coming to work for the evening noticed them- he immediately kicked them out and said they weren’t allowed to be there (although other hotel workers in the previous 1-2 hours said absolutely nothing to them as they passed by).

There is nothing at the hotel for kids to do- why be a tournament hotel? There’s nothing for kids to do- no pool, no place to gather and hang out, nothing around the vicinity of the hotel for kids/families. We didn’t have a choice to stay there or not, we were assigned to the hotel.

Also, I am pretty sure someone from the hotel was in my room when I was gone, even though the do not disturb sign was in my door. There was a metal piece that continually fell off my door every time it was opened, and when it fell off as we were leaving, I picked it up and put it back on the door right before I left (there’s no way for it to fall off when the door is closed- but it falls off when the door is opened). When we returned to the hotel after a game, as soon as I opened the door, I noticed it hadn’t fallen off (metal makes a sound hitting the hard wood floor) and it was already laying in the corner where it landed anytime the door was opened).

We will not be...

Radisson Blu Fargo is 3 blocks from the train station in downtown Fargo, just one block off Broadway Street restaurants, bars, and entertainment. The doors are locked overnight for security but staff can buzz you in. I made my reservation in advance and let them know I'd be arriving early dawn. I was told if they had a room available I could check in but if they were full the night before I could check my luggage and check in later. I lucked out, or in as the case was.||The hotel is somewhat upscale in that features and furnishings are modern and contemporary elegance. Nothing splashy just a reserved sort of classy. There are about 10 floors and the view from up there is fine either way.||The bed was very comfortable. The television was large enough to watch without my glasses and generous with stations. The bathroom was impressively modernized with spaciousness and a walk in shower. The shower head was high enough for tall people to appreciate and there was also a handheld sprayer.||Staff is both professional and friendly. More impressively, if you ask about something they are anxious to get right on it. I mentioned at the front desk that I thought my thermostat was failing and she called maintenance while I was standing there. He nearly beat me back to my room and proceeded to install a new thermostat. I had another question later and although the thrust of it was my confusion, two of them were ready and anxious to assist me further if needed.||The hotel also features an upscale bar and restaurant. The bartender is a bit of a cocktail historian. The restaurant manager is a bit of an institution in Fargo and full of stories. A lot of places have nice people but these two are not just congenial hosts, they are engaging entertainers if you let them.||There are many things to do in Fargo and the central bus station (Matbus) is 2 blocks from Radisson Blu. You can get set up with their app in minutes. So basically, Radisson Blu is convenient to the heart of Fargo on foot and connected by bus to any other part of the city you might...