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PJRACER

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Would anybody have any info about Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP) as to: Rental Cars and how close to station. Hotel/Motel close to rail station. Thanks!!
 
There is a Days Inn three blocks from the train station. Overnight Amtrak employees stay there. There is a Hertz rental car counter in the train station that operates during normal business hours.
 
Thank You....that is a quick concise answer to both questions...was hoping for an Enterprise....but will cross that bridge when we get to it. Again thanks.
 
The Days Inn is the closest property but from drving by and a visit to the restaurant it does not seem like a place I would want to stay. Either downtown is ~$20 by readily available taxi and rentals can be picked up downtown or at the airport. Where was your final destination?
 
Exiled in Express said:
The Days Inn is the closest property but from drving by and a visit to the restaurant it does not seem like a place I would want to stay. Either downtown is ~$20 by readily available taxi and rentals can be picked up downtown or at the airport. Where was your final destination?
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MSP is our destination for an almost two week period then leaving from MSP and heading back home. We will need a decently priced hotel/motel close by for the arrival night and night before departure. The rental car we can handle the day after arrival and also drop off the day prior to morning departure. I did see the "Days Inn" listed, and just looking at the pictures on their web site, it does not look all that desireable.
 
PJRACER said:
Exiled in Express said:
The Days Inn is the closest property but from drving by and a visit to the restaurant it does not seem like a place I would want to stay. Either downtown is ~$20 by readily available taxi and rentals can be picked up downtown or at the airport. Where was your final destination?
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MSP is our destination for an almost two week period then leaving from MSP and heading back home. We will need a decently priced hotel/motel close by for the arrival night and night before departure. The rental car we can handle the day after arrival and also drop off the day prior to morning departure. I did see the "Days Inn" listed, and just looking at the pictures on their web site, it does not look all that desireable.
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The neighborhood around the station is a little sketchy but I would not have any second thoughts staying at the Days Inn. As I said previously, Amtrak employees use this place for their over night stays. I specifically asked a coach attendant who has stayed there in the past about the motel and he has no qualms in staying there. They also provide transportation to and from the train station.
 
This may or may not help you, but the number 16 bus stops 0.2 miles south of the station, on University Ave. Catch the 16 on the north side of University and you will be quickly taken to downtown Minneapolis where there are lots of nice hotels, or catch it on the south side of University and you will be quickly taken to downtown St Paul. (I have no knowledge of the hotels in downtown St Paul.) The 16 runs every 10 to 15 minutes.
 
D T Nelson said:
This may or may not help you, but the number 16 bus stops 0.2 miles south of the station, on University Ave. Catch the 16 on the north side of University and you will be quickly taken to downtown Minneapolis where there are lots of nice hotels, or catch it on the south side of University and you will be quickly taken to downtown St Paul. (I have no knowledge of the hotels in downtown St Paul.) The 16 runs every 10 to 15 minutes.
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I couldn't honestly recommend the #16 to an out-of-towner unconditionally. It tends to have a memorable ridership, especially late at night, when the westbound Empire Builder would arrive. Don't get me wrong, I ride the #16 often, and I've never felt unsafe, but it is the only Twin Cities bus I've ever been on where a) the bus made a detour to the emergency room for the convenience of a stabbing victim on board, or b) St. Paul police took passengers off in handcuffs. Sure, that's only two trips in a decade of travel, but incidents like that stick in your mind.

There are always cabs waiting when the train arrives. I'd use them.
 
Ispolkom said:
I couldn't honestly recommend the #16 to an out-of-towner unconditionally. It tends to have a memorable ridership, especially late at night, when the westbound Empire Builder would arrive.

There are always cabs waiting when the train arrives. I'd use them.
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I can't provide as colorful review as Ispolkom but I can concur the evening trip is an experience everytime. Mornings might be OK, I opt for the taxi then for the additional hour of sleep.
 
Dovecote said:
There is a Days Inn three blocks from the train station. Overnight Amtrak employees stay there. There is a Hertz rental car counter in the train station that operates during normal business hours.
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What sense does it make (Hertz Mgmt.) to have an un-manned rental car counter when the bulk of the prospective customers are there at 10 thirty something at night and 7 something in the morning. Probably nobody in the station during their business hours.
 
Thanks for the bus information, but as a "retired" bus operator here in Pinellas county, I know all the down-sides of riding the bus, no matter what time of day it is. I have personally experienced the gun's and knives being pulled, the fights breaking out, and the bullets coming thru the windows.......thanks, I'll call for a cab or maybe get a relative there to pick us up.
 
I would definitely concur about the taxi.

A nice hotel in Saint Paul is the Saint Paul Hotel (www.saintpaulhotel), which has the "old world" feel of quality to it. My wife and I stayed there for our 15th anniversary at was very nice. (I walk near it almost every day). Also, there are several Enterprise locations in the area as well.

Hope you have a good trip.
 
PJRacer I've taken No. 16 Bus several times to Minneapolis, when arriving on No. 8 Empire Builder -- no probs. Also have taken taxi, when arriving on No. 7.*

Minneapolis has a lot of neighborhood Enterprise locations I've used.

Minneapolis hotels are a bit high-priced. Last two times I've stayed in suburb Wayzata, at a nice Doubletree. There's a "railroad" hotel downtown: The Depot Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, site of former Milwaukee Road depot. Nearby is Residence Inn Minneapolis Downtown by Marriott.

*Except the trip I arrived St. Paul on No. 7 at 7:20 a.m., following minor derailment and ensuing delay leaving Chicago Union Station trainshed,,,glad I had a roomette.
 
PJRACER said:
Why are you glad you had a roomette.....oh, I get it....because of the long delay???
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You are correct, sir. I always ride a roomette or bedroom.

But I recall before that trip I thought about Coach, with the 22:31 (scheduled) arrival in St. Paul, and thinking I wouldn't be sleeping in a Sleeper overnight and all,,,but my decision was "always go with the Sleeper," and I sure enjoyed sleeping in it overnight westbound after all.

That minor derailment put the car ahead of me -- Dining Car -- and front trucks of my Sleeper on the ground, just exiting the trainshed, when a switch manufactured in 1921 failed. We were doing about 5 mph and everything went BUMP_^ BUMP_^ BUMP as the cars loudly shuddered and gray clouds of chat dust billowed outside my window.
 
I was just in the MSP area a few months ago in September. I arrived on the westbound Empire Builder, around 10:30 PM. Plenty of taxis waiting outside the train station. I took a cab to the airport (about $25) and rented a car there. (Plenty of rental car agencies at the airport and the cost was cheaper than an in-town location).
 
Stellar1 said:
I was just in the MSP area a few months ago in September. I arrived on the westbound Empire Builder, around 10:30 PM. Plenty of taxis waiting outside the train station. I took a cab to the airport (about $25) and rented a car there. (Plenty of rental car agencies at the airport and the cost was cheaper than an in-town location).
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Could be good advice, but I have heard that there are additional taxes on rental cars at airport locations than in town??? Cars can become quite pricey in that case. I think I have come up with a solution...we will have a brother-in-law meet us at the train station and take us to the Days Inn where many AMTRAK employees stay the night...and another brother-in-law in St Paul who happens to work as a courier for Enterprise can get us 50% off on their rental cars, so we will have the rental car company pick us up at the Days Inn....get the car and be on our merry way for the week we plan on being in the area. Then we will do everything kind of in reverse come departure morning from St. Paul to Chicago to Washington to Orlando to St. Petersburg. Kind of complicated to follow....believe me this trip is getting more complicated as we go along. Maybe I am being over caution> Thanks for all your help.
 
I don't mean to totally thread-jack, but I have some quasi-related questions about traveling out of Midway station in St. Paul next week.

I live up in Duluth, and I'm consequently going to have to drive down and park my car somewhere. The guy I talked to at the station today suggested that there was a non-zero possibility that the lot might be full so close to Christmas, which is not the sort of issue I want to encounter completely unprepared just prior to a 745 departure.

So what I'm wondering is whether anyone has good suggestions for other long-term parking options in the general vicinity of the station.
 
PJRACER said:
Would anybody have any info about Minneapolis/St Paul (MSP) as to: Rental Cars and how close to station. Hotel/Motel close to rail station. Thanks!!
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Over the years I have rented my car from Budget in St. Paul. Great crew there. They pick me up. If I continue my trip by rail, I just leave the car at the

stattion for them to pickup later. If I Amtrak in and fly out of MSP, I just drop their car off at the airport.
 
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