Using Our Delta Stays Credits at the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington (Review)

I took my family on a special trip to Minnesota (more on that in a future post) and we based ourselves out of the Minneapolis area. We were there for three nights and stayed at one of my parents’ favorite Twin Cities hotels: the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington.

This presented us a great opportunity to use the Delta Stays statement credits that are now part of six Delta SkyMiles® American Express Cards.

Why We Chose the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington

I’m pretty much a free agent when it comes to hotels. Frankly, I base my choices on location, point redemption rates or “free” night certificate availability, my elite status benefits (if any), and any offers or statement credit opportunities.

My dad and stepmom, however, are Hilton people. Big Hilton people. They’re part of the Hilton Grand Vacations program and love it. They both love traveling and can pretty much dictate their schedules. So, they’re able to get a ton of value from the program. Like me, they have Hilton Honors Gold Elite status because they hold The Platinum Card® from American Express.

My sister lives in the Twin Cities and my dad occasionally has professional events there, and the Hilton sort of became his home base. That’s where he was staying for the weekend, so we decided to give it a shot.

Between my wife and me, we have three cards with Delta Stays credits:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card: up to $250 each year
• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card: up to $200 each year
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card: up to $150 each year

We ended up booking three consecutive one-night stays. That gave us the biggest return for our statement credits. We paid night one on my Delta Platinum Amex, night two on Business Reserve, and night three on my wife’s Delta Reserve.

Executive lounge access is a published benefit for Hilton Diamond members only. (Remember, I’m Gold.) Plus, Delta Stays is an online travel agency — which means you likely won’t receive any elite status benefits.

We figured out that purchasing nights with lounge access would put us out of pocket about $54 in room and tax for the entire three-night stretch. Considering that’s probably what one breakfast would cost in the hotel restaurant, we decided to spend the money.

Where is the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington?

You’ll find the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington at 3900 American Blvd W, Bloomington, MN 55437. It’s just off the France Avenue exit on the 494 freeway. It took us 15-20 minutes to get to/from there from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). There is a hotel shuttle.

Locals, please correct me if I’m wrong: that’s probably about how long it would take to get to the Mall of America, right?

Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington – King Room

Before I go any further, I must mention the hotel staff. The employees are absolutely fantastic. They’re very friendly, helpful, and seem to take pride in their jobs and the property.

As I mentioned, we booked three consecutive nights. The gentleman who checked us in on the first night assigned to the same room for the entire long weekend. That was great — we wouldn’t have to move rooms. The only thing we needed to do was go to the front desk each morning, check out, check back in, and get our keys re-coded.

I took most of the pictures a couple of days into the stay. We arrived at night and the lighting wasn’t great. I try to get shots during the day, when possible and practical. So, these images resemble what the room looks like with “stuff.” (Which is actually more realistic than images of bare hotel rooms, I think.)

The room was pretty nice! I’ve slept on better beds. It wasn’t horrible. Maybe it needs rotating, flipping, or a flat-out replacing. That’s one of our gripes.

There’s a decent amount of space to entertain guests (such as an aunt, sister, brother-in-law, and niece, all at the same time).

Another minor inconvenice: sitting at the desk is rather awkward. That said, it contains a rollable portion you can move elsewhere. (Which we did, to store snacks, sunscreen, and other supplies.)

King room at the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington

Worth mentioning: you have three power outlets at the desk.

You also get two complimentary bottles of water each day. There’s an in-room fridge to help keep them cool, if you want.

I love cold hotel rooms. The Minneapolis Bloomington Hilton’s HVAC did a great job of keeping me cool — and my wife and daughter complaining about chilly the room (intentionally) was. 🙂

The shower’s water pressure was good — and the water heated up very quickly.

The kids enjoyed plenty of time in the pool, which is located on the first floor. It’s maximum depth is five feet. (There’s also a hot tub.) The water was very comfortable!

Executive Lounge

We ate three breakfasts in the Hilton executive club lounge. Oh my goodness. The spread wasn’t anything too elaborate. But the food was so good.

The eggs, bacon, and breakfast potatoes were delicious. I didn’t try the French toast (which wasn’t available on Saturday or Sunday) but I heard wonderful things about it.

Paying the additional $54 was very well worth it. The lounge is open 24 hours a day with snacks and non-alcoholic beverages.

We had a family dinner at my sister’s house on Friday night and weren’t around for the evening cocktail reception.

I went down to the desk on Saturday evening to ask about lounge credits for my Gold status. However, because the room was booked through an online travel agency, I wasn’t entitled to any elite status benefits (as I expected). When I asked politely and with a big smile on my face, they still said no. (But were very kind and warm about it.)

Final Approach

We used our Delta Amexes’ Delta Stays credit to spend a few nights at the Hilton Minneapolis Bloomington. I think we got a great deal from the benefit — and the Delta cards are actually starting to grow on me again.

We like the Hilton’s property and staff. The bed wasn’t great but that won’t stop us from staying there again. The executive lounge’s breakfast buffet was very tasty — and well worth the little extra money we spent.

Have you used your Delta Stays credit yet? Have you stayed at this Hilton?

For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve Business American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card, please visit this link.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link.