2 Stylish Boutique Hotels Coming Soon to Downtown Minneapolis

Despite the recent boom in retail, restaurants, breweries, and condos in the North Loop, the area has been curiously lacking in lodging options. After all, where are all those travel enthusiasts going to stay when they heed the siren's call of North Loop thanks to The New York Times and Fodor's? But come this fall, that's changing with the opening of two new boutique hotels.

The most buzzworthy is the Hewing Hotel, which will open on the site of a long-vacant, former 1897-era North Loop warehouse at the corner of Washington and Third Avenues North. A collaboration between Chicago-based Aparium Hotel Group and boutique hotel developer Fe Equus Development, the 125-room hotel's design is inspired by North Loop's logging history, Minnesota's Nordic heritage, and a Northwoods cabin aesethetic. Each room in the hotel will have a unique look, combining Scandinavian design (Mid-century modern furniture, brass fixtures, and wallpaper inspired by traditional Swedish patterns) with elements inspired by Minnesota cabin culture (custom wool throws by Faribault Woolen Mill, taxidermied pheasants, antler decor, and old-growth wood beams and posts harvested from Minnesota's pine forests). The Hewing name, a reference to an old logging process, pays homage to the industry's history in Minnesota. The hotel will also have a chef-driven restaurant with cuisine "inspired by Minneapolis’s woods and lakes," a rooftop terrace and bar, and a social club. It doesn't get much more North Loop than this.

While the Hewing Hotel is all about preserving tradition, Radisson RED is designed to appeal to technology-obsessed, craft-cocktail-drinking millennial travelers. The new concept from the Minnetonka-based Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group (which operates the Radisson Hotels) has an emphasis on technology (mobile check-ins, content streaming, and high-speed wi-fi), sustainability (its OUIBar + KTCHN offers local and sustainable food), and "craft culture" (craft coffee and cocktails galore). The hotel will also incorporate local art, music, and fashion into its design and programming, including a large mural in its lobby by Minneapolis artist Adam Turman, sets by local DJs, and to-be-announced collaborations with local fashion designers. Slated for a late fall opening in the nearby Historic Mill District, the location will be the first Radisson RED to open in the U.S., followed by confirmed sites in Portland, Ore. and Miami. A proposed location in St. Paul is also in the works.

Meanwhile, plans are underway for a boutique hotel across the river in the Marcy-Holmes neighborhood. The six-room Inn at Alma will be located on the second level of the historic building that houses Restaurant Alma. Chef/owner Alex Roberts says he was inspired by a similar project above a Chicago restaurant named Longman and Eagle. The project coincides with the opening of Roberts's new café located next door, which is slated for a October or November opening.

Reported by:  MinnesotaMonthly.com