We will not be booking a hotel block for the wedding, mostly because none of the options that we explored offered significant value or convenience compared to guests booking accommodations of their choice. The Twin Cities have accommodation options available for every taste and budget. Below are a few tips to help guide you based on what you value most in your lodging. If you find booking an accommodation that suits your needs challenging, please reach out to us—we would be happy to help.

Staying Close to Campus

If your priority is being close to Macalester College, your options are somewhat limited. Macalester is in the middle of an old residential part of Saint Paul, with no hotels in walking or short driving distance. If you are looking to park your car and forget about it for the weekend, then your best bet is an Airbnb. There are dozens of homes and apartments available for a weekend rental within walking distance. We expect more listings to pop up over the spring and early summer as property owners list vacant student housing for temporary rental. Many of these listings are large old Victorian homes capable of hosting several families or groups of guests — often at rates lower than an equivalent set of hotel rooms. If you are interested in being matched with other attendees looking for a group accommodation of this nature, then please reach out to us and we will do our best to link you up.

Sticking to a Budget

If you are a bargain hunter like Austin, then you should look a little ways outside of Saint Paul for your lodging. Macalester College is right smack in the middle of the Twin Cities metro area. Virtually every suburb is a <20 minute drive from Saint Paul, and traffic is very rarely an issue on weekends. The hotels near the Minneapolis-Saint Paul airport and the Mall of America in Noah’s hometown of Bloomington are particularly promising (look for ones in the surrounding area, as those directly attached to the Mall of America are often pricey). At least one is typically offering a substantial discount at any given time, often as low as $50-75 per night for rooms that sleep up to four.

Making the Most of Your Experience

Many of our guests will be visiting the area for the first time. If you want to explore the best that the Twin Cities have to offer, we recommend staying in the heart of Minneapolis or Saint Paul. As the state’s largest city and a major regional hub, Minneapolis has spectacular nightlife, a bustling downtown with great shopping, and a number of beautiful parks and museums. Saint Paul is a little slower-paced, but its downtown has some of the oldest and most extravagant buildings in the region, as well as the state capitol capitol building. (We highly recommend an evening walk in downtown Saint Paul if you are looking to have a romantic evening of your own during your visit.)

You will not find many budget hotels within either city’s limits, but you will find that nice options are available at rates much lower than most other urban areas. Saint Paul is generally the more affordable of the two. If you time your booking right, you will likely find 4/5-star hotels for as low $100-150 per night in either. The Saint Paul Hotel is one of the most beautiful and affordable historic hotels in the nation, and the Hilton Garden Inn in Downtown Minneapolis is usually the most affordable option within walking distance of the city’s nightlife.