You can't always judge a hotel by its lobby. If you did, you wouldn't be impressed by too many Minnesota hotels. Grand entrances just aren't our thing, except at the Westin, which has taken the stunning Art Moderne lobby of the Farmers & Mechanics Bank and left its grandeur intact. Above the first floor, the 1941 building was gutted and made into the hotel, which opened this year.
Rates/deals: Weekend rates range from $109 to $249.
Amenities: Westin's signature Heavenly beds and baths. Full room service from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., limited after that. The rooms in the brand-new hotel are Westin-esque -- muted greens and oatmeal for a calming experience. Plasma TVs. Renewal rooms have extra shower sprays and are slightly larger. Stainless-steel lap pool. Ask for a room on 6th Street facing the Wells Fargo building for an impressive skyline view.
Notes of distinction: The Bank restaurant, with its 34-foot vaulted ceilings, teak walls and golden lotus chandeliers, inspires all who see it. It's a privilege to dine there. Check out the bank vault, now a wine cellar. Bring Max the dog; he's welcome here if he's kept his weight under 40 pounds. You can even provide him with his own Heavenly bed. Fresh flowers throughout the common area.
Sour notes: The hallways are more corporate than leisurely. The grandeur of the lobby doesn't make it above the second floor.
MARRIOTT: CASUAL REFURBISHED ELEGANCE
The best way to avoid ugly memories of gnarly stains and bad hotel housekeeping is to stay in new hotels or ones that have undergone major renovations. Earlier this year, the Marriott in City Center spent $25 million on new room furnishings in rust, sage and gold earth hues, a casually elegant hotel lobby on the fifth floor and an updated street entrance.
Rates/deals: Check Expedia or Travelocity, but Marriott.com often has rates as low as $129 to $169. Check the website for shopping, breakfast and leisure packages. AAA discounts.
Amenities: Spacious rooms with large windows, good views and interesting floor plans. Ramp parking is included in some weekend packages. Fun lobby bar. Room service from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.
Notes of distinction: The hotel is shaped like a triangle. The best rooms are the corner ones. Ask about the bi-level suites, especially the corner ones. You may be able to upgrade for less than the normal $300 per night. Photographs of local landmarks throughout.
Sour notes: The skyway level always smells like cheap air freshener. The restaurant is casual but lacking distinction. Flat-panel TVs won't be in until early next year. No pool. The location in City Center, aka the skyway that most retailers avoid, is a ghost town.
MARQUETTE: A MINNEAPOLIS CLASSIC (No jacket required)
Forget the dinner jacket (we're not that fancy) and your winter jacket, too. Park underground in the IDS' heated underground parking ($12 to $20 overnight) and take the elevator to the Crystal Court. Take a right to the lobby or a left to upscale shopping in Gaviidae and restaurants with great views.
Rates/deals: Best available rates as low as $89 to $119 per night, which vary from weekend to weekend. A few rooms are released on Priceline for about 30 percent below the best available rates.
Amenities: Rainforest showerheads. Generous complimentary bar and hot hors d'oeuvres served from 5 to 10:30 p.m. for guests staying on the concierge floors (a slight upgrade). Full room service from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Pizza Lucé's menu available after midnight. Basil's restaurant has beautiful views as the Crystal Court soars above and the waterfall cascades below. Ask for the Mary Tyler Moore, Harmon Killebrew or Barbara Flanagan table for best seating.
Notes of distinction: Sunday brunch ($26) on the 50th floor of the IDS Center in Windows on Minnesota from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the best views of the Twin Cities. Best panorama: rooms facing the Foshay Tower.
Sour notes: No pool. The rooms' decor speaks more business than leisure. The shoeshine machine next to the beds, while a nice touch, is tacky on display. Flat-panel TVs not expected until February. Cheesy evergreen floral displays in the lobby.
CHAMBERS HOTEL: HIGH STYLE AND FINE ART
The Ice Bar is far from the only cool thing at this see-and-be-seen scene-setter. Start with the minimalist black-and-white architecture. Throw in a bevy of striking contemporary art -- love the limb-challenged gorilla statue and the smoky bar scene -- strewn throughout the two old buildings that became one haute hotel. (Never mind that one of the edifices had recently housed a flophouse and XXX-rated bookstore.) One of the world's most justifiably ballyhooed chefs, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, is the force behind some fabulous victuals. There's even a Rock Star Suite, which has lived up to its name in one respect, spawning what one official called "some intensive cleaning episodes."
Rates/deals: From $265 for a studio room to $3,500 for the Rock Star Suite. Check the website for sundry packages.
Amenities: Each room has a flat-panel TV, a pillowtop bed with 400-count sheets and a bathroom with heated floors and a walk-in "rain shower." Top-flight service from a staff whose marching orders are "yes is the answer, what is the question?" Unusual turndown gifts.
Notes of distinction: A Polaroid camera in each room. Not only are pets allowed, but a dog-walking service is available. Besides the Chambers Kitchen and 24-hour room service, there's an über-trendy rooftop lounge with naughty signage and "The Art of Brunch" on Saturdays and Sundays (10 a.m.-2 p.m.).
Sour note: All those Beautiful People can be a bit intimidating to the hoi polloi among us.
NICOLLET ISLAND INN: HEART AND OLD-WORLD SOUL
(95 Merriam St., Mpls., 612-331-1800, www.nicolletislandinn.com)
Shortly after purchasing this mighty Mississippi mainstay three years ago, Larry and Caryl Abdo lived there for a week, just to determine what needed refurbishing. A lot, it turned out: At one point, Caryl held up a sheet and asked Larry "are you supposed to be able to see through this?" The ensuing "restivation," as they called it, has spiffed up the old joint (built in 1893) while retaining the romantic European flavor that makes February the inn's most popular month. The old chairs were re-upholstered, the restaurant subtly redesigned and the operator's chair in the glass elevator retained. New wallpaper reflects light and creates warmth (which makes it almost redundant here).
Rates/deals: Rooms are $219-$279 on Friday and Saturday nights. Special packages range up to a $699 "Ultimate Romance" deal that includes a five-course dinner for two and a horse-drawn carriage ride around the island.
Amenities: Plasma TVs and Aveda Spa products in every room. A new piano bar with Sophia Shorai performing on weekends. A fireplace adds to the twinkly vibe in the reception area. For an even deeper Old World experience, Kramarczuk's Sausages and Nye's polka bar are a short walk away.
Notes of distinction: Four-poster Select Comfort Sleep Number beds in each room with 400-count Egyptian sheets (which are not transparent). The dining room has been the site of scores of marriage proposals, "and the answer almost always has been yes," said chef Erick Harcey.
Sour note: Unlike most downtown hotels, the inn's rates go up on weekends.
GRAVES 601: NIGHTLIFE AND THE GOOD LIFE
The Upper Midwest's most vibrant nightlife, along 1st Avenue N. and along Hennepin Avenue, is right outside the door, and Target Center, with its myriad events, is just a skyway stroll away. But that comes with a price: leaving a sleek, soothing, beautifully appointed room. Individual reading lights bookend a gorgeous glass etching of a local cityscape on each headboard, and the beds are so comfortable that the hotel's boutique sells about 10 of them a year, VP Scott Fischburg says. The rooms and hallways are awash in soft colors and lovely lighting; in the public spaces, seemingly disparate architectural components mesh splendidly. Rates/deals: From $169 to $5,000 for the Concert Suite, so named because of its grand piano and wraparound bench covered with (cue Ricardo Montalban) fine Corinthian leather. The basic room rates are about half as much as weeknight business-travel tariffs. Amenities: Good security measures (need key to operate elevator to rooms) and 24-hour room service. Each room has a 42-inch plasma TV with DVD player and a keyboard to access the Internet on the TV screen. The Cosmos restaurant is one of the area's finest.
Notes of distinction: Great exercise facility and private massage room with free Fuji water. Backlit pictures in each room, and beautiful freestanding sinks in every biffy. Free nightly shoeshine.
Sour notes: The transition to the decidedly less serene Block E can be rather jarring. The attached nightclub Infinity will close at the end of the year, but a wine bar will emerge in the same space next spring.
