The Westin Edina Galleria Hotel and Residences

Located in Edina, Minnesota adjacent to the owner’s upscale shopping center, The Westin Galleria Hotel and Residences is a combination of modern classic hotel and luxury condominiums. The 18-story Westin is a four-star, 225-key, full-service hotel, plus 82 luxury condos. The Westin and the shopping center are connected through an underground climate-controlled tunnel and share a common five-level parking ramp.

Hotel guests enjoy proximity to the area’s finest shopping and restaurants, with national restaurant chain McCormick and Schmick as the hotel’s food and beverage purveyor. Condo residents have access to the hotel’s amenities including concierge service for daily needs and event planning; 24/7 room service and a signature restaurant; housekeeping service; plant watering; dog walking; grocery delivery; meal delivery from Galleria’s restaurants; and access to the hotel’s fitness center, meeting rooms and outdoor courtyard.

Opening on time is uncommon in the industry, but every day late is revenue lost. That’s why Ryan guarantees our schedule and the certainty of the hotel’s opening date.

Our first challenge, and a source of potential delay, was basic feasibility. Could we get the idea to work economically? And, could it work in the city of Edina? Putting an 18-story building in this location required the approval of city officials and neighbors, which is often a slow process. Ryan managed to take it from initial idea to final city approval and final price in a very brief nine months, helping to ensure the construction schedule.

As construction proceeded, we worked with the owner to develop an accelerated delivery process in order to complete the hotel 60 days earlier than planned to coincide with the Republican National Convention being held in Minneapolis that year. That meant no soft opening to work out the kinks; the hotel opened, successfully, at full capacity.   

Our hospitality team isn’t afraid to try something new or push the envelope a little if we believe it will improve the guest experience. Our record of success shows that following our instincts pays off.

When considering the hotel’s food and beverage program, we looked beyond the standard “hotel restaurant” idea. These often aren’t recognized brands, nor do they carry a reputation for quality. Instead, we came up with a concept to bring in a national, branded restaurant (McCormick and Schmick) as the food and beverage operator for the hotel. In addition to providing a sit-down dining experience for guests during their stay, the restaurant also took on breakfast service, room service and catering for the hotel. This was the first time the Westin had allowed this arrangement within their brand, and the result was not only a restaurant at which guests looked forward to dining, but a significant source of revenue for the hotel as well.

The Westin is also the first successful suburban Twin Cities full service hotel with condos. We not only created a model for bringing two product types together into one, we figured out how to build the condos, connect MEP systems between the hotel rooms and condos, and even devised a plan for getting the units sold. Part of the condos’ association fees go to the hotel for use of the hotel’s amenities, again boosting the hotel’s bottom line.