Oakland’s on 9th has three studio types, and they are named about as plainly as they could be: Good, Better and Best. That is helpful shorthand and slightly unhelpful detail, because the names do not tell you what actually changes between them. Here is the honest comparison, taken straight from our own room pages.
The short version: every studio is fully furnished, every studio has its own kitchen and its own brand-new bathroom, and every studio includes WiFi, utilities and free laundry. What you are buying as you move up the tiers is space, a work surface and a view.
What every studio includes, whichever one you book
- A real kitchen. Fridge, stove top, microwave and the utensils, plates, cups and pans to actually cook with — not a mini-fridge and a kettle.
- A brand-new bathroom, tiled inside and outside the shower, with a walk-in shower on instant hot water, plush towels and a big lit mirror.
- A custom bed with luxury linens and a Smart TV.
- Fast WiFi on the downtown fiber grid, and all utilities — heat, water, electricity — included in the rate.
- Free laundry on site, 24 hours. No laundromat, no quarters.
- No contracts to sign. You can rent by the day, the week or the month; the cheapest rate is by the month. Check-in is immediate.
- Pet-friendly rooms in every tier — just ask for one when you book.
GOOD: the compact one, and the cheapest way to stay downtown
The Good studio is the affordable option and the most compact. Everything is in it — kitchen, new tiled bathroom, walk-in shower with instant hot water, comfy bed with a cushioned headboard, Smart TV, high-speed internet, free 24-hour laundry. What you give up compared with the other two is floor area and a dedicated work setup.
It suits a stay where you are out most of the day: a short contract, a hospital rotation, a few weeks between homes. If the room is mostly for sleeping and breakfast, this is the one to book.
BETTER: room to stretch out, and a genuinely big desk
The Better studio is the one to book if you are going to be in the room. It adds a living area with comfortable seating and a really large desk — our own page calls it “way nicer than other furnished rentals,” and it is the single biggest practical difference in the building. The kitchen steps up too: bigger refrigerators, a full set of pots, plates, bowls and cups, a big microwave for reheating takeout. The bathrooms are wall-to-wall tile with big modern sinks and racks below.
This is the tier that suits remote work, a long consulting engagement, or anyone who has learned the hard way that a hotel desk is usually a bedside table with ambitions.
BEST: the City View studios, with the bay window and the fireplace
The Best studio is the City View room, and the bay window is the whole point of it. There is a large table set in front of that window, so you eat looking out over downtown Minneapolis rather than at a wall. The living area has a comfortable chair, a floor lamp and an electric fireplace — a real one to sit and read beside, which is not a sentence you get to write about most extended-stay rooms. The bed is a custom queen with luxury linens; the bathroom is the same new modern tile as the rest of the building.
You can see the park across the street from the bay window. If you are here for a staycation, a weekend, or a stay long enough that the view matters every single morning, this is the tier.
So which one should you book?
- Book Good if the price is the deciding factor and you will be out of the room most of the day.
- Book Better if you work from the room. The desk and the living area are what you are paying for, and they are worth it.
- Book Best if the room is part of the experience — the bay window, the table in front of it and the fireplace.
- Ask for a pet-friendly room in any tier if the dog or cat is coming. There is a park across the street, Gateway Dog Park a block away and the larger Triangle Park a block away too.
The things that are the same in all three: the building and the location
Whichever tier you pick, you are in the same 1889 brownstone at 215 South 9th Street, restored in 2019 after a fire and a near-demolition. That means original details in the hallways and a building with some character in its geometry — we wrote an honest account of that in What is it like to live in a building from 1889?
The location does not change either. Target is two blocks away. The skyway is a short walk — the building is not skyway-connected, and we would rather say so than let you find out in January. Hennepin Healthcare (HCMC) is a few blocks away and the University of Minnesota Medical Center is close, which is why so many travel nurses stay here. The Armory, Orchestra Hall, Target Center, U.S. Bank Stadium and Target Field are all walkable. If you are getting around without a car, Metro Transit’s trip planner is the tool to use.
Ready to book?
You can see current availability and rates for all three tiers on our booking page, or call us on (612) 314-5124 and we will talk you through which studio fits the stay. If you want the full inventory list first, we set it out in What’s included in a furnished studio in downtown Minneapolis.
And if the stay is a family visit or a special occasion rather than a working one, our sister property 300 Clifton is a historic mansion bed and breakfast in Loring Park, minutes away.
Keep reading: Did Oakland’s on 9th Win a Preservation Award?