If you have only ever stayed in hotels, the first question about a furnished extended-stay building is usually a practical one: who lets me in? There is no bell desk here and no lobby with someone waiting behind a counter. That worries people until they have done it once, and then it tends to become the thing they like best.
Here is exactly how arriving at Oakland’s on 9th works, start to finish, including the parts we would rather you knew before you book than after.
Check-in is contactless, and it happens on your schedule
Before you travel you receive a personal keycode — one for the building and one for your studio. You let yourself in whenever you arrive. There is no waiting at a front desk, no 4:00 p.m. cut-off to plan a flight around, and nobody to hand a card to at midnight. Our FAQ spells the whole thing out.
This matters more than it sounds if you are a travel nurse coming off a shift, a contractor landing late, or a family arriving after a long drive. The building simply opens for you.
There is no front desk, but there are people
Contactless does not mean nobody is home. Staff are on site day and night and reachable by phone or message. What we do not have is a traditional front-desk concierge standing in a lobby. If the shower is cold or the WiFi sulks, you call or message and somebody deals with it.
Building access is by keycode, and there are security cameras monitored inside and out. We wrote an honest piece a while back about whether downtown Minneapolis is safe if that is on your mind.
The thing we want you to know before you book: stairs
Oakland’s on 9th is a historic 1889 building, and access to the studios is by stairs. There is no guest elevator. We say this plainly on the FAQ and we will say it again here, because it is far better to know now than to discover it with three suitcases at the bottom of a staircase.
If stairs are a concern, call us at (612) 314-5124 or get in touch before booking and we will tell you honestly whether the building will work for you.
Getting to 215 South 9th Street
The address is 215 South 9th Street, in the Downtown West neighbourhood — about as central as downtown Minneapolis gets. Parking is available right at the door in Parking Lot 215, so most guests drive in, park once and leave the car alone.
If you are arriving without a car, the Metro Transit trip planner will route you from the airport or anywhere in the Twin Cities. And if a visitor is dropping in and wants a street space, send them the City of Minneapolis street parking rules first — and in winter, the snow emergency parking rules, which are the most common way visitors here get towed.
What is waiting in the studio
Every studio is furnished and has a full kitchen — refrigerator, stovetop, microwave, and the dishes, pots and utensils to actually use them. A coffee maker is there with coffee and tea. Breakfast is not served; you make your own, which is rather the point of an extended stay.
The rate includes all utilities, high-speed WiFi and ethernet, free 24-hour on-site laundry, individual heat and air conditioning, and instant hot water. There are three tiers to choose between: Good, Better and Best. If you are wondering where a month of belongings actually goes, we covered storage in a furnished studio separately.
Leaving: check-out is 10:00 a.m.
Check-out is 10:00 a.m. A late check-out is available for an added fee when you arrange it in advance, so ask ahead rather than on the morning — we will do our best. Monthly guests, of course, mostly stop thinking about check-out altogether.
Who tends to book this way
- Travel nurses and clinicians on assignment — we are blocks from Hennepin Healthcare and convenient to the University of Minnesota Medical Center.
- People relocating to Minneapolis who want a real kitchen while they house-hunt.
- Contractors, consultants and crews who need a month, not a hotel bill.
- Anyone whose home is being repaired or rebuilt and who needs somewhere that feels like an apartment.
Ready to arrive?
Stay a night, a week or a month — no contracts and no lease, with monthly stays at the lowest rate. Check availability and book online, or call us at (612) 314-5124 and we will talk it through. Your keycodes will be waiting well before you are.
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