The Story Behind St. Cloud’s Beloved Hotels And Motels

St. Cloud has had hotels almost as long as the city has existed.  Local historian Jim Grabinski and I dove into the history of hotels/motels in the St. Cloud metro area.

Breen Hotel (Germain Motor Motel)

In 1921 the Breen Hotel opened on the corner of 9th Avenue and St. Germain Street.  Henry Breen and his wife owned and operated it.  It was connected to the Sherman Theater, which is now the Paramount. Grabinski indicated it become the Germain Motor Motel years later.  He says it remained opened until September of 1980 when it closed because it no longer met fire codes.  Grabinski says they have since renovated it bringing it up to code and it is now a 60 unit apartment complex used primarily by older people called Germain Towers.

Radisson Hotel

In the 1880s the Central House opened  on the corner of 5th Avenue and St. Germain Street.  In 1898 it was replaced by the Grand Central Hotel.  In the late 1980s Jim Graves redeveloped the site into a 9 story, 103 room luxury Radisson Hotel.  Grabinski recalls it opening in 1990 before in 2012 the name was changed to Le St. Germain Hotel.  He says prior to Graves' renovations, the front of the building faced 5th Avenue.  Now it faces St. Germain and is directly across from the Rivers Edge Convention Center.  In 2015, Graves sold the property to Courtland by Mariott.

Sunwood Inn & Convention Center

In 1977 the Dan Brutger Company opened the Sunwood Inn and Convention Center.  It had 140 rooms and was built along Highways 23.  Grabinski says the reason it was built there was access to Highway 10 and Interstate 94.  In 1992 the Brutger Company faced foreclosure and now it's known as the Best Western Kelly Inn.

Grand Stay Residential Suites

Grand Stay is located at 213 6th Avenue South and along Highway 23 in downtown St. Cloud.  Grabinski says in the mid 1970s there was  Texaco Gas Station there.  Klein Oldsmobile Cadillac later claimed that location.  In 1999 the land was cleared for the Grand Stay's opening in 2000.

Holiday Inn & Convention Center

In 1977 Dick and Dean Anderson opened the Holiday Inn and Convention Center at 70 South 37th Avenue in St. Cloud.  In 1994 they expanded the Hotel to 259 rooms.

Royal Court Motel

It was located at 720 Highway 10 South.  In 2010 the name was changed to the Nights Inn.  It is located across the Highway from the Red Barn Dairy Queen.

Comfort Inn

In 2000 the Comfort Inn opened at 4040 2nd Street South in S. Cloud.  In 2011 it became the Quality Inn.  The House of Pizza is attached to the Quality Inn today... It used to be Old Chicago.

Econo Lodge

Was located 420 Southeast Highway 10 in St. Cloud.  It has now become the Salvation Army.

AmericInn

In 1989 AmericInn International, founded by Jim Graves of St. Cloud, partnered with a group from Wisconsin that included former Packer, Bart Starr.  They franchised hotels throughout the country in towns of less than 20,000 people.  Grabinski says there are two AmericInns in St. Cloud and one in Sartell. They are franchised as Wyndham Hotels today.  In 2002 the AmericInn in Cold Spring changed ownership and names.  They became the Riverside Inn.

This is part 1 of the conversation.  Look for Part 2 coming soon.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Jim Grabinski, click below.