Best Free Parking Hotels Near Water Park of America
Four hotels on the Bloomington strip include parking in the room rate rather than charging a daily fee on top, which adds up fast on a multi-night water park trip that also involves a rental car for Mall of America runs or a day trip into Minneapolis. Cambria, Country Inn & Suites, Sheraton and Staybridge Suites all fold parking into the stay, a detail worth checking before booking since several neighboring properties on the same strip charge separately once a rental car or an airport transfer is already part of the trip. Reading the fine print on each listing before booking is the only way to know which total actually applies to your particular stay.
Bloomington's hotel corridor runs along wide boulevards built for cars rather than a walkable downtown grid, so parking is baked into how the whole district operates: every property has a lot, but not every property waives the fee. That split tends to track with hotel type more than location, extended-stay and mid-scale brands more often include it, while some of the higher-end properties nearer the mall's front door treat parking as a separate line item the way a downtown hotel would, closer in spirit to an airport business district than a resort town built around the water park itself.
Free Parking · Water Park of America in numbers
Where to stay
Where the daily fee disappears
Free parking earns its own combo here because a Water Park of America trip almost always involves a car, whether that's the drive in from the airport rental counter or day trips out to the broader Twin Cities beyond what the light rail covers. A daily parking fee tacked onto three or four nights turns into real money fast, and it is exactly the kind of add-on that does not show up clearly until checkout. Knowing which properties fold it into the rate up front lets a family compare the true total cost rather than the headline nightly figure, especially once meals, tickets and gear rentals are already stacking up on the same bill.
Cambria Hotel folds free private parking into every stay while still sitting close enough to the Mall of America and airport corridor that a shuttle or short drive covers the water park run, which makes it one of the better value plays on this list for a family arriving with a rental car. The lot sits directly on site rather than in a shared structure, useful when you're hauling wet gear and a stroller back from a pool day, and the property backs that up with an indoor pool and bar of its own for evenings the group doesn't want to drive anywhere at all.
Country Inn & Suites pairs free parking with free breakfast and a location directly across from Mall of America, stacking three cost-saving details into one stay rather than one. For a family driving in from outside the Twin Cities, that combination changes the real per-night cost of the trip more than the room rate alone suggests, and the short walk across to the mall and the water park means the free lot mostly serves arrival day and any side trips rather than daily shuttle runs. Two indoor pools and a hot tub back up the free parking as part of a broader value stack at this particular property.
Sheraton Bloomington includes free private parking as well, though it sits roughly twelve kilometers from both Mall of America and the airport rather than in the closer Killebrew Drive cluster, so the free parking matters more here precisely because you will likely be driving to the water park rather than walking, unlike some of the closer properties. Budgeting the extra drive time each day is worth doing before booking this one over a closer alternative, and the trade-off buys a quieter setting with its own restaurant, bar and free bicycles on site.
Staybridge Suites rounds out the list with free parking built into its extended-stay model alongside a kitchenette and a living-area suite layout, aimed at families staying three nights or more who are running errands, grocery stops or day trips to greater Minneapolis on top of the water park visit, all of which mean the car comes out of the lot more than once a day. A 24-hour gym and indoor pool with a hot tub round out the property's own value stack alongside the free lot, and the roughly twenty-minute drive to downtown Minneapolis becomes an easy add-on trip.
A traveler's takeWe drove up from Iowa for a long weekend and parked our car once at Cambria Hotel and barely moved it again until checkout, walking the short distance over to Mall of America and taking the hotel's shuttle for the water park run, so the free parking meant we never paid a cent beyond the room rate for the car sitting in the lot for three straight nights.
Free ParkingCambria Hotel Bloomington Mall of America Minneapolis Airport
Bloomington
Check availabilityWhy guests love itFree parking meant we never thought twice about the car sitting in the lot for four nights, and the hotel's own indoor pool and bar gave us a relaxed last evening in town after checking out of the water park itself a day early. The walk-in shower made the daily routine of rinsing off wet swimsuits and gear far easier than the tub-only setups we'd dealt with on past family trips elsewhere.
Free ParkingStaybridge Suites Minneapolis-Bloomington by IHG
Bloomington
Check availabilityWhy guests love itBy our fourth night at Staybridge, the hot tub had become the whole family's unofficial evening ritual after Water Park of America, and the free breakfast each morning meant one less thing to plan before heading back out to the slides. The 24-hour snack shop in the lobby also saved us a late-night drive more than once when the kids were still hungry after an early dinner.
Free ParkingSheraton Bloomington
Bloomington
Check availabilityWhy guests love itWe chose Sheraton for a quieter first and last night bookending our water park days closer to the mall, and the free bicycles gave the kids something to do around the hotel grounds on the one afternoon we deliberately skipped the pools altogether. Dinner at the on-site restaurant that same evening meant nobody had to get back in the car after a full day already spent driving to and from Water Park of America and back.
Free ParkingCountry Inn & Suites by Radisson, Bloomington at Mall of America
Bloomington
Check availabilityWhy guests love itThree mornings running, the buffet breakfast had us walking across to Water Park of America by nine, ahead of families still finishing their own restaurant runs elsewhere. By evening, the hotel's own hot tub became our wind-down spot after a full day standing in slide lines, and the short walk back across to Mall of America afterward meant we never once needed to move the car during our entire three-night stay here.
Local tips
- 1Confirm free parking applies to the specific room type you're booking; some properties waive it only on certain rate categories.
- 2If you're flying into MSP and renting a car, ask whether the hotel's free lot has space reserved or if it fills up on weekends.
- 3Sheraton sits farther from the water park than the Killebrew Drive cluster, so budget extra drive time even with free parking included.
- 4Cambria and Country Inn & Suites both sit close enough to walk to Mall of America, so the free parking mostly serves airport and day-trip runs rather than daily use.
- 5Ask at check-in whether oversized vehicles or trailers need a different parking area, especially at properties with a single shared lot.
- 6Pair a free-parking stay with the light rail for evenings in downtown Minneapolis, saving the car for water park and mall trips only.