TownePlace Suites by Marriott Sioux Falls South

I've driven past the TownePlace Suites on Connie Avenue maybe a hundred times without really noticing it — tucked back near that cluster of businesses off 69th Street, just south of where the city starts thinning out into prairie wind and outlet malls. It's one of those extended-stay places that doesn't announce itself, which turns out to be exactly the point.

What struck me when I finally walked through those doors was how much it felt like someone's very organized apartment building. Full kitchens in every suite — not the sad microwave-and-mini-fridge situation you get at most hotels, but actual stoves, full-size refrigerators, dishwashers. I met a consultant from Minneapolis who'd been there three weeks working on a project at Sanford, and she'd cooked dinner in her room four nights that week. The grocery store receipts were still on her counter.

The staff knows the long-termers by name, which creates this strange hybrid atmosphere — part hotel lobby, part neighborhood gathering spot. There's a complimentary breakfast spread that the regulars have opinions about, and I overheard two guys debating the waffle iron technique like it mattered.

What isn't perfect: the location means you're driving everywhere. Nothing's walkable except the Dawley Farm Village shops, and even that's a stretch across parking lots. If you're here for downtown — Phillips Avenue, the Sculpture Walk, the Cathedral District — you're looking at a solid fifteen-minute drive each way.

But for families relocating to Sioux Falls, or someone between houses, or anyone who needs more than a bed and a TV for a few weeks, this makes sense. The suites have separate living areas, the laundry facilities actually work, and there's a pool where I saw three kids who clearly lived there doing cannonballs on a Tuesday afternoon. It's temporary housing that doesn't feel punishing — which, if you've ever needed that, you know how rare it is.

— Grace