Not sure about the terms you are using. West Minn really doesn't mean anything to me, and I've lived here all my life. Downtown Minneapolis is essentially a 1.5 mile square that starts at the shore of the Mississippi River, bounded on the "North" by I394, on the "South" by I35W, on the "East" by the MIssissippi, and on the "West" by I94. Those directions are in quotes because everything runs parallel and perpendicular to the Mississippi, which runs from Northwest to Southeast, rather than North/South, but that's the way the nomenclature works right there. Very confusing. You can get a much better idea if you Google map it.  

The University of Minnesota straddles the Mississippi River about a mile south of downtown Minneapolis. That is probably the university area you refer to. It is no where near Nicollet Avenue. It would not be considered part of downtown. There is maybe one hotel in that area I would consider hobby friendly.  

University Avenue is entirely on the east side of the Mississippi River, so again not part of downtown. It starts about a mile to the north of downtown, runs south until it is just across the river from downtown, then turns east and goes all the way to St. Paul. It used to be a major east-west artery but was replaced by the I94 freeway. Now it is just a busy city street. Again, no hobby friendly hotels I can think of until you are far to the east.  

Can't think of any other "university area" you could be referring to.  

Hope that helps.