Midwest - Would you be afraid to spend the night in Detroit?

Yesterday I had a three-legged dog booked from Des Moines to Lexington, routed through MSP and DTW. My DTW to LEX flight was to be the last flight of the day.

In MSP there was some type of equipment failure that made our flight very late. We were sitting on the plane when the stewardess told us that if we were going to miss our connections we should get off and see if we could make other arrangements (this did NOT please the gate agent). Most people got in line, but I just used my cell phone to call Northwest.

At any rate, I could have flown on to Detroit and spent the night there. Instead I choose to overnight at MSP, even though that meant getting up at 4 a.m. I just felt MSP would be a safer place to spend the night than Detroit.

Were my fears justified? I'm originally from the Memphis metropolitan area, and I would be afraid to stay in any of the hotels anywhere near the Memphis airport. Since Memphis and Detroit are swapping places as having the highest violent crime rate (Detroit is first this year), I just wonder if the situation near the Detroit airport is as bad as in Memphis.

(For that matter, does anyone know where the airlines put up passengers when they get stuck in Memphis?)

There are certainly some shady parts in DTW, much like any major American city, but I've certainly never been at all uneasy during the dozen or so biz trips I've taken there. Downtown is safe as is Greektown.

If you had overnighted in DTW, there's a great Westin attached to the main NW terminal with it's own security checkpoint into the terminal. Anyhow, DTW is in Romulus, not in Detroit proper.

Honestly, there's not a city in the US that particularly worries me, but, then again, I've spent a lot of time travelling the less developed parts of the world and may have a higher threshhold for crime.

I think I'd be more afraid of spending the night in Des Moines or Lexington.

DTW is nowhere near downtown. Heck, there's even a hotel built into the new airport! If you are worried about street crime when walking from an airport to a hotel shuttle and then into a hotel, I assume you'd never consider going to a 2nd (much less 3rd) world country. Geez.

I've only been to DTW once, and it's definitely not in the middle of the hood or anything. I think your concerns were a little bit too influenced by Detroit's unfortunate reputation. As long as you got an airport hotel, I'm sure it would've been fine.

Just like Newark, or Baltimore -- I wouldn't go wandering around some parts of the city while on a stopover, but staying there overnight is hardly a safety issue and there's no reason you would've encountered anything remotely dangerous.

As long as you choose a hotel that isn't by the hour.

Thanks for your responses. I guess I am influenced by what I know about Memphis, where the airport IS in the middle of a "hood," and I would rate the entire area as unsafe.

Of course, my guess is that Northwest wouldn't put me up in the hotel connected to the airport, but who knows. But it's good to know for future reference the neighborhood around DTW is generally safe.

It amazes me that without having visited the area, you are assuming what it would be like. Like ever major city, there are crime areas and like any city in the world, a crime could happen to you but to be fearful of the city because of news reports is sad.

I live 4 direct miles from the airport, 6 miles by roads. I live next to $200,000 new home construction and farmland. To the north of the airport, where most of the airport hotels are is more farmland and some housing.

To the southwest of the airport they are building a new horse racetrack.

Honestly, there are way worse places.
Rhonda

Thanks for your responses. I guess I am influenced by what I know about Memphis, where the airport IS in the middle of a "hood," and I would rate the entire area as unsafe.

Of course, my guess is that Northwest wouldn't put me up in the hotel connected to the airport, but who knows. But it's good to know for future reference the neighborhood around DTW is generally safe.

MEM is in a bad neighbourhood? :confused: I've stayed by airport several times and never felt at all uneasy.

When I lived in DC, Chicago, and Balto (Not in great hood, either, as I'm cheap...), people would always ask me if I felt unsafe, and the answer was always a definitive "no". I we were talking Lagos or Bogota, that might be a different story (...although I rather like Bogota).

Were my fears justified?

The worst thing that may happen to you at the Detroit airport is that you'll be overcharged for gas by the stations closest to the rental car return. On the other hand if you drive a mile down the road you're paying what the locals pay.

DTW is nowhere near the "Detroit" that you're envisioning.

I'm going to skip the rest of the commentary on your remarks regarding violent crime.

LOL, I feel bad for all the suckers that live in Detroit that opened this thread. :)

No offense, OP, but this is really a ridiculous question. Even if the airline wouldn't put you up at the Westin, they would put you up at some hotel that offers a shuttle to the airport. So you would be (1) walking out of baggage claim to the curb, (2) taking a shuttle van to a hotel, (3) entering the hotel lobby and going to your room, and then reversing the process in the morning.

If this prospect scares you, then I would recommend that you stay home and not travel at all (although your chances of being robbed at home are probably no less than encountering difficulty in this scenario, although at home you can at least be armed).

MEM is in a bad neighbourhood? :confused: I've stayed by airport several times and never felt at all uneasy.

There certainly aren't a lot of nearby luxury hotels at MEM, though (as opposed DTW where there are). As to whether the area immediately around the MEM airport is unsafe, to some extent that's a matter of personal perception (and if you're comparing it to Lagos, then yes it's very safe); my personal perception was that it was, at the least, isolated, somewhat run-down and not very attractive.

I have heard that in general, the part of Memphis near the airport (south/SW) is considered the less desirable side of town by the locals, who presumably would know better than I do.

I did get stuck overnight in DTW (Friday of President's Day weekend- didn't get home till Saturday at 2 PM :( ). No one gave me a choice- we sat on the ground at HPN for 2 hours and got to DTW too late for them to book me out on a connection that night.

Here (http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g42139-d90003-r13608150-The_Westin_Detroit_Metropolitan_Airport-Detroit_Michigan.html) is my tripadvisor.com review of the airport Westin, where I stayed (my employer picked up the tab). As others have pointed out, the Detroit Airport is not downtown Detroit, but I had a perfectly nice stay. I "made lemons out of lemonade" and took a swim in the pool and enjoyed the WorldPerks Club the next morning before my departure. Even if I'd been given a choice, I would have chosen to go on to DTW and get that much closer to home.

LOL, I feel bad for all the suckers that live in Detroit that opened this thread. :)

Lots of people like to kick the Midwest..... personally, I just like to kick Michigan, but then again, being from Ohio, I think it's my right!

That said, there are lots of scarier places than DTW -- like Ann Arbor once the locals discover that DickRod's frilly offense won't fly in the Big10! :D

MEM is in a bad neighbourhood? :confused: I've stayed by airport several times and never felt at all uneasy.
I guess you didn't feel uneasy because you didn't know all the facts! Memphis has had an absolute explosion of violent crime, and the airport is right in the middle of some of the most dangerous neighborhoods.

The Atlantic Monthly just had an article about the eruption of Memphis crime, "American Murder Mystery." They had a map showing the violent crime rate, and the area around the airport is amongst the worst in the city. Of course, anyone from the Memphis metro area already knows this. It's a great article and a harbinger of terrible things to come for both Memphis and many cities around the nation.

I accept what I've been told about the area about DTW. That's why I asked. But the area within a two- or three-mile radius of the Memphis airport simply is not safe, period. I know. The advice I would give any traveler is not to stay in this area, don't buy gas on Winchester, and just don't linger in the general area for a second longer than necessary. If you want to pooh-pooh the risk, fine, but you do so at your own peril.

No offense, OP, but this is really a ridiculous question. Even if the airline wouldn't put you up at the Westin, they would put you up at some hotel that offers a shuttle to the airport. So you would be (1) walking out of baggage claim to the curb, (2) taking a shuttle van to a hotel, (3) entering the hotel lobby and going to your room, and then reversing the process in the morning.

If this prospect scares you, then I would recommend that you stay home and not travel at all (although your chances of being robbed at home are probably no less than encountering difficulty in this scenario, although at home you can at least be armed).

I couldn't agree more, on all your points. It's an almost offensive question.

Not to mention, Romulus is not close to Detroit... And I wouldn't be afraid to spend the night in Detroit proper. Thousands do it every day for business and pleasure.

That said, there are lots of scarier places than DTW -- like Ann Arbor once the locals discover that DickRod's frilly offense won't fly in the Big10! :D

Ann Arbor is still a whore.


Signed,

A Buckeye

I was overnighted at MEM once after taking a bump. They put me up in the Holiday Inn Select, served by airport shuttle. The hotel was very nice. I didn't notice the surrounding area. Seemed perfectly comfortable to me.

(Also, another Detroit-metro-area native here. The airport is more than fine. But that's been covered here.)

I think some of the responses on this thread have been overly harsh. Yes, DTW is very safe, but the OP didn't know that. He/she asked a question to get more information from those who are more informed. The original question could have been posed more neutrally, but everyone has different standards of safety that they're comfortable with. No reason to denigrate others' comfort level. Parts of Detroit or any city are dangerous.

p.s. Most of us already know the Wolverines are doomed this year.

DTW's a good airport. I've driven to from parts of Southern Ontario and never had a question. lived across the bridge in Windsor for a good part of a year and did all my travelling out of it.

I hope you enjoyed the Mall of America though, just a short ride away from MSP.. though I don't think it was open while you were there ;)

Please continue the discussion in the Midwest forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

Please continue the discussion in the Midwest forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderatorIt's great to see a thread with lots of responses get banished to a forum that has virtually no traffic (5 active threads in the last 2 weeks), JOUY31. ^

I've stayed in downtown Detroit and in the area near the airport. Both are perfectly safe.

I also stayed at the f/s Marriott closest to MEM and had a great time.

Any place you go has some element of danger, but fearing major hotels in these particular areas is silly, IMO.

I've been overnighted at DTW, stayed at in-terminal hotel once and also a mediocre Quality or Comfort Inn via a hotel shuttle. There were no safety issues.
I've also lived in MEM; with our office near the airport. While I can sympathize that the area is not great, the airport hotels (ie. like the Courtyard) are located in a safe area. Another airport area has a FS Marriott and a few others (located near the old mall and next to the IHOP that gets robbed regularly). Not a great area, but just don't go out wandering after dark and you are fine.

Especially wearing my Israeli Army T-shirt. (In Hebrew of course). IMHO....

Thanks to all of you for your responses, even if most of them were negative. My question really was not to put down Detroit, but was based on the reputation that Detroit has in my mind.

As I mentioned, I would not want to stay near the Memphis airport, and I know first hand what that is like. Assurances from Bkrampt that the Memphis airport area is okay, "just don't go out wandering after dark and you are fine," signify to me that some of you have a different idea of what constitutes acceptable safety. That said, I accept everyone's assurances that Detroit is not like Memphis.

One thing that I did not make clear in my original post was that I was being put up for the night by Northwest because of their equipment failure. I wasn't in a position to demand the hotel located in the airport. You takes what you gets.

I do find it regretable that anytime a thread generates a lot of responses in the Travelbuzz section, it is immediately moved somewhere else. This thread has absolutely nothing to do with leisure or business travel to the Midwest.. Rather it has to do with a choice that any person traveling on Northwest might have to make at some point. That includes most people on this board at some point, even if Northwest is not their choice of carrier.

Oh, well.....

"Safety" certainly is a subjective notion, but it's also often irrational.

Many people seem to be frightened of things that are much less dangerous to them than, say, driving a car.

I'm fine with staying at the Westin at DTW. I've been slightly less comfortable at other various properties around the Detroit metro.

Detroit is the city where I had one of my scarier travel experiences where a man in truck followed me from the parking lot of a restaurant (I had finished dinner with a local friend) all the way to where I dropped my car at the rental car lot. A couple of times he came close to rear-ending me. He had tried to get my attention in the parking lot (some of that "hey baby" shouting and had approached the window of my car before I pulled out).

Definitely was a shaky few moments but luckily I was only a couple miles from rental car return and was getting directly on the shuttle. Had I not been going there, I would have tried to find a very populated area or police station as he definitely wasn't behind me at "random".

Lots of people like to kick the Midwest..... personally, I just like to kick Michigan, but then again, being from Ohio, I think it's my right!

That said, there are lots of scarier places than DTW -- like Ann Arbor once the locals discover that DickRod's frilly offense won't fly in the Big10! :D

Or how about Columbus, if you're dressed like a Michigan fan and it's the Sat. before Turkey Day.... and the home team has lost????

To be serious for a second, the area around DTW is as safe an area as you'll find anywhere and the same applies to the hotel district in downtown Detroit.

It may be a good idea to avoid Middlebelt Road near the airport from now until early Nov., but only because that's where the political candidates usually come in and the resulting motor blockades can cause serious delays.

Bob H

Some what unrelated question. I am planning to go to Detroit in Aug and will be staying in Windsor (can not find hotel in Detroit). Are there any safe public transportation that I can use? My activity area will be near the windor/detroit tunnel.

Some what unrelated question. I am planning to go to Detroit in Aug and will be staying in Windsor (can not find hotel in Detroit). Are there any safe public transportation that I can use? My activity area will be near the windor/detroit tunnel.

There's a tunnel bus, be sure to bring your passport though.

Bob H

I'm late to this party (and actually looked in the Midwest forum - go figure) but I'll throw in my two cents anyway.

Crime statistics, no matter what the city, are useless - until they start reporting on the number of hijackings of Hampton Inn shuttles and gunning down of business travelers waiting for a taxi on the curb of the airport. I'm guessing this would bring all cities/airports into line at zero. All cities have safe and unsafe areas, and I'm sure the vast majority of the crime statistics take place in the unsafe areas that visitors are not likely to frequent. If your looking to buy some crack in a bad neighborhood you might have something to worry about. Getting on an airport shuttle or walking across the parking lot to McDonalds is not an issue.

As for Detroit itself, I am happy to report I have spent many many days/nights wandering downtown, Greektown, Bricktown, Foxtown, the Cultural Center, Cass Corridor, Wayne State and other areas without ever being a victim of, or even seeing, a violent crime. I've even spent my share of time in the bad neighborhoods at clients without issues, although I would not be wandering these areas at 2am. Worst I have run into are panhandlers, and at least the ones here don't tell me to F-off when I decline their request, unlike the one I ran into in Vegas a couple years ago.

I've run into may people from out of town while Downtown and all were pleasantly surprised how nice the city actually is. Some were even from Ohio and we did not beat them up instantly. :) Even the Pittsburgh Penguins fans did not end up with beer dumped on them when they had the nerve to wear Penguins jerseys during the Stanley Cup finals. :) :)