SkiAdcock

And if someone has some Cat 1-4 certs to use up!

Again, thanks for the update.

Cheers.

jascp

I stay here 3 days a month and I just left there this morning. Last month I deviated and stayed at the Marriott in Livonia. I have also stayed at the Novi Residence Inn and the Novi Courtyard. If you must stay in the area the Baronette is the best place to be.

The rooms are o'k and some of the in-wall A/C units are prone to malfunction, the elevator is annoyingly slow, and there is no lounge. But you get free run of some of the best snacks and drinks I have ever seen in a Marriott snack-bar-by-the-front-desk which I like better than most of the very mediocre lounges I have been in.

The breakfast is great. Don't let the whining about limited selection fool you because its the quality that counts. The bacon is thick, meaty, and flavorful as is the freshly ground and hand pattied sausage, the scrambled eggs are fresh hand cracked eggs that have not been cooked to dehydration. Plus the fruit is fresh and the pastries are great. And the coffee is good.

The restaurant, Toasted Oak Grill, is a great place to eat. The food is so good that my nearby resident coworkers clamor to meet me for breakfast and dinner. Try any of the locally made food items and beer and be sure to get the cornbread made in a soup can.

The only negative, pay attention GM, is that this place has the loudest slamming doors I have ever heard in any hotel. It is a truly annoying Kaaaah-BAAAM!!! I have moved rooms twice when situated near a room that had numerous entry/exits and was letting the door slam.

Since I now seem to be blogging. I will add some favorite local things: Steve and Rocky's, Sora Sushi (it really is good), Diamond Jim's, Bar Louie, the mall, the bowling ally, and down Grand River Road around 6 Mile to 8 Mile roads there is a Fleming's, J Alexander's, and numerous other higher end chains. In Wixom there is the The Farm Grill and somewhere a the south end of Walled Lake is a great place to have lunch outside

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update on the property & suggestions on the local places.

Cheers.

estedman

I have stayed at the Baronette a few times and have never had a problem.

The food in the Toasted Oak Restaurant is some of the best hotel food out there.

I made Platinum Premier this year and am staying at here the 25th-28th looking forward to seeing how they treat me this time and if it is any different from the past few times when I was just P.

estedman

No special treatment what so ever other than thank for being PP. I did get up to the 3rd floor but had been there as P the times before.

peteropny

Searched for this property to provide an update and found this thread.

Just stayed 3 nights (in on Thurs out on Sun) as a Platinum on a challenge with the stay being for a conference.

Recognized as a platinum by the checkin desk and placed in 5805 (king room high floor facing the river). Room was decent but not remarkable (there are signs around saying rooms will be renovated winter 2014. Given access to the club lounge for thurs evening and Fri morning (closed weekends as expected). Club quality is rather mediocre (better for evening service than breakfast which was very basic without much variety - compared to Hyatt).

RenCen complex is very confusing. Entrance lobby and checkin area(as well as Volt restaurant) aren't really part of hotel tower.

Parking is either valet or self park in the Miller garage across from the entrance for $20 a night paid directly to the garage but can include in/out privileges if you inform the garage office. My conference provided coupons for 40% off so it was $12 a day.

Volt breakfast is all buffet but you can ask them to charge you for what was consumed if you're eating light.

Overall, a decent but unremarkable property.

SkiAdcock

peteropny, thanks for the update!

Cheers.

hockeyinsider

FYI: The Marriott in Auburn Hills (it's actually, I think, on the border of Bloomfield Hills, Pontiac and Auburn Hills) has been running special weekend promotions of $129 per night with 10,000 bonus points. The bonus points don't exclude additional Marriott points by virtue of elite status or Marriott corporate promotions.

This property also has a 7-day M Club.

hockeyinsider

Update on the Marriott Centerpoint, which is in Auburn Hills, Pontiac, or Bloomfield Hills depending on your interpretation of political boundaries, is about 90% renovated.

9 of 11 floors done -- finally, as the M Club has been open for about a year now.

With the renovation I have no problem pronouncing it as the best Marriott in the Detroit-area. The newly-renovated Southfield Marriott doesn't have a M Club. I don't expect the Livonia Marriott (owned by the same group as Southfield) to get a M Club when it is renovated beginning later this year. The last renovation in Livonia, at least for rooms, was around 2006/2007, although gorgeous 55-inch TVs were installed last year.

I'm still waiting for the Marriott in Ypsilanti to renovate, as they have amazingly low rates. Unfortunately, the rooms are probably 15-years-old. (Centerpoint hadn't been renovated since it was built circa 2000/2001, except for new TVs.) Another property that needs to be renovated is the Marriott Troy, which has a slightly better location than the Marriott Centerpoint, but is pretty outdated. It does, however, have a nice pool and gym. The restaurant, on the other hand, is pretty weak and typical for a hotel restaurant.

The staff are excellent. Only downsides are lack of elite amenities -- nothing for a platinum-premier, not even an upgrade on a Saturday night. I actually think they get a lot of platinum-premiers as staff knew what it was. Chrysler's office is nearby. I'm told some people basically live here Monday-Friday for much of the year. In the newly-renovated rooms, there are no robes or slippers. Also, all the bathtubs have been removed in renovation.

Regardless, this property has some good rates, including 5,000 bonus point packages. Unfortunately, the 10,000 bonus points are a thing of the past. Also, the food in the restaurant is excellent. The Livonia Marriott has a more extensive menu, but inconsistent service. The menu here is more limited, but the quality and presentation are better.

hockeyinsider

I stayed a night at the Detroit Airport Marriott. I didn't get a notification from the Marriott mobile application that my room was ready. Nevertheless, it was when I stopped at the time I specified during the mobile check-in. This property required me to show a picture ID. I didn't have to verify my credit card.

No recognition or acknowledgment of my platinum-premier/elite status during check-in. I politely asked the front desk for my $10 voucher. The front desk clerk also let me grab a complimentary beverage from the sundry shop.

While a light remodeling -- new carpet, wallpaper, some furniture, additional electrical outlets -- occurred around 2015, the property is really worn-down. Furniture is scratched and chipped, bathroom countertop needs recaulking around the moldings, the air vent in the bathroom has heaps of dirt, dust and what could be mold. The TV is one of the old LG 32-inch TVs from 2008.

None of my special requests (extra pillows, extra towels) were fulfilled. I had one face cloth, two hand towels and two bath towels. Usual toiletries. I was told the hotel didn't have slippers or a bathrobe.

The concierge lounge offerings in the evening were some sort of tart, what took like fried chicken, a pasta salad with fresh mozzarella balls, a veggie and cheese cube tray, and what looked like a fruit salad leftover from breakfast. The wine -- two reds, a rose and a chardonnay, all from Dark Horse -- were priced at $7-something per glass. By comparison, Dark Horse bottles go for about $8. I didn't see any spirits or beer. The only snacks out were some hard candy and granola bars. No magazines or newspapers. One computer terminal and laser printer. Like many of the M Club lounges, but unlike the concierge lounges, the attendant was making a soft push for the restaurant. Apparently, the room service fee is waived if you order food to the concierge lounge. They had a menu with tonight's appetizer and main course specials.

In the lobby restaurant, I had an excellent grilled chicken caesar salad. The wine list was OK. Almost all of the wine-by-the-glass at $6-7 for a 3-ounce pour and $9-10 for a 6-ounce pour.

The gym is still closed, as they are rebuilding it. A makeshift gym with a couple pieces of equipment has been setup in a ballroom. Alternatively, guests can get complimentary access to a gym about 10 minutes away. The hotel is providing free shuttle to/from the off-property gym.

Supposedly, rooms will again be renovated later this year. The housekeepers do a good job keeping things clean, notwithstanding the worn-down furnishings and decor.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the updates. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

hockeyinsider

I returned to Marriott at DTW the other night. I was pleasantly surprised to learn I had been upgraded to a suite on the top floor that overlooks the portico and loop-around driveway.

Yes, the suite needs a renovation but the suite was, thankfully, in much better condition than the rest of the hotel. I didn't even know this property had suites, as they aren't advertised on the Marriott website. There was even a cheese and fruit plate waiting for me, though the cheese was only the cubed cheese from the concierge lounge. I skipped it, but it's the thought that counts.

On a side note, the newly-constructed gym is now open. It's really, really nice.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the update. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

hockeyinsider

Has anyone stayed at the Delta at Detroit's airport? It is the former Radisson. I spent a night at the Radisson when it opened about 16 months ago in a hotel that had long been closed. Like every other Radisson in North America, it was pretty disappointing. I'd be interested to know if anything has changed for it to have a Delta flag.

Michilander

Not yet, but we are holding a reservation there for late August. Will post a report if no one else does before then.