Doubletree Suites Downtown Detroit
- Fort Shelby - Convenient to Joe Louis Arena, Fort/Cass People Mover Station
My
spouse and I stayed at the Doubletree Suites Downtown Detroit - Fort Shelby for
four nights in early July 2017. We booked our stay online using the Hilton HHonors
website. As Diamond members, we are entitled to a complimentary upgrade at
check-in based upon availability, but because this hotel was so crowded when we
arrived, we were assigned the room category that we booked (as well as the
exact room that we chose during the electronic online check-in).
The
Doubletree is located in the downtown area on West Lafayette Boulevard across
the street from the local television station WDIV Channel 4 and a block away
from the city newspaper offices. The hotel is close to Joe Lewis Arena and is
one block from the Fort/Cass People Mover station. We walked to downtown
attractions such as Comerica Park, Ford Field, Greektown, and Eastern Market.
The hotel is slightly isolated in terms of outside food and beverage- we found only
the Press Room Café (only open weekdays from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm) and the Anchor
Bar to be easily accessible. (Interestingly, the Anchor Bar was once a tenant
of the hotel building before it moved to its current location around the corner.)
However, there are myriad restaurants a few blocks away near the stadiums and
other downtown hotels. A Sunoco gas station with a small mini-market is located
across from the side entrance of the hotel, but it closes early and does not
sell wine or beer.
The
Doubletree property offers a large lobby area with comfortable seating, one alcove
of which is reserved for the small business center (with two computers and a
printer). The lobby also features a market-type counter that serves Starbucks
coffee, cold drinks, pastries, and prepared sandwiches; communal high-top
tables offer many charging stations beneath. Unfortunately, the counter is only
open from early morning until mid-afternoon, so you cannot stop by in the
evening to purchase drinks or snacks for your room. (The Doubletree does not
offer a pantry area, but perhaps front-desk staff can retrieve items from this
market area, if requested.) A fitness center is available. One of the best
features of the Doubletree (besides those deliciously warm chocolate chip
walnut cookies upon arrival!) is its complimentary shuttle service that will
take you anywhere within a three-mile radius. We used the shuttle multiple
times during our visit, and it seemed like a hugely under-utilized amenity
because the van always seemed to be waiting for us when we exited the side
door. We expressed our gratuity to every driver, but none more so than the enterprising
older gentleman who drove us (and picked us up) from our Global Entry interview
at the nearby US Customs and Border Protection Detroit Service Port office.
(FYI: It is possible to get there using West Fort Street; it is NOT necessary
to take any major highways as Waze and GPS suggest. Even though the customs
property is located less than 2 miles from the hotel, you cannot arrive or
depart on foot. Even the local taxi drivers and private car services would not
agree to transport us, but the Doubletree driver was willing and able and met
the challenge successfully! We wish that we could remember his name so that we
could praise him to the hotel – it might have been Anthony.)
Originally
called the Fort Shelby Hotel, the building was constructed in 1917 with 450
rooms spread over 10 floors. Over the years, the hotel has changed ownership
and names (including the Pick Fort Shelby and The Shelby Hotel) until it was
reopened as the Doubletree in 2008. The current hotel offers 200+ 2-room
suites, with 50+ apartments located on the upper floors. Private rooms and
event space are available. The hotel gets its name from Fort Shelby; which
played an important part in the War of 1812. Built by the British in 1779 and originally
called Fort Lemoult, it was later renamed Fort Detroit, and finally Fort
Shelby. Over 8,000 artifacts from the fort are now housed at Wayne State
University’s Anthropology Museum.
All
accommodations in this hotel are two-room suites, with either one king-size bed
or two queen beds. Upgraded rooms include corner suites that have slightly more
square footage (750 instead of 650) and possibly more windows. We only had
windows in our bedroom, but not in the living room area, which made the living space
dark. Our living room contained a sofa and an easy/lounge chair (but no
ottoman), along with a coffee table, side table, and TV stand for the
flat-screen TV. The living room also contained a glass and brass table that
held drinking glasses, an ice bucket, and a coffee service. We requested that a
small refrigerator and microwave be placed in our room for an additional $7 per
day. A hallway connected the living room to the bedroom, with the bathroom
located off the hallway. Our bathroom was huge, with a shower/bathtub
combination, toilet, and vanity with a single sink. Toiletries included
shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, mouthwash, soaps, shoeshine cloth, and
makeup remover wipes; a hairdryer and plenty of towels were also available. In
some photographs that we have seen of other rooms in this hotel, other rooms
had different configurations in which parts of the bathroom (like the sink and
vanity) are located outside of the room that contains the toilet and bathtub,
but in our room, everything was contained behind the door. (We actually prefer
the vanity outside the bathroom so that multiple people can get ready at one
time.) The bedroom contained a king-size bed with nightstand on each side,
dresser with a second flat-screen television on top, closet (with an iron,
ironing board, and electronic safe), two large windows, and a desk with chair.
In online photos that we have seen of other rooms, the desk and chair are
sometimes located in the living room instead.
We
are disappointed in the Doubletree/Hilton website for this hotel, which seems
to indicate that the Round Bar also operates a sushi bar. Although the sushi bar
itself is still there, its chairs have been removed, and table linens are piled
up on the counter as a sort of storage area. Also, the chain-branded website
indicates that you can dine for lunch and dinner in the Motor City Kitchen
(MCK), but in actuality, the true MCK area is open for the breakfast buffet
only. The Round Bar at MCK serves lunch and dinner, but not the restaurant
across the hall. The photographs of the Motor City Kitchen show some booths
available, but only table seating exists now. The Motor City Kitchen contains a
dedicated breakfast buffet area that can be closed off by doors, in addition to
two small private dining areas. As Diamond members, we were entitled to daily
breakfast. The buffet includes a variety of hot dishes (scrambled eggs,
potatoes, sausage, bacon, grits), as well as cold items (cereal, fruit, yogurt,
breads and pastries) and juices. The buffet also offered one rotating specialty
item each day: freshly-baked warm fruit scones, breakfast wrap pieces,
breakfast club sandwich quarters (all of these were very good!). On only one of
our four mornings, were we asked if we would like a made-to-order (although
behind-the-scenes) omelet, but we declined. The breakfast servers were among
the friendliest people that we encountered in all of Detroit (and that’s saying
a lot because everyone in the entire city could not have been nicer or
happier). A hostess will seat you at one of the various configurations and
shapes of tables and chairs in a room surrounded on two sides by windows that
provide lots of light.
Our
stay at the Doubletree Fort Shelby was good because we always enjoy the extra
room that a suite affords, but next time we might try one of the other hotel
options in the city.
