Embassy Suites by Hilton Detroit Metro Airport — Hotel in Romulus

UPDATE: The manager reached out and was very gracious, so I have updated my review. Customer service goes a long, long way. My original review is below. There was no way that I was going to neglect writing a review on this experience.

I booked a room for a couple nights to see a concert in Detroit. Technically, it was my vacation. I work a white collar, corporate job. And I'm the type of guy that takes like four vacation days a year.

When I got to the hotel and checked in, the fella behind the counter told me that I would be upgraded because I'm a Diamond member with the Hilton Honors rewards program. For those of you that don't know what that is, a Diamond member is the highest status you can achieve. It's normally due to staying an inordinate number of nights per year in a Hilton brand hotel.

That was pretty stoked. I almost never get upgraded.

I went up to my door, and the plaque on the wall said "Grand Rapids Suite". Again, I was pretty stoked. I assumed that this was going to be a very nice room because I booked a nice room to begin with, so I anticipated that the upgrade would be even nicer.

Have you ever walked into something so ridiculous that you just had to laugh?

My so-called upgrade was a full-blown conference table. Just what I wanted on my short retreat from corporate America.

The room itself was dingy, dated, and dark... And therefore, depressing. I was in a rush, so I decided that I would address it with the hotel staff the next day.

I went downstairs to the lobby, and I explained to the young woman behind the desk that a conference room table is not an upgrade. Had I known, I just would have stayed in my assigned room. She looked at me as if I was absurd and retorted that the upgrades are based on square footage. Her facial expressions said everything. Because it wasn't her that got shafted with a ridiculous room, she couldn't understand why I didn't appreciate my luxurious conference room table.

Begrudgingly, she asked if I wanted to switch rooms to the original one that I had booked. My inside voice was saying, "Why, yes. I want to go repack all of my stuff, and haul it in between rooms for the next half hour."

I hope you can pick up on my cynicism.

She never offered an apology. She completely missed the point.

That said, I expect that from a low level functionary that lacks the inability to think for themselves.

I usually have a really good experience when I stay at Hilton properties, which is why I elect to stay there when I travel. I almost stay at Hilton properties exclusively.

But my question for Hilton is this:

If this is how you define an upgrade, why wouldn't I spend my money at a competing property where I can probably get nicer accommodations and better treatment? Being a Diamond member at Hilton represents thousands of dollars spent on hotel stays per year. Maybe Holiday Inn or Hyatt really wants that business?

I would never stay at this hotel again. I don't care if it's by an airport. I've stayed at plenty of properties around airports, and they were perfectly modernized and clean. The room was in dire need of a remodel or update. And even though we were on the Great Lakes, they felt the need to install low-flow shower heads in their bathrooms. I think it's funny that the room itself can look like it was designed in 1987, but let's make sure that we have the latest shower heads that don't actually pump out any water.

The lobby was deceptively modern. The rooms are extremely dated with a lot of damage or stained furniture.

The two positives that I will give to this property are that the towels and washcloths were clean, and some of the staff were very friendly.

I advise you to spend your money elsewhere if you have any kind of...

I stayed here from July16-27 and I feel like if you stay here for one or two days, this place it great. Any longer than that... not so much. I think her name was Vikki? But the woman who makes the omelets or pancakes for breakfast is amazing. I give her Five Stars easy. If you order the same thing, like I did, by day three she’ll have it memorized. She is extremely polite and a joy to talk to. They have a good setup for breakfast and the woman who cleans the tables is on top of it. Even if you’re sitting down chit chatting and she sees your dishes empty, she gets them. Now, the reason for two stars. First off, when we checked in, eight of us, only one woman knew how to setup our rooms. We were on school orders, so it was two people per room, half the charge per card. Only one of the ladies did it right and we had to wait until she was finished to come fix ours. No biggie, I get some people don’t know how to do everything. When we got to our rooms, we noticed a hair clip and someone’s HAIR under the dresser. Seriously, I have pictures. That hair was there until we checked out two weeks later. We had to ask them to change our sheets because the next Monday, it was obvious they were the same sheets. How do I know? I drank red juice before bed and I am a drooler. I drooled all over the pillows and the sheets, it was still there. They didn’t even change the pillow cases for a few days. So after we called and asked them to change sheets on Monday, they didn’t and we had to ask again on Tuesday. They changed them the next day, Wednesday. We also noticed that when they made the beds, sometimes they only fixed the top cover. They didn’t vacuum the room either. Even at home I vacuum and change my sheets Sunday for free, they get paid to do it and it wasn’t being done. They also would take out old towels and sometimes just leave the new ones wherever. They literally brought us new towels that set on the sink for days. And there was even a time where they didn’t change the towels at all. We honestly tried to give them the benefit of the doubt, but by week two it was pretty upsetting. Also, they were doing construction right outside our room. Every day the maid opens the curtains, so we would get to the room and without thinking start to change and notice guys standing right outside our window. Hopefully you don’t watch too much tv because a lot of times it just randomly went out. In the middle of a show and all. Oh well I guess. Some of the stuff in the bathroom was broken, a few random flying bugs. The gym is small, but whatever. It had some free weights, two treadmills and two ellipticals I think. It has a hot tub and indoor+outdoor pool. Two washers and dryers on like the third floor. So this place is good for one day if you want to believe they changed the sheets from the last guest, if not or you’re staying any longer... go...

(short version) A very nice hotel with excellent qualities, and some short fallings that can easily be addressed. High points were: the room and it's design, the amenities provided, staff friendliness and customer service. Low points were: cold breakfast during my visit, possible faulty air conditioner, possible culture of over tipping. (I personally would prefer workers be paid more to cover that.) Overall 4/5 it was a great stay and we look forward to coming back.

(long version) Excellent hotel overall, (I will be rating this as an experience prior to staying at The Drake in Chicago) The standard room we were in was a good size, separated in two rooms with a TV in each. The bed (for me) was a bit too hard (an 80 or so on the sleep number scale). Unfortunately the air conditioner would not cool the room below 73 or so when we had it set to 68, even though it essentially seemed to be running all night. Food was really good for dinner. I had one of the better burgers I've had in a long time, and the amenities (free drinks/complimentary cocktails/free snacks) were a step above normal hotels. Unfortunately, at breakfast time the entire hot breakfast bar was below room temperature (I ate at 0645, breakfast opens at 0630). Thankfully the omelet bar saved the day. Service was fantastic, the staff was friendly and welcoming. Unfortunately tip culture seemed bit out of control essentially any where you looked there was a tip jar to be found. For up to $222 a night I would hope the staff is being paid well enough they shouldn't need tips. In all honestly the more I thought about it, the more it concerned me how often I saw so many tip jars for a hotel that is priced to pay their workers well...

In conclusion, it a nice hotel, in a nice location, that has easy access to airport parking or the airport. The staff will do their best to assist guests, and the amenities help make up for the price. However, there are many things that could be improved, and as a customer that seeks out Hilton hotels for their quality I would even be willing to pay a bit more for to have the improvements happen. My wife and I will be looking forward to visiting again...