Westin Book Cadillac Hotel – Detroit, MI: Located in the heart of the once vibrant city of Detroit, the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel, formally the Book Cadillac Hotel built in 1924 by the Detroit’s famous Book brothers, was a pleasant surprise on our recent visit to Michigan.

First Impression/Lobby: As we drove through Detroit, it seemed more desolate and deserted than it had been in the past. However as we pulled up to the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel I was quite impressed to see this magnificent old Italian Renaissance style building, shining like a monument to the past.

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We pulled in front and we were quickly greeted by the sharply dressed valet, who offered to park our car. When we told him we were checking in, he quickly pointed us in the right direction and got a bellman to retrieve our bags.

The lobby was located on the second floor so we took the escalator up to the lobby which was not as glamorous as I expected from the stately look of the building from the outside.

Reception: We did not have reservations. However we did call in advance to see if they had rooms available and they did.

When we told the receptionist that we were looking for a suite for one night she acted like she could not have cared less if we stayed or not, which was something that I did not appreciate. This is not the type of service that I would expect from a luxury hotel, even if it was in Detroit. She dutifully completed our registration and a few minutes later we were on our way towards suite.

The Suite: The executive suite room is bright and welcoming thanks to the large window on the far end of the room. The whole suite has extra high ceilings, which gave it a feel of both space and luxury.

The walls are covered by light moss green wallpaper and the floors were covered in cool gray carpeting. The room has very comfortable feeling with clean lines giving it an upscale, trendy feel.

The living room has a large taupe couch and two chocolate brown leather chairs situated under the large window, credenza and mini-bar, with a large screen TV on it. The suite also comes with a perfectly sized desk for work, however its position against the wall gives you a closed in feel.

The bedroom has a king-sized bed equipped with the signature Westin Heavenly Bed complete with a not-so-chic brown leather headboard, the same light green moss wall covering and gray carpet, a large dresser with nice deep drawers (perfect if you are staying for any length of time) and another large screen TV. There is also a nice-sized closet near the entrance of the bedroom. The suite does offer ample storage that is missing in many luxury hotels in Detroit.

With three large windows, the suite had plenty of daylight but doesn’t offer much of a glorious view though you can see the Detroit Windsor Bridge in the distance.

The bathroom has a single sink, bathtub and a huge, oversized stand alone shower with a double shower head, which they call the Heavenly Shower. The bathroom products are from the Westin brand.

There is also a large window in the bathroom that lets in a lot of natural light—again something you don’t normally see in luxury hotels in Detroit very often.

Room Service: Room Service offerings are typical of the four or five-star room service menu—pizza, burgers, salads, sandwiches, soups and steak. There is a $3.00 delivery charge, an additional 21% service charge and 6% sales tax. With all those together, I’m sure you can imagine how prohibitive it is to order Room Service.

Because of extra additional costs we skipped ordering Room Service and had breakfast in the Westin’s restaurant - The Boulevard Room.

Housekeeping: The room was spotless, and our request for extra towels was quickly answered. However, the attitude of the young lady that brought the towels was as if I had interrupted her busy day by asking for additional towels. Nonetheless, we received the towels quickly but the attitude could have, and should have been, left behind.

Concierge: The Concierge comes in at noon and while no one is manning the Concierge, the front desk handles all Concierge inquiries in the morning and though the Receptionist was nice, she was pretty much clueless as a Concierge.

Restaurant: The Boulevard Room is the Westin Book Cadillac’s main restaurant. The food was average, not bad, but not exceptional either. The service was just as average. Our dining experience at the Westin Book Cadillac in Detroit was a disappointing ho-hum experience. Disappointing for such a gorgeous hotel and for the Westin brand.

Overall Impression: The Westin Book Cadillac in downtown Detroit is a very beautiful hotel inside and out, the latest renovations was money well spent. I am happy to see that Detroit has a true luxury hotel in the heart of downtown.

However, it is a shame that after spending all of that money ($200 million) to renovate the building, the service and attitude of the employees inside does not meet the same high standards. Even though it is a four star hotel, if the focus on service was highlighted more by the staff, the Westin Book Cadillac could’ve received a rating of bombastic. However, because of the lack service I am only able to give them a rating of between bombastic and not.

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