Shinola Hotel

Big room with stylish decor -- nice touches like bluetooth speakers and bath robes with "Detroit" insignia. The location is great for visitors -- right in downtown and within walking distance to many places that visitors would want to see in Detroit. The negatives: no coffee in the room and rather pricy.

So, we decided to return to Detroit after leaving in 1988. We were not only blown away by the revitalization of the city, but just thrilled with The Shinola. The attention to detail in that hotel is amazing...the woodworking, the art, the flooring, the amenities in the room..all unbelievably elegant and current. The hotel is cutting edge in design, commons areas and every aspect of it. The design and the decor are just amazing in every inch of the hotel. The restaurant in it is excellent as well. The staff was very helpful and friendly, although they did forget to give us the feather free bedding we had asked twice for. One thing that I was a little surprised at was there was no magnifying mirror in the lovely, beautiful bathroom. I was also a little disappointed that the speakers in the room were connected to the wall switch that the lights were on...thus no music to go to sleep by unless you left the lights on. We had a patio which was wonderful to have in the city and to be able to sit outside and read the paper in the midst of Detroit and all its sounds. I can't say enough about how Detroit has been transformed, and The Shinola is a big part of that. We can't wait to return.

I went to a nearby event recently and had trouble finding my car, and was a bit inebriated for driving SO...I stumbled across this place. Friendly check in. Hybrid electric/mechanical key. The room was spacious and pretty good, has a servibar but check the prices before using-especially the alcohol. They have those heavy, ornate Shinola clocks in the rooms-which do NOT have an alarm(!) They should at least have a cheap backup for that. Also-as others have mentioned, the Hotel is adjacent to the old JL Hudson site, which is being built on. Expect construction noise at 7AM. I had blinds but the window shades were gone. Breakfast is at their place next door. Fancy-and not included.

Overall, I was very pleased with my stay at the Shinola. I had to stay 5 nights for a conference, and I'm giving it 5 stars. It was mere months after the place opened - you could still smell the construction in the building, it was that fresh. The staff were friendly throughout my stay. The hotel has a unique physical key system, which was a bit annoying to get used to (especially in the elevators) but overall the system works and the hotel lets you check the key behind the counter before leaving for the day. The rooms themselves are beautiful, the beds are very comfortable, all are equipped with some sort of special soundsystem that was a nice addition, and the bathrooms were nice and spacious. Additionally, the shower was actually nice to use - many hotels, even nice ones, simply do not get the shower right but I found the one at Shinola quite user friendly and enjoyable. In terms of hotel amenities, the fitness room is a bit of a cramped set-up but it has full selections for what you would need on the road and state of the art equipment. There are numerous food and beverage establishments in the hotel. San Morello, for Italian fare, was very enjoyable and my server was friendly and knowledgeable. The two lounges (the living room and the speakeasy in the back) were also quite nice to grab a cocktail at the end of the day. I only used room service for breakfast orders - they came on time and were prepared okay. They actually made an error on the type of eggs they delivered one day, but I didn't bother calling down for correction. Some of the breakfast foods are very, very rich which you should be aware of if you like a more simple breakfast. Realistically, there were a couple hiccups but the room was great, the stay was enjoyable, and the staff were pleasant. The only complaint I have is that the mini-bar prices were pretty ridiculous. I obviously expect some higher prices in hotels, but some of the snack and beverage prices were out of control. $6 for water? Really? In addition, the charges are done generically on the invoice and it was a bit of a mess to go through at the end as I believe they actually made errors on the charges. Again, the front desk staff were completely amenable and took me at my word and corrected it and I willingly paid for the items that I for sure knew I took. I would definitely stay again when in Detroit.

We live in the city just north of Detroit, but had an event near the hotel so my husband surprised me with a stay here. It truly exceeded my expectations. The service was fast and attentive at the front desk, there were employees there when we needed help using the key to get into our room (very cool technology but we just couldn't figure out the door, lol) and I was very impressed with all the little Shinola touches throughout the room! The cozy blanket, the Shinola speakers you could connect your phone to via Bluetooth, the fancy toiletries, and the cute little Shinola desk clock. You can't beat the location too, very walkable to so many great shops and restaurants. We had breakfast at San Morello and it was one of the best breakfasts I've ever had. I can't wait until we get another night away, we'll for sure be back! Thank you to the amazing staff at this fabulous hotel!

We stayed for 1 night as the start of a larger vacation. Room is modern with fresh clean furniture, bath fixtures and amenities. A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. Friendly staff and good downtown location complete the experience.

My wife and I both love our Shinola watches, so we decided that for our wedding anniversary we'd spend a night downtown and stay at the Shinola Hotel to check it out. It's a nice hotel, but definitely underwhelming when you consider the price, along with some of the other hotel options in downtown. The PROS: - LOCATION. You cannot beat this location, and clearly this is why they are able to charge such crazy rates. Centrally located to everything you could possibly want to do in Detroit. - Room was very clean and nicely decorated. It's very updated, but that should be a given since this is a brand new hotel. - The mattress was very comfortable. The CONS: - Service. We were really shocked at how bad the service was considering the price you pay, and the amount of employees walking around. Service at the front desk was EXTREMELY slow, resulting in very long wait times for check-in and check-out. When we got down to check-out around 1030am, there was a line of people waiting and one of the two employees behind the desk said "just throw your keys on the desk if you're checking out and we'll e-mail you a receipt". I guess that's a pretty nice way of saying "thanks for staying with us, we hope you enjoyed your stay." - The first floor is very dark/poorly lit, so it does not feel welcoming whatsoever. After checking in, you walk through this nearly pitch black corridor to get to the elevators, and it just feels so uninviting. - The pillows are TERRIBLE. We were both tossing and turning all night trying to find a comfortable way to sleep with these pillows, and it just did not work. We both woke up with stiff/painful necks, and we truly did not get a good nights rest. - The Evening Bar is a joke. Weird ambiance. According to the front desk, all hotel guests get "Priority Seating" at the Evening Bar. We walked in there after our dinner in the hopes of getting one or two more drinks before heading up to the room. It was quite packed when we walked in, and the host told us that it would be a 45 minute wait. We told him that we were hotel guests, and his response was "We'll do our best. Feel free to head up to your room and we'll text you when a spot opens up." We went back to our room, and after about an hour we received a text to come back and at this point we simply had no desire of heading back down there. - We grabbed a snack from the in-room snack bar and the candy was completely STALE. Welp, that was a waste of $3 for no reason. Overall, we're happy that we stayed here simply because we know we won't be rushing back. With all of the hotels downtown Detroit, the Shinola definitely falls at the bottom of the list.

Location was fabulous and room was fresh and clean. Only stayed one night but would recommend. I think the hotel is quite expensive but it was within walking distance of everything we wanted to do. Unfortunately, we were looking out onto a building site which was quite loud at 8am. We also visited the Evening Bar which was great; it was very funky and had great cocktails

We stayed for one night for a business trip and were not disappointed. The amount of craftsmanship put into each of the pieces of furniture showed - in both the common spaces and hotel rooms. From waterworks fixtures to custom furniture to a thoughtfully curated selection of books - a lot of details were clearly considered. Yes there were some challenges - ie navigating and wayfinding, since it’s a few buildings combined and can be labyrinth-like. And also some hiccups with valet parking, and construction across the street which can cause disturbance. Food at San Morello and Brakeman’s we’re both delicious. Overall, we were impressed with our experience and the service and hospitality from the friendly team. We hope to be back soon.