I was somewhat leery to book a hotel in downtown Detroit especially as I've always been a suburbanite. I was from the Detroit area and knew the downtown could be dicey. But we have had great luck with the Omni hotels and decided that our vacation plans called for a centrally-located hotel. We also wanted a hotel with personality and not one of those cookie-cutter suburban hotels with no soul. Great rates and special promotions clinched the deal. I was concerned about the reviews that described the neighborhood. True, it is a neighborhood under transition with old warehouses but also new luxury apartments, condos and restaurants opening. A veteran of NYC travel, this is typical to see. The hotel is a renovated early 20th Century Parke Davis Pharmaceutical building. Just beautiful on the inside. Our room faced the Detroit River and Canada and had 20-foot ceilings with grand design - pretty color scheme and a good investment in carpeting, wall colors, draperies, etc.. The bedroom had 2 large windows with a large living room and marble bathroom. The bed was wonderful and soft. The bathroom very nice and elegant. It was wonderful to take long walks along the water every day with good views. We avoided the depressing restaurant but ordered the food which was excellent. There is a lovely patio outside along the water in which to enjoy drinks or food. The lobby always has a mini-bar open with juices, tea or Starbucks for the taking - very convenient. The best part of the hotel was the staff. They bent over backwards to help, made arrangements for us and always greeted us by name. Best staff I've experienced in many, many years. Their complimentary shuttle will take you to a variety of places. The hotel is very convenient to the Tigers, Lions, Red Wings and Piston venues. Also, Greektown for fabulous food. The only critical thing we experienced was room cleaning. It was very clean - bathroom sparkling and sheets/towels immaculate. But they didn't touch all the bases - waste baskets not emptied every day, a candy wrapper left in the closet and a drawer not checked and emptied. A couple nights where used glasses and plates not removed. Nothing scary - but a concern that cleaning patterns are not precise and that the details are not being addressed. Turn down service was also not uniform. The first night was very impressive with cookies/milk for our son, chocolates and fruit for us, beds turned down, robes put out and lights on low. By the last of our 3 nights there, it was only the cookies and one lonely chocolate left on the bed. Overall, we were very happy with the experience and will return should we find ourselves back in Detroit.

The hotel is located in a dodgy area. They advise you not to go out alone at night. They recommend you to take the hotel shuttle and go Downtown. For me that is a drawback. Both dinner and breakfast are really bad. The menu is not good at all and the service is below average. I am sure that there are many more nicer places in Detroit for the same price. I would have gladly paid more to stay elsewhere if I had known what I was getting. Will stay elsewhere for sure next time I am in the area.

This hotel is a bit hard to find. It's located in an industrial area near the water. You can enjoy a wonderful view of the water and take a relaxing walk or have a meal in a very tranquil setting. My favorite part of this hotel was the outside property. Now the inside of the hotel was another story!! Horrible is the only word to describe it. I'd suggest they demolish the whole building and just start over. The lot and location are fine but the building is in need of repair. My hotel walls were painted RED. The carpet was worn, The room was small. The view, from my room, was horrible. The room was dark. The furniture was very old. This is NOT a modern hotel. It's more like a haunted house. I'd recommend staying here on Halloween. You wouldn't need to add any additional decorations. It's already a nightmare. The staff was nice enough to allow me to switch rooms because my first room was even worse. The second room was tolerable. Both had RED paint and flowered drapes. No, I don't mean an accent wall with RED paint. I mean all 4 walls with blood red paint. It was very disturbing. The staff was nice and the outside patio was wonderful. The Omni chain is a gamble. I lost.

I visited Detroit for a conference Feb. 28-30 and booked a king room at the Omni Detroit River Place. Originally, I was to arrive in Detroit around lunchtime on Friday, but due to schedule changes I took a later flight and got in close to 8:30 p.m. By the time I got a rental car and got downtown, it was around 9 p.m. Unfortunately, two different sets of driving directions I had were both incorrect. I managed to get on East Jefferson, which is the main street, but could not find the cross street to turn on, Campau. This hotel is located in the opposite direction of everything else downtown - big hotels, convention center, etc. It is not well lit in this area of town and looked sort of run down. This added to the problem of looking for a small street sign. After driving up and down Jefferson for about 15 minutes, and asking a valet at another property - who said she never heard of an Omni River Place - I called the hotel directly. I was connected with Andre, who was wonderful. He was helpful and friendly and stayed on the phone with me until I had the hotel in view. He then greeted me warmly in the lobby. Driving toward this hotel, which is on the riverfront, it was extremely dark and deserted. It was downright creepy. The hotel itself has a lighted sign, and a lighted roundabout, but there is nothing but deserted warehouses around it - not very welcoming at any time of day. The valet took my rental car and upon entering, you are faced with stairs down and stairs up. It's about 5 stairs up to the lobby. There is not a traditional "front desk" but instead a couple of small desks, where you can be seated for check in. Unusual but not unpleasant. There is a fireplace, sofa and chairs scattered around the lobby, with some nooks to visit or relax outside your room. I was assigned room 302, which was a trek to the complete other side of the building from the lobby, as I discovered when I got off the elevator. It was also by the exterior exit door, which I don't really like. I was tired, so I didn't feel like changing. The room itself was nice. It was HUGE, with a huge bathroom. It had a king bed as requested, which had been turned down, and the tv set on a "spa music" type channel - soothing new agey type music. The bed had a down comforter and was plush and nice. The downside to the entire hotel was that it was overall kind of shabby and worn looking. Brass plates were scuffed, carpet was faded, woodwork was scratched. The wallpaper seams in my room didn't line up and even gapped in places and the woodwork around the bathroom mirror had big holes where it looked like fixture had been ripped out, the door was all scuffed from being opened against a closet. That being said, none of these things really bothered me overmuch, as the room and property seemed clean regardless of wear and tear. My first night in the room I ordered a sandwich from room service. When I called to the restaurant, I heard a man's voice shout loudly, "No more room service!!" in the background, but the girl who answered was friendly and answered with "of course!" when I asked if I could still get food. It was brought to the room by Holly, who waited on me the next night in the hotel restaurant, and she was stellar both times - smiling, friendly, couldn't have been nicer. Another unfortunate occurrence was when I finally tried to go to sleep around 11 p.m. and realized there was a whining, whirring, grating sort of noise that came and went and seemed to be emanating from outside the my room, possibly in the stairwell. I could not sleep and ended up turning the TV back onto the spa music channel to try to drown it out. I was up very early and out the door, since I was in a conference all day on Saturday and then had a meeting after that until 10 p.m., so I dreaded another sleepless night since I didn't really have time to request a room change, but thankfully the noise mysteriously disappeared Saturday night. Thank goodness. The bathroom had ample amenities like shampoo, soap, lotion and a nice hairdryer (which I did have to search out in the closet). Good water pressure and plenty of hot water in the shower. I took the hotel shuttle to my conference, for convenience sake, and called and they picked me up in the evening, which was very nice. The shuttle drivers were very nice, friendly and courteous. Again, the staff made the difference at this hotel. My guests Saturday night arrived while I was still at the conference, and they said the lady working the lobby (unfortunately I didn't get her name) was also top notch, directing them to the bar for drinks, letting them know the bar tab would validate their parking (so they wouldn't have to pay $18) and making sure they were comfortable in the lobby while they waited. So, overall, a mixed stay. Location leaves a lot to be desired, although the shuttle is available to take you where you want to go. I imagine the river view is nice - my room looked out at the front courtyard. Staff was terrific and accommodating. I hope they succeed in developing the area around the hotel.

It's not all bad at the Omni Riverplace Detroit. In fact, with proper management, a makeover, and some customer service training I believe this hotel could have some great potential. As it stands however, I was quite disappointed with my stay at the end of February, 2008. The hotel is located in a rather dreary warehouse district a good distance from the action of downtown detroit. You can't walk anywhere. You need a rental car or a cab. I rented a car, and was disappointed to learn that there is no self park option. Mandatory valet parking which equates to $18.00 per night, plus a tip to the valet in and out. They've simply taken advantage of the fact that there's no where to park anywhere so why not charge an arm and a leg to park a guest's car. On the positive side, they do have shuttle service that will take you to any of the downtown tourist sights (e.g. - Joe Louis Arena, Casinos, etc.). Check in at the hotel was relatively smooth. I got a fantastic rate on Priceline, which was the only thing that kept me from being completely disappointed. The hotel was virtually empty, yet my request for a river view room was flatly denied. They go right by the rules at this hotel. Expect no bending on anything. Hotel appearance shows a hotel that once had its day, but now is in sorry need of a refresh. Tired carpet, scuffed furniture and trim.....really not pretty at all. I oddly found my room upon check in, in a state of disarray. The chairs to the room had been placed (stacked) in the bathroom, the drapes were all tied up and the end tables were turned sideways. Looks like they had cleaned the room then had forgotten to put the furniture back. The room was very cold, and never quite warmed up during my entire stay. The water temperature was also freezing. Couldn't be bothered at that point to change rooms. Do they not pay their bills? I had a fax sent to me and the hotel never informed me, even upon checking out the next day. I asked for 1 hour later on my check-out. Again...flatly denied. 12 noon, or there would be a charge. I asked if the hotel was full....the response......"no....but our rules are 12 noon check out". Great.....just want a customer wants to hear about - the rule book. One small positive in all this - there was free, wireless internet throughout the hotel. But all in all this hotel was a definite disappointment. I won't be back.......and you should steer clear........